Wow.....my legs are tired.
Yesterday was my first day, and I had an orientation and was trained on one station. Today, the education department was short staffed. So.... I was on my one station ALL DAY! I worked in the No Bone Zone, which is an invertebrate touch tank. I have learned a lot about various sea stars, anemones, and sea cucumbers. Pretty cool, but somewhat monotonous! The cucumbers are my favorite! They have an appearance that seems somewhat hard, rocky, or prickly, but they are actually extremely squishy. It's fun to watch children think that they are touching something hard, only to find it's more like a big marshmallow.
It's funny--I can't stop the inquiry-based educator-ness! Right before a kid would touch the cucumber, I would ask them if they thought it was hard or soft, and then why. They would almost always say that it looked hard because of it's spines. Then when they felt it and freaked out when it as squishy, I would ask why they thought it would have spines if it was squishy. They would usually correctly say that the "fake" spines acted to scare of predators... very cool!
I think you described me when you mentioned the kids reaction to the sea cucumber! I was the same way when I first held one, I thought it was like a rock or something. Its awesome to see how kids process and understand things like the purpose of the "fake spikes". Sounds like you have a fun internship, I look forward to following you!
ReplyDeleteThis is so awesome! I totally relate to standing on your station all day. My feet were so sore after being up all day in my museum, but I really enjoyed teaching the students about physical health! Looking forward to sharing learning experiences with you and keeping updated on your experiences.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so exciting katherine. I've never held a sea cucumber before after reading your post you made me want to go to an aquarium. Look on the bright side at least your active and moving around, less working out you have to do. Im just like you when you describe the "educator-ness" im always asking my students to make observations and to tell me why they think the way they do. Anyways im glad you're having a great time hope you have a calm rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteI relate to both you and Jacob about being on your legs all day! It's tough work but your internship sounds super fun! I've never actually seen a sea cucumber, much less held one, I bet it was pretty fun seeing all the reactions from the kids. Can't wait to hear more from your experiences!
ReplyDeleteIt's fantastic when the kids get engaged, it's probably my favorite part of the informal setting, just being able to get them engaged in ways that just aren't possible in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're having fun in there though, your internship always sounds so cool!