NC+Museum+of+History+-+Rachel+McSwain

Part I. My favorite part of the exhibit was the section on WWII and after. This is probably because I just completed my inquiry paper on nurses in Vietnam. Throughout the exhibit, the emphasis was placed on men, but around WWII women began to make more of an appearance in the exhibit. My inquiry paper focused on the Army Nurse Corps and I even found an advertisement poster for them.



Part II. 1. Prior to visiting the museum, I would prep my students by doing an activity with a timeline of the state of NC that follows the path of the exhibit. This way, they would at least have a general idea and some prior knowledge to build upon while exploring the museum.

2. I would guide my students through the exhibit by providing them with a scavenger hunt that would incorporate photos, museum employees signing off, and answering some fill in the blank questions as they move through the exhibit.

3. I would specifically focus on Indians and early settlement, pirates (because what middle school student doesn't like pirates?!), the Industrial Revolution and reforms, Great Depression, and women's roles in the 1900's (suffrage, entrance into the workforce). I think that these would be the most interesting to students, therefore they would learn more from these events and issues than others.

4. While students are at the museum, they would be required to complete a scavenger hunt. For example, when I visited the museum, there was a volunteer giving a short presentation at the beginning (near the glass encased canoe). Students would need to listen to his presentation, acquire his signature, and record one question they asked him, as well as his answer.

5. I would extend the activities into the classroom by having students take the viewpoint of a historical figure in history that they found especially interesting in the exhibit. Some examples are Virginia Dare, a pirate, an enslaved person, or a soldier. They then would write a letter to someone important to them as if they were that individual. An idea for an assignment that I had focused on the canoe at the beginning of the exhibit. The canoe was found buried under the mud in a riverbottom. I would like to have my students explore why they think the canoe was buried and what happened to its owners through fiction writing.

6. I would be concerned about focusing my students in order for them to gain as much as possible from the trip. For example, how would I group them? What would be most important to include on the field guide? How do I check for comprehension?

Part III. Students would have to complete a scavenger hunt while they go through the exhibit. This would incorporate photos, museum employee's signatures, and fill in the blank questions.

Some sample tasks or questions are -

How did NC Indians keep their canoes hidden when they were not in use?

Take a photo of the most intriguing and personally interesting part of the exhibit to you. Why was it interesting to you?

What were some examples of pirate's treasure?

Make sure to take note of the artwork in the exhibit. Most of the artwork that portrays Indians and enslaved people were created by white people. Do you think the artwork would be different if it were created by non-whites? Does this artwork portray people of color in negative ways?

Take 2 photos of different military uniforms from different wars and time periods. How do they differ? Why do you think these differences exist?

Take a photo of each of your group members "milking the cow."

Some events in history are quite scary and fear-invoking. Take a picture of what you think is the most frightening aspect of the exhibit.