National Museum of Natural History

After the Lincoln Memorial, we had a lunch break and ate at a really cool pizza place! The students loved it. From there, we traveled to the National Museum of Natural History. The kids had a chance to explore many parts of this museum, but our lessons for the day occured at the Sant Ocean Hall exhibit. This exhibit was all about how the ocean is a vital system essential to all life and the connections we have with it. We also discussed the many different scientists that explore the ocean and provide us with knowledge and information. Examples of these scientists are marine biology, paleontology, ecology, anthropology.

This exhibit had many great parts to see. One contained three open ocean zones--surface, midwater, deep—and students got to see the organisms and environments in each. Other parts highlighted current cutting-edge research that is updated annually. Also, students got to participate in interactive computer sessions which went over critical ocean-related issues that focused on environmental decision-making and the challenges associated with managing marine fisheries and confronting climate change. This part of the museum also includes the world’s largest and most diverse collection of marine specimens, so the students had a great time exploring that! We also got a history lesson in which fossils were displayed from diverse groups and diverse time periods to show how fossil evidence is used to understand the past.

During our journey, students to accepted the role of an ocean scientist and embarked on their
own expedition of the Ocean Hall in search of information, examples, and evidence related to questions that interest them. In the process, they increased their ocean literacy and their understanding of how science is done! It was a great experience that we hope they will never forget!

If you'd like to see more about this museum, check it out at this website!