3rd Grade GATE Field Trip

The students showed their creativity by making various gifts and projects at Kaleidoscope. I saw fun hair accessories, puzzles, cards, etc. Then they played in the outdoor play area by the Crown Center tree. The students wrote about their creations and experiences in their journals when we got back to school.

2nd Grade Kaleidoscope Trip

We started in the free train exhibit at Union Station.  The students were excited to see Thomas and the Polar Express. Then we took a quick walk through the Hallmark Visitors Center. We saw many ornaments and toys from Hallmark’s history. We also saw a video by a Hallmark artist about creativity. He equated creativity to bravery, so we briefly talked about what that meant and how we expected them to be creative in Kaleidoscope. Finally, we enjoyed over 75 minutes of creative free play in Kaleidoscope.  The students made many creations! We then ate lunch in Crown Center.

5th Grade Trip to the Money Museum/WWI Museum

We traveled to the Money Museum and had a presentation about the 4 qualifications for currency (divisible, portable, acceptable, and durable) and how the United States works to fight counterfeiting. Then we had a guided tour of the money processing area and saw the three robots that move the money into the vault.  

The 40 million dollar wall.

A gold bar that weighs about 27 pounds and is worth over $459,000.

At the World War I Museum, we had an excellent guide who shared many interesting aspects of the war. We learned about why/how the war started and what trench warfare was like. We also learned about tanks, airplanes, submarines, and all the technology used in WWI. It was very interesting. The students were a great audience and very engaged. They asked excellent questions. We also learned about propaganda posters and how the United States entered the war.

4th Grade Trip to the Pony Express Museum

We started in the Pony School which is a one room schoolhouse. We had a schoolmarm who taught the class as if it was 1860.  We learned that there were some similarities between schools now and schools in 1860, but there were many differences. Boys and girls sat in different sections and walked in different lines. Students raised their hands to speak, but also had to stand up when they spoke. It was fun to step back in time!  Then we had a guided tour of the Pony Express Museum.  We learned about why the Pony Express was started and all of the challenges they faced to set it up. The riders faced many challenges but worked hard to deliver the mail. They have a special Buffalo Bill collection at the museum so we also learned about him and his Wild West Show.

2nd Grade Science Experiments

Today we read two stories and conducted two experiments. First, we learned about Friction Fred. Then we conducted an experiment by rubbing a spoon on our nose to see what would happen. Then we read about Gilbert Gas and conducted an experiment where we put a balloon filled with salt in a soda bottle. When we lifted the balloon to pour the salt in, the soda fizzed up and the balloon inflated. We recorded our hypothesis, observation, and conclusions for each experiment.  

3rd Grade Prosthetic Arm Inventions

We watched all of the videos for our SuperScience magazine and discussed them. We particularly enjoyed an article and video about a young boy named Aiden who made his own prosthetic arms.  He made arms with a fork, Legos, a violin bow, and many more.  He now works with engineers to develop other prosthetic arms that will grow with him.  Then each student invented a prosthetic arm that completed a specific task and shared it with the class.

His prosthetic arm invention can carry a plate and drink.  

Her prosthetic arm invention can carry various objects.

Her prosthetic arm invention can be used to play the piano.

Her prosthetic arm invention is a drum.