Somerville, MA Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Students Visit the Museum of Science Together as One

Students from the Winter Hill Community Innovation School and East Somerville Community School had the opportunity to come together for an in-person field trip to the Museum of Science on April 8th.

Citizen Schools Site Managers Ariana Eggleston (Winter Hill) and Alia Mehdi (East Somerville) reflected on their field trip with the students, together. Read more:

What were the highlights of the trip?

Alia: All of our students were eager for this Field Trip to the Museum of Science and could not wait to explore the different exhibits. A week prior to our Field Trip, the students took part in an Earth Science Webinar with staff members of  the museum which they enjoyed and found informative.

Ariana: Many of our students have been to the science museum once before and, upon entering the building, were pointing out all of the things they remembered from the last time they visited. Our students really engaged with the new exhibits and were able to each find a favorite thing about the museum, while being excited about the things that have changed since their last visit. 

What about the Museum was appealing for the students?

Alia: As we walked into the museum, many of the responses that came from the students were, “this is the place with the huge dinosaur and it has lots of animal skeletons”, “they have an amazing light show here and the planetarium is awesome.” 

After that, the students mentioned how excited they were to do hands-on activities because they remembered that certain exhibits were interactive. It was really great hearing their excitement.

Ariana: The students at Winter Hill were all very eager to go to the museum because of the hands-on exhibits they remembered; while a lot of those exhibits are different now, they got to fully interact with the museum still and learn new things. 

What exhibits did the students really enjoy?

Alia: Many of the students really enjoyed the Science in Park Exhibit, where they had the opportunity to ride on some of their favorite playground equipment (swings, seesaw) as well as trying new things. There, they learned more about harmonic motion, momentum and mechanical advantage. Another popular exhibit was the Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River, since the students were able to explore the relationship between engineering and nature while conducting hands-on activities. 

Ariana: Many of the students stuck around the lighthouse exhibit; an exhibit that teaches us how light and colors work. The hands-on nature of the shadow display allowed for the students to stay in that exhibit for a very long time, making shadow shapes on the wall. 

After not being able to be in-person for some time, how did this trip help bring the two schools together as a community?

Alia: This field trip allowed students from both campuses to better know each other and build a stronger sense of community. In addition, the teachers played a pivotal role by allowing students to visit the exhibits of their choice and interact with other students from Winter Hill. Both campuses are looking forward to other joint adventures! 

Ariana: Having an established relationship helped to ease the students, as we already feel like a close-knit community. Seeing the students look to their teachers for support in navigating those shared spaces was a true sign of the camaraderie each school feels. We look forward to future trips together!