Prince Charming’s Day Out
There’s a thin line between learning and having a learning experience. The McWane Science Center, Birmingham Public Library, and Birmingham Museum of Art are three place you can go in the city if you are looking for the latter. They’re also three places our 4th and 5th grade Prince Charming students found themselves this January for field trips that were both interactive and informative.
On January 21st, 5th Grade Prince Charming students visited the McWane Center to explore how the world interacts with the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The students were free to explore McWane’s Science Quest area and interacted with exhibits such as the Basketball-The Science of Swish, Anti-Gravity Mirror, Pulley Chairs, and the Bed of Nails. The young men wandered from exhibit to exhibit learning about the different scientific disciplines being represented. The different levels resistance on the Pulley Chairs provided for one of the more entertaining moments when a group of students decided to hold a race to see who could get to the top the fastest. Little did they know, the real race was in choosing the chair with the least resistance.
Following their free time, the young boys were welcomed to the Rushton Science Theater for two demonstrations: The Science of Combustion, and Lightning Strikes. The Combustion presenter, Katie, called three participants to help her perform different experiments. Katie demonstrated for the boys how certain elements interact with one another to cause combustion, and how heat, fuel, and oxygen affects everything from the color of a flame, to how big and loud an explosion can be.
During the Lightning Strikes demonstration, students learned that Tesla coils are resonant transformers named after their inventor, Nikola Tesla. The young boys were introduced to Professor Tesla’s many technological innovations, including a high-voltage energy field where electricity emitted from a small tower. Three students volunteered to power neon light sticks without having a physical connection to the free flowing current. The students held the sticks near the open current from various distances in an effort to demonstrate how oxygen insulates conductors from a free flowing current.
After this display it was time to make lightning with the Tesla Coils. The lights dimmed as the current began to charge. Eventually, a silence fell over the room as small chuckles and exchanges began to fade. As the power that was being generated started to build, the room became increasingly louder. Then, all of the sudden, there was lightning shooting from one tower to the other. Purple and blue bolts filled the room and illuminated the smiles and expressions of awe throughout the room. The young boys were completely enthralled by the captivating presentations that showcased some of the earth’s most beautiful natural wonders.
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On January 22nd, 4th grade Prince Charming students took turns visiting the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Public Library.
At the Birmingham Museum of Art volunteers led the boys on a scavenger hunt that unlocked secrets within many of the beautiful paintings and displays. As boys were ushered from room to room, they carefully strived to get an up-close view of each item in the museum with hopes of being the first to answer each question that accompanied the outlined clues. The young boys had to rely on context clues found within paintings in order to evaluate the action, or actions, taking place and answer the provided questions.
Students then ventured to the Birmingham Public Library, where Vincent, a BPL staff member, eagerly awaited to expose our boys to the many invaluable resources provided by the library. Vincent also shared a brief history of the library and its different local branches. As students reached the mural, A New Day in Old Birmingham by Ronald Scott McDowell, they competed to identify the variety of inspirational local heroes, both past and present. While students were being escorted to their final meeting place, they recounted the peoples whose faces they recognized and declared that one day they too will be featured in the impressive painting.
Although the field trips with our 4th grade groups were cut short due to the threat of inclement weather conditions, the young boys still seemed to enjoy themselves. Educational exposure opportunities like these are imperative to raising well-rounded children. These opportunities, in particular, presented our kids with more than an afternoon at the library or local art and science museums; they were given a chance to the see the world, explore different fields and disciplines, and gain access to local resources in a way that they’ll remember and cherish forever.