STEM Trail at Weston Park Museum

The museum in Weston Park, Sheffield is an interesting place to visit, with exhibits that cover a wide range of subjects – the museum describes itself as being a place to “explore the world and its past, from millions of years ago to the present day”.

Unfortunately, my planned trip there last week was something of an epic FAIL. We were supposed to be trying out a STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Maths) trail that I’ve written, but alas, as a result of good old circumstances beyond our control our trip was cancelled.

In view of the fact that this was the best school trip that I’ve never been on, I thought I’d blog it anyway! (On a less flippant note, other teachers at my school are going to use this trail, and I have to put the teacher notes somewhere, so here they are.)

The STEM trail is intended to encourage students to explore Weston Park Museum and learn from some of the displays, but it could easily be adapted to suit other locations or projects.

The trail [Publisher file] [pdf] (uses three sections of the museum [map]:

• The Big Bug Show, which is located in the Harold Cantor Gallery (until 21st February 2010, at which point I will have to update the trail)
• Arctic World
• What on Earth

Teacher Notes

There are six sections to the trail:

1. Who rules the world?
STEM subject links: science (biology – minibeasts), maths (scales and enlargements)
Wider learning: reading for information, creativity
Notes: This section is based on The Big Bug Show, which runs until February 2010. Students learn about bugs, insects and minibeasts; they then use what they have learned to design a ’super bug’ that will star in a movie.

2. Could you live in a freezer?
STEM subject links: technology (materials), maths (negative numbers)
Wider learning: problem solving, learning about other cultures
Notes: This is based on the Arctic World exhibits. Students will compare the lives of modern-day Arctic dwellers with those of the people who lived there 50 years ago. The emphasis is on the changes made possible by the arrival of new technologies and materials.

3. How wild is Sheffield?
STEM subject links: science (biology, ecology), maths (statistical diagrams)
Wider learning: observation skills, sorting and classifying, possibility for follow-up research
Notes: This section is part of the What on Earth exhibition. Students will find out about species that live in Sheffield’s woodlands and then consider which of these might also be encountered in urban gardens.

4. Would you drink water that has passed through someone else’s body?
STEM subject links: science (water cycle)
Wider learning: reading for information, explaining ideas using words and diagrams
Notes: The What on Earth exhibition includes a display about the water cycle. Students will need to think about how water cycles through the system and then add explanatory notes/labels/drawings to a diagram that they have been given.

5. Who would win the Animal Olympics?
STEM subject links: science (biology), maths (scaling and enlargement, measurements using metric units, comparing numbers)
Wider learning: using data to support an argument, research skills, reading for information
Notes: The What on Earth section includes an area that explores how strong different species are. Unfortunately the fabulously bizarre ‘Push the Poo’ exhibit didn’t seem to be working when I visited! Students will need to consider which species would win various events at the ‘Animal Olympics’ using information is in the main display and the materials in the binder marked ‘Learn More’. The answers are somewhat subjective, so students should support their answer with some data.

6. Who lives in your house?
STEM subject links: technology (food), science (biology)
Wider learning: opportunities for further research, importance of hygiene, correct food storage etc
Notes: NB: There are two display kitchens at the museum, so there is real potential for confusion here! The correct one is in the ‘Close to Home’ section, which is part of the ‘What on Earth’ exhibition.
Students will explore the kitchen. Opening the cupboards and looking inside the storage jars and bread bins will reveal a variety of unwelcome house guests: from mould and flour weevils to a hamster and a corn snake! Students will add labels to the diagram that they have been given.

Running the trail:

1. Make sure that each student has a copy of the booklet and a pen or pencil. Ask them to write their name on the cover of their booklet.
2. Draw their attention to the ‘Trail Guide’ section at the bottom of each page. Explain that will need to use these clues to find their way around the museum.
3. Make the students aware that the ‘Puzzle It Out’ sections will require a bit of thinking – they will have to work out the answers for themselves. The  ‘Find Out’ sections can be done once they get back to school.
4. Make sure students are in groups of two or three. It will probably be helpful if they don’t all start on the same section!
5. Make sure that they know how long they have to complete the trail. (We are aiming to do it in an hour, but since my test run was cancelled, I’m not sure if that’s ideal.)
6. Once they have set off, you should simply need to monitor and encourage.

Back at school:
There are opportunities for follow-up work, some are identified in the ‘Find Out’ sections. Students could also produce work for display based on a section of the trail, or create a presentation to show something they have learned.

Copyright

The STEM Trail at Museum Sheffield Weston Park by Lois Lindemann is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. Basically you are free to copy and remix it as you please, as long as  it’s not for profit and any copies or remixes are shared on the same basis. Please note that I do not hold the copyright on the two photos in the ‘Could you live in a freezer?’ section (pages 4 and 5). The owners have been acknowledged and have very kindly given permission for me to use these photos.

Useful links:
Download the trail: as a Publisher file or as a pdf file (If anyone knows a way to share files created with MS Publisher in a more open format, please let me know.)
The Museum Sheffield Weston Park website

If anyone uses this trail and has any feedback or suggestions, please let me know in the comments. I’ll be happy to hear from you.