Educational Travel Blog | From Sea to Shining Sea

The super secret museum support center

It’s not exactly a super secret center, but according to Dan Brown’s "The Lost Symbol," it certainly has intrigue. The Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center is the research and storage facility for a large portion of the 137 million objects in the Institution’s collection. From bugs to stuffed giraffes, and objects from early archaeological excavations in the 19^th century to modern art pieces, the facility houses an amazing variety of artifacts.

As a working facility with curators doing research, conservators preserving objects, and move teams sending collections to museums nationwide for display, the Museum Support Center is constantly busy with activity. Located about 20 minutes outside Washington, D.C., the facility is not open to the general public but will meet with researchers and special groups by appointment only.

This week, Smithsonian Student Travelers had the opportunity to get an inside peek.

Meeting with researchers and experts, the group viewed mosquitoes from around the world and learned how they transmit diseases like malaria and yellow fever. They quickly learned that the U.S. Military prioritized these issues during World War II because more soldiers were dying from mosquito-transmitted diseases than from combat.

Then they learned how artists create replicas of animals, fish, and other living things for use in Smithsonian exhibits. While some taxidermists use the skins of animals to mount for display, others need to be recreated from fiberglass to show their true shapes. How often do you get a chance to see a cougar this close?

Finally, the group met with Associate Curator Cedric Yee, and discussed the Japanese Internment Camps of World War II. Imagining what it would have been like for the U.S. Government to round up people quickly that were of a certain descent and send them away from their communities to camps in other states was a great opportunity to discuss civil liberties and freedoms we take for granted. The students had to imagine packing one bag of belongings, relinquishing their name and be given a family number, and then sent to a camp with no privacy and no freedom.

Science, history, art and culture all came together at the Museum Support Center- just another day at the Smithsonian Institution. 

America the story of us

Yesterday the History Channel debuted “America the Story of Us”, a 12-hour television event that documents how America was formed.  Using animation and recreations, the program shows the moments Americans used technology to advance themselves.  “America the Story of Us” touches on the transcontinental railroad, the Internet, constructing skyscrapers and putting a man on the moon.

As part of the campaign to launch the six-night event, History Channel transformed three different historical landmarks: the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles, Grand Central Station in New York City and Union Station in Washington, D.C.  From April 19-25 there was a public art display on these landmarks of log cabins, the Wild West and a city skyline.  See the landmarks transform for yourself!

 

 

Earth Day activities

Happy Earth Day!  Will you do an act of “green” today? 

Earth Day started back in 1970 when Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin wanted to inspire an appreciation for the environment.  Senator Nelson wanted to hold a nationwide teach-in day on the environment, and he inspired 20 million Americans to demonstrate in different U.S. cities.  There were protests against what was causing the deterioration of the environment: toxic dumps, oil spills and power plants to name a few.
 

Today Earth Day is celebrated all over the world.  In Washington, D.C., there is a live Earth Day webcast at 12:00 EST from the National Museum of the American Indian entitled “Earth Day—Honoring the Living Earth: Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Communities in Colombia.”  You can also find an Earth Day celebration on the National Mall on April 24 and 25, complete with a carbon wheel of fortune and performances from various artists including Sting, John Legend and The Roots.  Across the country, groups are holding events ranging from river cleanups to beach sweeps and fundraisers.  There are even Earth Day activities for kids with activities teachers can use to incorporate the holiday into the classroom. 


Photo credit: NASA 

Boston’s Marathon Monday

Yesterday marked the 114^th annual Boston Marathon, one of the top marathons in the United States.  Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot from Kenya won the men’s competition with a 2:05:52 time that broke the Boston Marathon course record by over a minute.  He also received the fourth fastest time in an American marathon.  The old Boston Marathon record (2:07:14) was set in 2006 by Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, a four-time Boston champion who is unrelated to Kiprono Cheruiyot.

A marathon is a 26.2 mile road race that began in commemoration of Greek soldier Pheidippides who was sent from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated.  Legend has it that he ran the entire distance without stopping and exclaimed “We have won” before fainting and dying.  The route Pheidippides followed was approximately 26 miles, thus setting today’s standard.

Another reason Boston was celebrating yesterday was because of Patriots’ Day, which is a state holiday celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine that commemorates the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolutionary War.  This marks the start of the war, and was proceeded by Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride.  The battles, which were fought on April 19, 1775, were the first steps to the American colonies’ rebellion to become a new nation.  Patriots’ Day, was always celebrated on April 19 until 1969 when the official holiday was moved to the third Monday of April.

 Photo credit: Credit: David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Improving literacy skills

A math class in Woburn, Mass., has started writing notes in plain English to solve algebra problems, going along with a common trend in Massachusetts to improve literacy skills among older students.  The UNESCO Institute for Statistics found that U.S. students in fourth grade score among the best literacy scores in the world, but by the time they reach eighth grade their scores are much lower.  By tenth grade, their scores are among the lowest in the world.

 

To help solve this problem, the trend in Massachusetts has been to strategically weave in literacy to all subjects and grades.  For students who do not meet the established reading standards, there are now targeted programs to intervene like the Scholastic READ 180 program used in Lawrence, which combines reading and Internet content.  Many districts are also trying to instill a passion for reading by introducing more contemporary books.  Experts in the field think these initiatives are crucial since after fourth grade students no longer learn to read, they read to learn.  If they cannot read at their grade level, they cannot understand the material and the probelm spirals from there.  Hopefully with this continued effort, American students will see improved literacy scores.

 

Ken Mills uses a diagram to help explain an algebraic concept to his eighth-graders at Woburn’s Joyce Middle School. (Mary Schwalm for The Boston Globe) 

Fundraising ideas

Paying for an educational tour can be daunting so many of our groups apply for student travel scholarships and look for fundraising ideas to help pay for their tours.  Fundraising is a great way to make the trip more affordable for more of your students.  Because fundraising teaches organization and cooperation, it also enhances the educational value of the entire experience.  I put together the top five fundraising success stories I’ve heard to help other groups kickoff their efforts.  Enjoy!

1. A group in Montana does an annual pie auction.  Every year the students bake homemade pies, and they have a professional auctioneer help auction them.  Each one goes for $300 or more!
2. A group leader from Michigan raised $6,000 from sending out corporate sponsorship letters.  She received donations back from her dentist, real estate agent, a car dealership and her sorority’s foundation.
3. Many groups have held successful yard sales (some have raised up to $4,000 in one day).  This is a great group activity because families who cannot contribute monetarily can still donate items to the yard sale.
4. Another common fundraiser is to hold a spaghetti dinner.  The most successful one I heard about had all of the food donated, sold $10 tickets in advance and they also had prizes donated to raffle off during the dinner.  Because the group didn’t have to pay for anything up front (they held the dinner in their school), they made over $5,000!
5. A group leader from Illinois holds a middle school dance every year to raise money for their trip.  Her school does dances once a month, so for the month of November the ticket and concession stand proceeds go directly to the school’s annual trip fund.

Student tour planning tips

Over the years, Smithsonian Student Travel has compiled the top ten best student tour planning tips from our experienced group leaders.  They range from starting to plan the tour early to building the tour into lesson plans to get students excited.  

We’ve found that the group leaders who are able to enroll the most students are those that both talk about fundraising opportunities with their group and advertise the trip around town and around the school.  We’ve found that the most successful tours happen when group leaders have a thorough pre-departure meeting with their group.  This is the best setting to talk about what to expect on tour and what to pack.  A tip for consolidated groups specifically is to reach out to the group you’re matched with before you get on tour.  That way you have already started to build a relationship with the other teacher before you actually meet.