Create Beautiful DesignsSection #3: STEM Class Museums & Science Fairs in Elementary Education
Introduction In this section we are going to explore the use and educational value of class museums and science fairs in elementary education. Class museums are science or STEM exhibits, activities and artifacts that your students would research, design and create in order to share with peers, other students in the school and family members. Class STEM museums may revolve around a specific themes related to your curricula or be student centered and created around their particular STEM interests and curiosities. Science fairs exist in both traditional competitive and alternative (community sharing) formats where students explore science and STEM topics and phenomenon more formally through experiments and the scientific method. Both are presented in more detail in the following sections. Class Museums Class museums are an excellent way for elementary educators to have their students explore STEM topics and learning. The creation of a STEM museum allows your students to explore their own topics and interests within a common theme. For example, class museums may be built around the topics of dinosaurs, wildlife, or volcanoes. In each of these examples individual or teams of students research, design and create a class museum exhibit and demonstration that they can share with the rest of their class, school and/or families. Teachers often find that student engagement within the process of building the class museum is high though some students will need support, materials and guidance to successfully complete their class museum exhibit. Class museums can also include family elements where students are working on exhibits and activities at home. Finally, class museums are an effective way to begin modeling the use of science fairs described in the next section. Traditional and Community-Based Science Fairs In the photo above and video below, you can see students engaged within the traditional science fair. As defined earlier, in science fairs, students explore STEM topics and phenomena more formally using the scientific method as a framework for research and public sharing. It is important to note that scientists and other STEM professionals differ in how they pursue research and methodologies that are often significantly different than the scientific method we teach in schools. However, the scientific method is still a useful tool for young scientists and STEM designers to use when creating and sharing their work within science fairs. Consider how these students designed and shared their science fair research in Austin, Texas: A Few Science Fair Presentations - 2016Links to an external site. When considering the use of class museums and science fairs, two community sharing events are recommended. In the fall, teachers should consider creating a class museum or non-competitive science fair around common themes here the process of creating class/school exhibits and displays is directly scaffolded by teachers to ensure student success in the research, design and sharing process. Then, during the spring term, a traditional science fair would be organized that allow your students to individually explore the STEM research, design and sharing skills you taught in the fall. Teachers should consider the advantages and disadvantages of using either traditional competitive or alternative community-based science fairs based on the educational needs of their students and community norms of the school you are teaching in. Community-based and non-competitive science fairs are often best at the elementary level and set the stage for more traditional and competitive STEM fairs at the middle and high-school levels. Either way, in choosing between class museums and science fairs, find ways to inspire and nurture the natural curiosities your students may have about science, nature and engineering. (Links to an external site.) Reflection QuestionsAfter reviewing the information on class museums and science fairs consider these reflection questions on multicultural education and (STEM)2:
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