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Courtney Madison

LBS 375
Due: 12/07/11
Reflective Essay: Natural History Museum
Admittedly after a brief and superficial researching of the Natural History Museum once
our group picked it, I was concerned that the museum was not going to be appropriate for our
purposes regarding California history, society, and culture. I was happily mistaken in this
assumption. On the ground level of the museum, virtually the entire floor is dedicated to
California history alone. On top of that, there were other exhibits in the realm of science that we
discovered could easily be tied into California culture and history.
The California History exhibit of the museum was divided loosely into twelve sections
containing dozens of exhibit pieces, models, life size replicas of people and technologies of the
time, and even some displays and objects that were historical pieces directly taken from the time
period indicated. These pieces are put on display, according to the museum staff, after a careful
restoration process that the students can witness through a glass panel looking into a large room
where the restoration process occurs on a daily basis. The twelve sections of the California
History exhibit included Native Americans, New World Exploration, Spanish Outpost,
International Competition, Mexican Territory, War with the U.S., 31st State, Craftsman Style,
Agriculture, Land, Sea, and Air, Motion Pictures, and City of Los Angeles. The vast majority of
these sections correlated directly to this LBS 375 class. We were excited to see the displays of
Rancheros, a mural depicting the Presidios, live tools used in California agriculture, and life size
wax padres. The topics we had been talking, reading, and writing about all semester were

brought to life and perspective right before our eyes. This is how our ideas of bringing students
to this location began.
We found that the 4th grade social science and history content standard consisted of
nothing but California History. In fact, the name of the social science section of content
standards for the 4th grade is named California: a Changing State. From this discovery the idea
that coming to the museum to view this exhibit would be an excellent end of the year project
blossomed. It would be most sensible to bring the students at the end of the year rather than the
beginning or middle because they will have come after the students have spent the entire year
working with the topics displayed at the museum. The topics, displays, and information will hold
more meaning because as they view the exhibit, they will recollect the activities, reading, and
discussions from class. Actually seeing and touching the history they have been working with
also has the potential of helping students make life long retention and understanding of the
information provided. We also found that this grade level had Language Arts content standards in
writing book reports. Rather than having the students write from a boring book that they cannot
relate to, we twisted to parameters of a report to being interactive and solely based upon the
museum trip. Instead of a book report, the students would come each with a disposable camera to
take pictures and detailed notes on two of their favorite or the most interesting displays. The
teacher would develop the pictures and bring the children their pictures to do a small report on
one of the two displays they looked so closely at and write a small report on it to share with the
class with the pictures posted artfully on a poster board with captions. This trip would not only
bring to life their previous lessons, but it also evokes thought, solidifies their understanding and
long term retention of the subject, and sets the ground work for amazing written work that means
something to them because they experienced rather than parrot the information.

As we continued to go through the museum for fun, we realized that the history and
social parameters of California did not stop at the California exhibit. As we looked through the
Dinosaurs and Early Mammals exhibits, we found that there is a great amount of relevance to a
3rd grader coming to the Natural History Museum with a perspective on both science content
standards and California History. Although there arent very many, there are a small handful of
dinosaur bones found here in California dig sites. A vast majority of the few dinosaur bones
found here in California were completely if not partially aquatic dinosaurs since a majority of
California was under water at the time. We believed that it would be interesting and effective to
have the students break into groups based upon the time periods of the dinosaur and mammalian
ages such as the Jurassic and Mesopotamian ages. Each group would be tasked to find exhibits
regarding their time period with one disposable camera to be shared amongst the entire group.
The teacher would develop the students cameras after the visit to the museum for the group to
later display on a poster board. The students would also be asked to try to find a dinosaur or
ancient mammal from their period that was excavated in California, without the prior knowledge
that not every group would find one. Due to the fact that the farther back in time they look, the
more of California is under water, the less dinosaurs to be found in older time periods. The
groups would then meet in class to share what they found and whether or not any dinosaurs from
their time period were found in California. This project ties together the science of learning about
dinosaurs, the ages of the world, and the concept of extinction with writing and investigative
reasoning. It also gets the students to think about the idea that there were once animals that could
have stood right where they are standing that no longer walk this earth. This is an immense and
highly impactful concept for an eight year old child. This discovery is especially impactful as the

child stands looking up at the bones, indicating the dinosaurs sheer size, not five feet in front of
them.
This would lead straight to a discussion of how a vast majority of mammals excavated
were found right in the city of LA, their own backyard. A discussion could be breeched of the
students imagining what it would be like to live alongside mastodons, saber tooth tigers, and rat
type creatures the size of bears in their neighborhood. This would then tie nicely into the 3rd
grade science content standard regarding the extinction of these animals and the reasons for their
extinction. The students would not only be thinking about the science aspect of what dinosaurs
are, where they went to, and even their living relative. The students would also be given the
opportunity to imagine how severely different California once was, giving them a new
perspective of where they live. This fieldtrip would tie science, social interactions, California
history, and writing all into one lesson effectively and is therefore more than worth the trip as the
children would gain a great deal more from the experience than from the texts books they can
read through regarding dinosaurs alone.
The last exhibit that we felt was relevant to expand on teaching students was the North
American Mammal Hall exhibit. Third grade students will have previously discussed in class the
different types of global habitats and environments including but not limited to oceans, deserts,
tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands as is appropriate with the 3rd grade science content
standard. The students would come to the museum broken into groups tasked with finding 2-3
animals on display that come from California, where exactly in California they are found, a few
facts about the animal, and the type of environment they live in. When the students come back to
class, the teacher will have a large picture of California on a white paper posted on the board.
The teacher will go around asking each group to share one animal at a time, writing down the

animal and drawing symbols representing the environment it is from per the students
suggestions directly where the students say the animal is from. In the end, the students will have
a large drawing that essentially maps out the many types of environments in California. They can
then discuss what is missing, and the teacher can fill in any environment missing due to lack of
animal representation from the museum. The students here are not only learning about
environments, but about their own states vast diversity, which could be compared to the
diversity within the classroom and LA itself.
I dont believe that a lesson should focus only on one subject matter or content standard. I
believe that science, history, and language arts coexist and work together beautifully. A single
lesson could expand on several aspects of learning and make several valid points based upon a
single subject or topic. The Natural History Museum is a live representation of that belief as it
masterfully blends these subjects together in a way that retains the relevance of history while
expanding on the science of the topic, which created the foundation for academic discussion and
understanding in children that a textbook could never provide.

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