NC+History+Museum-+Mary+Weeks

Part 1: My favorite part of the exhibit was seeing inside the textile weaving room, and the tobacco warehouse. The re creation of these environments was superbly done. I was so enthralled in the artifacts present and the descriptions. I will talk with my students about the importance of these industries to NC's growth and prosperity. I may even get my students to look up what these factories look like today, so they can compare the re creation to the modern day. Are they pretty much the same? I did not find too much surprising. I did however find the unique artifacts very interesting. For example I loved seeing the tea sets, and the women's shoes from N.C.'s past. The civil war apparel and accessories were also fascinating to study. It is amazing the condition most of the clothes, flags, and pottery are still in. It is obvious that the museum is doing a fine job maintaining their artifacts.

Part 2: 1. Prep students by giving a lecture prior to visiting the museum. I would specifically target a discussion around the three big industries in the North Carolina. Another important topic i would be sure to discuss would be the Civil War in N.C.'s involvement. Lastly i would make sure to have a discussion about minority groups and their role in the development of North Carolina. Right before leaving my students would learn about the environment of the museum and the rules of the museum. I would make sure all students knew that their behavior at the museum would be closely monitored and that i knew they would do a good job so they could go on more field trips. 2. I would provide them with a scavenger hunt type of assignment. They would be looking for specific items in the exhibit that correlates with our studies. 3.I would definitely focus a lot on the Civil War section and the recreations of environments from North Carolina's past. Why? It is so important for our students to visualize past events and where they took place. I feel like i should focus my students attention on the recreations of past environments so they can better understand the past. This also allows my students the ability to make connections with environments from today. The Civil War is a large part of the curriculum and i think the students will get a lot out of investigating the artifacts in this section. 4.An activity that i want to try is called the picture activity. The students would be divided into groups of three. The groups will take pictures with specific artifacts or recreated environments. They will have a guide of items they are looking for. The items include the 1583 coin found on Roanoke Island, the Robson House, Coin Silverware, favorite piece of pottery, Civil War Artifact, and weaving/tobacco recreations. They will take pictures interacting with these items/environments in creative ways. They will have a worksheet to complete that includes questions about specific artifacts in the exhibit to go along with their picture activity. 5. When we get back to the classroom the students will work in their picture groups to do research on the items/environments and how they compare/contrast with today's items and environments. 6.Should we stop at the gift store? Is there space to discuss exhibits when the students are done?