One spin around the web for every week of the school year
by Jennifer Binford
This week: Byte at the Museum
Woo hoo for Austin Museum Day! I hope lots of families were able to get out and enjoy some of the nearly 30 museums, art libraries, and gardens that were open free to the public last weekend.
We spent the afternoon at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum learning about everything from musket balls to oil derricks. If you haven’t been there lately, be sure to check out their Forgotten Gateway exhibit; it explores immigrant arrivals in Galveston from 1845 to 1924, when that city was one of the nation’s busiest ports of entry. I know the second graders are going to be researching immigrant stories later this year, and seeing the exhibit would be a great way to jumpstart their thinking.
Anyway, if you weren’t able to make it out to Museum Day, you can still while away a Sunday afternoon at a museum with your kiddos—online, that is. My very favorite museum site for kids has to be the Smithsonian. Start out on the home page just to get your bearings and pique their interest (for example, click on the Night at the Museum 2 link to find out all about the movie, including a treasure map of the artifacts in the film, interviews with the director and stars, and even a little feature on five films that memorably depict museums…oh, moms and dads, remember Ferris Bueller in the Art Institute of Chicago?…wow, Matthew Broderick looks so young…).
SNAP OUT OF IT! Okay, see what just happened? You need to FOCUS if you have a destination on this site—otherwise, you’ll be there for days. Which is of course fine…next summer, when you have the time. Meanwhile, you’ve got to get to the students section. Once you’re there, you’re pretty much on your own. Trying to link to all the interesting stuff would be like trying to make a list of everything in the world. Here’s a hint, though: start out on the Explore by Topic page. You cannot go wrong, people. You’ll be astounded by how much cool stuff is there.
Oh, and don’t forget to start lecturing the kids about how they have no idea how LUCKY they are and how when you were a kid you had to look at boring old encyclopedias with no games or downloads or interactive features. And then they’ll ask you whether indoor plumbing or television or Facebook had been invented when you were a kid and you’ll tumble down an I-can’t-believe-how-old-I-am thought spiral and need reassuring that, yes, you’re still hip and cool!! I’m sure there’s a site for that. Let me get back to you.
See you next link!
