Daniel -
We've had great success integrating STEAM into our living history curriculum here at the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation. The key is not to just jam in something science-y for the sake of doing it. When I was supervising our fleet of 17th century ships at Jamestown, I couldn't have asked for a better venue for introducing STEAM - simple machines by the dozens and math and science everywhere! From the pulleys of the block and tackle, to the inclined plane of the gangplank, to the instrumentation, astronomy and algebra of celestial navigation, I could hit them all!
Not all museums are lucky enough to have sailing ships; I currently supervise a historic farm site. There's plenty of earth science and meteorology in farming! Figuring out how much seed it takes to plant a field can allow an exploration of geometry and algebra. And with hoes, rakes, wheelbarrows, wellheads ... there's our simple machine fix.
The fact is, you guys are almost certainly already incorporating STEAM into your work every. Single. Day. The thing to do is make sure teachers know it. Find their buzzwords and use them. I don't talk about farmers making hard choices about what to plant during the Revolutionary War; I talk about "opportunity costs." I don't talk about using what's available, I talk about "utilization of natural resources." Same discussion, just throw those key words in - it helps teachers balance their opportunity costs - justifying spending limited resources on a field trip to your museum.
I did a panel on this at the ALHFAM conference last spring in Williamsburg - our paper should be in the Proceedings. Hope this helps. Feel free to drop me a line.
Jay
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John Templin
Museum Interpretive Site Supervisor
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Williamsburg VA
Original Message:
Sent: 09-20-2016 05:34 PM
From: Daniel Carey-Whalen
Subject: STEM standards in museums of history- Possible readings
For those interested...
the Conner Prairie, in conjunction with the Science Museum of Minnesota, with funding from the National Science Foundation created a project called Create. Connect! Create.Connect
Then Catherine Hughes, Brian Mancuso, and Allison Cosbey wrote about it in AASLH Technical Leaflet #270: Integrating Science at a History Museum.
| Createconnect |
remove preview |
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| Create.Connect |
| Welcome to Create.Connect, a new approach to integrating informal-STEM learning activities with history-based stories and activities. |
| View this on Createconnect > |
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Daniel Carey-Whalen
Coordinator, Museum Studies and Public Culture
University of Texas at El Paso
Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2016 02:44 PM
From: Daniel Carey-Whalen
Subject: STEM standards in museums of history- Possible readings
Hello all,
I teach Museum Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso and am currently overseeing an intern at the El Paso Museum of History. This student is working with the Community Engagement Coordinator and Curator to revamp their main exhibit gallery. El Paso has a rich history of mining, engineering, and manufacturing, so some of the displays and programming take on STEM related topics.
So... here is my question:
Has anyone had success or seen successful models for incorporating STEM standards into History museums? If so, has this been written about at all, either in academic journals, newsletters, blogs, or anything. I would like examples, evaluation of effectiveness, or just observations/experience with successful models. This would be for my student to read and incorporate into her internship.
Please contact me directly, djcareywhalen@utep.edu or reply to this message.
Many thanks,
Daniel
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Daniel Carey-Whalen
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso TX
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