NC+History+Museum+-+Brittany+W.

Part I. As a visitor of the museum what part of the exhibit was your favorite and why? Did you find anything surprising in terms of our state's history?

My favorite part of the exhibit was the area that recounted the Wilmington Race Riots, specifically because that is the lesson that my partner and I are focusing on for the mini lesson assignment. The thing that really got to me was the right and left arrows that pointed the direction for whites and coloreds to go. The fact that this really was a reality in NC was a bit surreal. I actually took a few notes from the information found on the exhibit. I really didn’t find anything surprising in terms of our state’s history. I took a NC History course 2 years ago, and all of the things in the exhibit were things we learned about in that course.

Part II. (answer the following questions) 1. **How would you prep your students prior to their visit to the museum?**

Before going to the museum I would make sure that all of my students have some knowledge on key events that happened in NC. Going to the museum would be apart of a unit that I want to teach and it would be midways through, so my students would already have background info on some of the events that they are going to see.

2. **As a teacher how would you guide your students through the exhibits? (would you provide them with worksheets, scavenger hunt, what would they be looking for?)**

I would provide my students with a worksheet with questions pertaining to the exhibits they are going to see. I would have already gone to the museum and checked out everything, previously, to come up with the questions.

3. **Which sections of the exhibits would you focus on the most? Why?**

I would focus on the 1870 Reconstruction section and the section about the Pirates. I really enjoyed both of those sections. I really liked how in the Pirate Ship section you could see actual items that were recovered from the ship. I would really want to focus on the exhibits that were more hands on to keep my students engaged. A lot of students tend to shy away from history because they feel it is boring.

4. What types of activities would you create while the students are visiting the museum? (be specific and provide concrete examples when possible)

I would create activities where my students had to do a scavenger hunt. I would give each group of students a map and a starting point. I would then give them clues that would lead them to various exhibits, and to answer the questions they would really have to read the exhibits to find the answers. I would make it fun, but also remind my students of being sure to be on their best behavior while in the museum. This way, they students would be actively learning.

5. How would you extend the activities into the classroom?

I would give groups different exhibits to investigate, so then when we get back to the classroom each group would come up and present their sections. I would also incorporate writing and have the students write about what they learned and what they would change about anything if they could.

6. What questions or concerns might you have as a teacher taking a group of students to a museum with vast exhibits?

My main concern would be making sure the students are staying on task! I took a group of kids to this museum over the summer, and luckily we had ample amounts of staff to chaperone them, and the kids stayed on task. O fcourse kids are going to be curious, and are going to enjoy having some freedom, but I just want to make sure they understand the reason why we are there, and that they are still in school and have to follow basic rules.

Part III. Develop a field trip guide Create an activity and/ or a question guide for your students to complete if they were to visit the exhibit.

The activity that I would crate would be the one I mentioned above! I would split my class into 5 groups, and give each group a "mission." I want them all to have certain exhibits that they will be responsible for reporting back to the rest of the class. The groups will have assigned roles, like recorder, time keeper, etc.. and have to work together to complete their mission.