A Morning at the Indiana State Museum

Today we spent the morning at the Indiana State Museum that offers lots of resources for teachers. Before we explored the museum, we were told of all the resources that are offered to teachers such as: field trip programs, workshops, and trunks full of teaching materials that can be used to teach Social Studies. Also, the museum has lots of historic locations throughout Indiana that have resources for classrooms or offer field trip experiences.

The museum is filled with lots of Indiana facts and history. You begin at the pre-historic ages and continue up to the modern era to see how time has changed within the Hoosier state. The way the information and artifacts were displayed helped me get a sense of how I can arrange work and themes within my classroom. There were many hands-on areas that allowed children to get a good idea of how something worked or was. One of my favorite exhibits was the Odd Indiana exhibit. This featured many unusual objects and artifacts from different eras. There was a piece of art that were flowers made from real hair, dresses that you could try on that enhanced your bottom, and then there were the sixed toed kittens. It was a very odd array of objects, but interesting to explore and learn about.

After our tour, we got to participate in a Civil War reenactment. Someone from our class got to try on a soldier’s uniform and then we all taught how to march. We learned about how the soldiers survived by receiving bags full of the types of food and items they would receive. We also got to set up a tent that four soldiers would have to snuggly fit into. This reenactment would be great for students because they would get to compare the clothes, food, and shelter to today’s world. It would help them visualize how difficult times were back then and how technology and such has advanced. It also allows them to be hands-on and up and moving.