From the desks of Science Teacher Sarah Moser and Chinese Teacher Cathy Wang
On February 27, the Class of 2024 enjoyed an interdisciplinary field trip to the Franklin Institute. The day’s experiences built upon topics they have covered in Chinese, history, and science classes. All 6th grade students will have completed one trimester of Chinese by the end of their 6th grade year (in addition to a trimester of French and Spanish).
Students experienced the once in a lifetime “Terracotta Warriors” exhibit, which showcased the first Emperor’s fascinating and jaw-dropping army made from clay. Gaining insight into this terrific discovery provided students not only with information on its level of historical impact and the gains that historians have made from the unearthing, but also a new understanding of how the present links to the past. The IMAX experience “Mysteries of China” added to the students’ broad cultural and historical understanding of this unique exhibit.
Material they learned in Science throughout the first semester was also reinforced for students in the “Changing Earth” exhibit. They created volcanoes in a wind chamber and built a structure on a shake table, modeling what occurs during an earthquake. The “Space Command” exhibit included an area to model a Mars Rover as well as two Virtual Reality segments where students traveled through space. This, along with the Planetarium experience “To Space & Back,” provided a great introduction to the Space Unit to come.
The Franklin Institute brought worlds outside of our reach to life in Chinese, history, and science for all of our 6th grade students!