As such, they should provide something to think about as well as something to do or some place to go. If possible, the teacher will want to visit the science center before the field trip to help her balance the needs of the teaching unit with the resources of the site. She can then focus on those exhibits that demonstrate the concepts she is teaching and match the students' cognitive levels. This focused approach will advance student learning more effectively than an unfocused scavenger hunt or a generic worksheet written without the benefit of the teacher's preparatory visit. The Directory offers numerous examples of informal places that link to curricula.
Children generally find interactive exhibits engaging.
These exhibits can be appealing and effective tools for teaching science and mathematics and for generating a positive attitude toward learning these subjects. Many students do not live near a zoo, nature center, or museum for a field trip to be practical, but numerous sites listed in the Directory offer outreach programs. Their class at City School is making a vegetation map of the city block. Shawna, Antoine, and Jennifer are recording the trees and shrubs in front of the school building and measuring their diameters when Antoine notices that little plants are growing out of the sidewalk cracks. They wonder if their map should include small plants as well as large ones and go to check with the group working around the corner.