When I heard that our class was going to the VMFA, I was excited because I had never had a guided tour there or considered it for a student or whole grade field trip.
LIKES: I enjoyed seeing the bottom level student space. I thought that that interactive room would be great space for groups of children to explore and learn. I also enjoyed the virtual learning lesson of the program. I thought the woman who was communicating with us over the speakers was knowledgable and did an excellent job prompting questions. I believe that using that technology would intrigue students and get them to ask a lot of questions they had never considered before.
DISLIKES: Personally, I thought the first tour guide was incredibly boring. I think that wonder questions are great for kids, but I have noticed that sometimes the activities people demonstrate for us are run into the ground. After seven times of hearing, “what do you wonder?” it kind of gets old. I think it’s a tough challenge to model things to adults that are meant for children (i.e. keeping the same level of engagement). The second part of the technology experience was also hard to get through. We spent 30 minutes watching the guide click through links on the website, and for me, that was boring. I just feel like the time could have been utilized so that we could have seen more first hand items in the museum and learned more information.
In general, I compared this trip to our 2 science outings at the buildings in U of R last semester. I so enjoyed seeing the facilities that U of R had and I think the tour guides did a great job at treating us like adults, but at the same time showing us how to cater to our future children. Again, I think it’s tough to model activities meant for children to adults. All in all, I was really disappointed with the VMFA trip and thought that the tour guides could have been more engaging and provided more information/activities.
Hi Molly, The purpose of visiting VMFA was to get a feel for how teachers might organize and experience a field trip for students. I can see how you would really like the bottom level learning space. I feel you are personally connected to opportunities for divergent thinking for yourself and your future students. When you plan a field trip to the VMFA one day you will be able to work with the planning staff to structure the trip the way you see fit. That is why it is important for teachers to visit a museum site ahead of the students to assure the best optimal learning experience for students. I encourage you to go back to the VMFA on your own time to practice some of the strategies the docent used to help us think about the art. There are so many other lovely things to see and wonder about. Thank you for your reflection.