Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Kleenex Field Trips & Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History- Friday Fave

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Whether a lover of living things, prehistoric creatures, gems, or cultures, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is a great place to explore all of the above while providing hands on experiences for kids of all ages. 
Yesterday Little Miss Techie, Captain Computer, and I braved a hot, humid, code orange air day and ventured to one of our favorite Smithsonian museums for a field trip coordinated by The Motherhood and sponsored by Kleenex with fellow members of The DC Moms.
Mammal Hall at National Museum of Natural History

A field trip sponsored by Kleenex?  Yes! It may seem random but for the 2011 – 2012 school year, Kleenex is committing $500,000 to their Kleenex Save the Field Trips Initiative that helps fund school field trips as part of the educational curriculum.  Field trips are an important component of children’s education that seem to be disappearing along with art, music, and physical education as we focus on teaching to the test.

As a former teacher, I know that field trips are an important part of the educational experience because they offer learning in real world settings and hand-on instruction that differs from what is taught in the classroom. Unfortunately, though, one in four schools in the U.S. is being forced to cut or even eliminate field trips due to budget cuts, according to a 2009 survey conducted by the American Association of School Administrators.
The kids love all things prehistoric thanks to Dinosaur Train!

For our #KleenexFieldTrips, DC Moms @thienkim @MinkyMoo @wifeandmommy @ciaomom @noteverstill @teachmama @GoonSquadSarah @JanineNickel @thenagainphoto met at the National Museum of Natural History where we met docents, Donna and Francis, and Joe, from the Kleenex team, and enjoyed an educational day filled with hands on learning and fun on a hot summer day.

The hands on Discovery Room is full of treasures!

We started in The Discovery Room to find a room full of experiences that delighted the senses of curious kids of all ages. Captain Computer loved The Research Station and spent most of his time in The Discovery Room examining different x-rays on the light table and peering at specimens through a microscope. I loved the Discovery Boxes that held plastic boxes of insects galore.
 

One x-ray showed eggs inside a turtle!
Our next stop was upstairs where we stopped in the Forensics Anthropology Lab that is part of the Bones exhibit. Little Miss Techie was enthralled with the trays of human bones. She got to handle jaws containing teeth and Captain Computer picked up a hip bone to match to the standing skeleton. I loved how helpful the Smithsonian staffers were to guide the conversation about the kind of information that bones provide to scientists!
The kids learned that bones can tell anthropologists the age of a person
Everyone eagerly anticipated our visit to The Butterfly Pavilion that offered an up close encounter with a variety of different butterflies, especially when they landed on Captain Computer’s back and my hand!
Just two of the gorgeous butterflies in the Butterfly Pavilion.
A trip to the IMAX theater for a showing of Grand Canyon: A River at Risk not only served as my kids’ first IMAX movie but also conveyed the importance of water conservation through beautiful imagery that displayed the impact of global warming and man made dams in a way that made sense to my children.  They also loved that they recognized some of the songs in the movie since the soundtrack was by Dave Matthews!
This creepy crawly was fun to hold and had a hard shell and tons of legs!
Sitting around the table during lunch, I couldn’t help think of all the fun I used to have as a kid on elementary school field trips. It was always great to get out of the classroom but I think the strong positive memories I have come from the hands on and real world experiences that were a departure from the routine of paper, pencil, and textbook learning.

As a former teacher and parent, I’m so glad that Kleenex is investing in education by ensuring that field trips remain as part of educational experience for children across the country. Here’s some additional information about Kleenex’s Save the Field Trips Initiative and how to receive funds for your school’s field trips:

The Kleenex brand Back to School Sweepstakes will award 100 schools a $5,000 award to be used toward field trips during the 2011 – 2012 school year. Starting in July, consumers can enter the sweepstakes with a few simple steps:
  • Visit www.Facebook.com/Kleenex
  • Click on the “Back to School” tab at the top of the page
  • Vote for your favorite participating school    -or-
  • Register the school of your choice by clicking the “Add a School” box and filling out the digital
  • registration form
Parting gifts included the new Kleenex packs- perfect for backpacks & purses! 
#KleenexFieldTrips is a campaign coordinated by The Motherhood.  Kleenex sponsored admission to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is free but our tickets to The Butterfly Pavilion and IMAX, as well as vouchers for lunch, were provided. I am receiving compensation for my involvement in the campaign but all opinions are my own.

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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

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Comments

  1. MyLifeAsItIs says

    Love, love, love that Kleenex is helping to save the Field Trips! As a mom and former teacher, I love chaperoning and going with my students!

  2. Elena @CiaoMom says

    It was such a great event for so many reasons! Principessa is still talking about it! I am almost afraid to show her the pictures for fear that she will never end 🙂

  3. Alexis says

    Looks like it was a great field trip for all! I love all the museums and can’t wait to get to DC with my kids sometime soon!