Museum Public Program Plan
The Beaty Biodiversity school program will aim at educating students from around the country on biodiversity. The students will be divided into groups under the supervision of qualified and experienced supervisors. This program will be aimed at giving students a chance of exploring the extensive collection of history at the Beaty Biodiversity museum (Hemingway, 2011, p. 132). This will be able to give the students a real experience with museum specimens and materials to make them more aware of biodiversity and give them an unforgettable lifetime experience. This program will be structured to support the student’s classwork to ensure they expand on their classroom knowledge, by exploring the museum exhibitions and specimens (Danilov, 2003, p. 113). Teachers will be required to visit the museum prior to the group visit to identify the relevant specimens and other requirements that the school may require during its visit. This will ensure that the museum makes available all the relevant resources to the convenience of the visiting group.
In this school program, students shall be guided through the museum by a museum staff, selected by their teachers. Using the museums historical photographs and observations of the museums specimens and exhibits, they will investigate how things have changed with time. This program will majorly give students an opportunity of engaging in the past and appreciate the importance of the Beaty Biodiversity museum (Genoways, 2006, p. 243).
The program will primarily aim to expand on students’ knowledge in biodiversity where every student will have a chance of engaging and explaining their surrounding through exploring the museum objects and use of discussions. The visiting group will be required to contact the museum booking officer through their teacher or supervisor in order to make all the necessary arrangements, and also have a chance of examining the specimen and familiarizing with the museum staff who will be responsible for guiding the group during their visit. During the booking, the teachers or supervisors can forward their demands for necessary customizations to facilitate their visit (Museums, 1999, p. 133).
These programs will be facilitated by our staff members who are professionally trained in museum studies and management, who will give the students professional guidance during their visit. These professionals together with the assistance of teachers and other relevant supervisors will be solely responsible in touring the school group around the museum (Sue Runyard, 1999, p. 98). This program will, however, have to comply with the following guidelines:
- Take around 35min-1hr duration depending on how teachers and students want to distribute their time.
- The program will be charged as per the population of the visiting school, where groups will be charged depending on the number of students, teachers will, however, not be charged.
- Minimum booking of 30 students, though, the number should not exceed 150 students for any single visit. If students exceed 150 in number, the visitations will be done in shifts.
- Offered only on weekdays during school hours.
The Beaty Biodiversity museum school group program plan (years 6-12)
Identify the purpose of your visit
The visiting group will be required to integrate their museum visit with their prior class knowledge to give them a better learning experience. It will be crucial for the museum instructor responsible for leading the group to determine the students’ knowledge by exploring the students preexisting knowledge and idea (Genoways, 2006, p. 247). These students will, therefore, be expected to build from their baseline knowledge.
The pre-visit will be designed to share topic knowledge that the students have, and pre teach the teachers on the necessary concepts that they should instill on their students before the visit. The school teacher together with students will be required to identify the reason for their visit. (Adams, 2006, p. 189). It will be crucial for students to identify the specific objectives and purpose of their visit including any intended results after their visit. This will be significant in giving directions to the students and help them focus during the visit (Danilov, 2003, p. 75).
The visit should come when class work is in the middle. This is to ensure the students can be able to connect with what they have learnt at the commencement of their class work; these students can, therefore.
- Complete class activities prior to visit to enable them to understand the key concepts and topic of study
- Develop relevant questions that they can ask during their museum visit.
Booking.
Any school will be required to make bookings at least a month prior to visiting the museum. This will enable the teacher and the museum administration develop a convenient timetable to enable the students feel more comfortable during their visit and enable them put more focus on learning and exhibitions (Genoways, 2006, p. 250). The teacher will discuss with their class their various activities upon arriving at the museum and any other thing they would be doing (Ansfield, 2000, p. 38). It will also be a requirement for schools to read the website for purposes of obtaining information on location, timing and transport arrangements (Sue Runyard, 1999, p. 98).
Cost
Under the school group program, teachers will be required to divide their students into smaller, supervised groups. The museum charges all programs led by museum staff. These groups will be divided into ten students per group and charged as outlined in the table below, though; teachers and any other relevant supervisors will not be charged (Barry Lord, 2012, p. 104).
This costing method will ensure that every school is charged fairly despite the number of students. A higher number of students will mean increasing the group members while a low number of students will mean decreasing the group members, this will ensure the pricing is fair for both highly populated and low populated school group visits (Hemingway, 2011, p. 207).\
On arrival
On arrival, the school group will be welcomed by a museum staff who will brief the students on how they will be required to undertake their activities in the museum. Students will also be encouraged to bring cameras which they can use to take various specimens and exhibitions to enhance their remembering, though, they will not use these cameras on special specimens and exhibitions according to the museum rules (Barry Lord, 2012, p. 430). In addition, to the cameras, it will be compulsory for students to carry pens and notepads that they will be expected to use when taking down notes (Columbia, 2009). The students will be expected to arrive 20 minutes before any booked school program to enable them take care of any preliminaries (James Falk, 2001, p. 44).
Orientation
The museum shall familiarize the visiting students with the museums facilities. Identifying the location of facilities will enable students have a comfortable and relaxed day. The museum staff will provide the group with the Beaty Biodiversity museum guide map to ensure the whole visiting group is familiar with the museum layout (Sue Runyard, 1999, p. 98). From the map, they will be able to locate all the specimens and exhibitions they are supposed to examine. This orientation will familiarize the students with the surroundings to satisfy their excitement and curiosity and make them feel more involved (James Falk, 2001, p. 135). This will make the students less distracted and make them more focused on their learning activities.
Programs led by Museum staff
The students will discover more about the Beaty Biodiversity museum by examining all the objects that their teacher will have approved as relevant for their study. This program will incorporate the exhibition and interaction with a selection of objects and artifacts to investigate different technologies and resources used by people, and induce discussion about cultural diversity and living culture (Danilov, 2003, p. 115). Each booking will be expected to schedule an exhibition to follow this program.
- Menagerie exhibition (10 minutes)
This exhibition will feature animal sculptures by established artists. Here, students will be able to see how the artists have integrated modern materials with traditional objects. They can analyze the history behind the sculptures in relation to cultural, social, and environmental surroundings in the modern day (Columbia, 2009).
- Evolution and adaptations (10 minutes)
Here, students will explore skeletons; students will investigate adaptations of various animals, especially birds, amphibians and mammals. They will also look at the evolutionary connection between animals and plants.
- Evolution and natural selection (10 minutes)
Students will explore the countries surviving exhibition and investigate animal’s survival strategies in the changing landscape and climate. They will examine fossils and observe live animals. They will explore habitats, adaptations, evolution and classification (Barry Lord, 2012, p. 432). They will use the interactive exhibits and use written questions to investigate adaptations to changes in the environment.
- Creature Classification (10 minutes)
In a guided activity, students will investigate animals. They will use their research on the animal’s characteristics to establish information concerning their diet and habitat. Here, the students will have to participate in the activities and use all museum specimens to acquire knowledge on taxonomy and adaptations (Danilov, 2003, p. 118).
- Observing nature (10 minutes)
Here, students will explore all the collections in the museum in a manner aimed at developing their observational skills and enable them become familiar with journal entries.
Supervision of students
Organizing the students into groups will help in teaching, and minimize congestion around the displays. Each student in a group will be expected to have a responsibility which will be assigned, ranging from reading, photography, reporting the group’s findings or navigating the group. Group supervisors will be responsible for their group supervision while the students are in the museum and will be required to remain with their group at all times (Museums, 1999, p. 145).
Museum exhibitions and discussions
Years 6- 12
After a group enters an exhibition, they will be allowed a preliminary exploration to ensure that they are less distracted at the time of the learning activity because they will have already seen these displays (Hemingway, 2011, p. 132). Their teachers will be allowed free entry to facilitate supervision and answering of various questions.
Their session will end at the discussion center where students will have various discussions on what they have observed to help them understand classification evolutionary, biodiversity and identification. Students will be encouraged to ask any questions at this center after their session (Hugh H. Genoways, 2003). The students will be expected to engage in in-depth discussions with their group leaders, teachers, supervisors and the museum staff.
Rest pauses and reflection
The students will be allowed time to rest during this visit. This will help them take a break from focused learning and enable them relax, eat, and socialize with friends and peers (Ansfield, 2000, p. 245). The rest will also be a fantastic chance, for students, to reflect on the things they have learnt at the museum. These sessions will only last 10 minutes upon which students will be expected to have their lunch (Hemingway, 2011, p. 132).
Length of visit
We will only allocate between 35min-1hour for viewing the exhibitions and allow time for a break in the middle of the visit (Barbara Y. Newsom, 1998). The museums activities and exhibitions are developed to support all learners (Pitman, 1999). These exhibitions will be meant to create auditory and visual learning environment. The teachers will be required to
- Respond to the students queries, this will be done at the discussion center because loud discussions will not be allowed in any other place inside the museum.
- Guide students on relevant and fascinating exhibits
- Guide students in using available technologies and multimedia
- Encourage students to ask questions, talk and share ideas
- Ask questions that will trigger investigations
- Direct students ask museum staff questions
Revisiting favorite exhibits and objects
The museum shall allow time at the end of the students visit to enable the students re-visit their favorite objects or exhibits. This will support students learning and interests, allowing them to have some control and choice over their learning. This will also enable students to share their views with support students and peers (Chang, 2007, p.521).
Post visit activity
The students will be encouraged to inquire the findings of every group, and encourage these groups to explain their findings and elaborate any questions (Danilov, 2003, p. 121). They will also discuss how their findings differ from expectations and put more focus on how their understanding has been changed. All these will take place after the lesson is over to give students a chance to share knowledge (Chang, 2007, p.523). These students should be able to relate what they have learnt in the museum with their classwork. They can be allowed to revisit favorite exhibits and objects to ensure they have a truly enjoyable learning experience (Museum, 2001).
References
Adams, G. D., 2006. Museum Public Relations. 5th ed. Michigan: American Association for State and Local History.
Ansfield, L. G., 2000. Public relations at three Los Angeles museums. 1st ed. New York: University of Wisconsin--Madison.
Barbara Y. Newsom, A. Z. S., 1998. The Art Museum as Educator: a collection of studies as guides to practice and policy. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Barry Lord, G. D. L. L. M., 2012. Manual of Museum Planning: Sustainable Space, Facilities, and Operations. 1st ed. New York: Rowman Altamira.
Chang, E., 2007. Making Personal Meaning from a Museum Experience: Undergraduate Students' Art Learning Experiences at the Indiana University Art Museum. 1st ed. Chicago: ProQuest.
Columbia, U. o. B., n.d. Plan an Educational Visit. [Online] Available at: http://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/schools [Accessed 9 May 2013].
Danilov, V. J., 2003. A planning guide for corporate museums, galleries, and visitor centers. 4th ed. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Genoways, H. H., 2006. Museum philosophy for the twenty-first century. 3rd ed. New York: Rowman Altamira.
Hemingway, A., 2011. The Museum Experience. Journal of Museum, 1(1), pp. 34-57.
Hugh H. Genoways, L. M. I., 2003. Museum administration: an introduction. 1st ed. London: Rowman Altamira.
James Falk, D. D., 2001. The Museum Experience.. 5(1), pp. 230-246.
Museum, A., n.d. Making the most of your excursion. [Online] Available at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Making-the-most-of-your-excursion [Accessed 9 May 2013].
Museums, A. A. o., 1999. Presence of Mind: Museums and the Spirit of Learning. 7(2), pp. 132- 149.
Pitman, A., 1999. Presence of Mind: Museums and the Spirit of Learning.. pp. 111-127.
Sue Runyard, Y. F., 1999. The marketing and public relations handbook for museums, galleries and heritage attractions. 2nd ed. New York: Altamira Press.
