Submitted by Jo Falcon (not verified) on June 2, 2008 - 11:06.
I've worked as a librarian with many of the Teacher Institute participants and alumni, and am seriously impressed by the program. Wish there had been something like it for the people I tried to learn basic science from in the 1960s. Only the fact that I lived in Washington DC and could hang out at the Smithsonian -- another great place for informal, self-paced learning -- saved me from near-total science illiteracy.
The once science teacher I had who was really effective used many of the techniques the Teacher Institute does, including hands-on projects, humor, and modeling the spirit of inquiry -- what Feynman called "the pleasure of finding things out." (He was also a retired stage magician, which helped.) The Exploratorium nurtures that delight in investigation like no place else, along with a sense that you CAN figure things out and the world DOES make sense. That's a huge gift.
Exploratorium Teacher Institute
Submitted by Jo Falcon (not verified) on June 2, 2008 - 11:06.
I've worked as a librarian with many of the Teacher Institute participants and alumni, and am seriously impressed by the program. Wish there had been something like it for the people I tried to learn basic science from in the 1960s. Only the fact that I lived in Washington DC and could hang out at the Smithsonian -- another great place for informal, self-paced learning -- saved me from near-total science illiteracy.
The once science teacher I had who was really effective used many of the techniques the Teacher Institute does, including hands-on projects, humor, and modeling the spirit of inquiry -- what Feynman called "the pleasure of finding things out." (He was also a retired stage magician, which helped.) The Exploratorium nurtures that delight in investigation like no place else, along with a sense that you CAN figure things out and the world DOES make sense. That's a huge gift.