One of the biggest scholastic events that took place at Sweet Home School before it closed was the Olympics of the Mind. It was a state wide competition in creative problem solving. One team, comprised of seven students and a faculty member, was asked to build a functioning chariot which could be propelled only by the limited body movements of one team member.
I began wondering whether or not such an activity could take place today, and reached the conclusion that there could perhaps be a virtual Olympics of the Mind in today's schools. With Internet access, however, students could Google the easiest or fastest way to craft a solution. The focus would shift from the process to the end result.
In a way, this idea from the school's competition can be applied to the museum itself. We do not want visitors to view the museum as a box stuffed with information. We hope that they would ask questions, interact with the environment, and ultimately come away with a deeper appreciation for things they initially believed they could not relate to.
I began wondering whether or not such an activity could take place today, and reached the conclusion that there could perhaps be a virtual Olympics of the Mind in today's schools. With Internet access, however, students could Google the easiest or fastest way to craft a solution. The focus would shift from the process to the end result.
In a way, this idea from the school's competition can be applied to the museum itself. We do not want visitors to view the museum as a box stuffed with information. We hope that they would ask questions, interact with the environment, and ultimately come away with a deeper appreciation for things they initially believed they could not relate to.