Every other school year, Primary School students participate in a year-long student-created museum project. For one week, the Primary School opens its doors to the broader community, and student docents lead visitors through the school showcasing student work, models, artifacts and hands-on exhibits.
In preparation for this grand event, students and teachers commit several months of research on a topic of importance to the school and surrounding community. Students become content experts and synthesize their findings, create an exhibition plan and design displays.
Through this unique learning model, students also become teachers and initiators of inquiry-based learning. The concept behind this project is based on the work of educator Peg Koetsch and author of Learning on Display, Linda D’Acquisto. The objectives of a museum project are to:
- Motivate students to develop life-long learning skills.
- Facilitate in-depth comprehension of a subject by applying and communicating students’ knowledge through a variety of media and methods.
- Create interdisciplinary, interactive environments which meet the needs and stimulate the learning of a variety of learners.
- Establish networks between schools, museums, and communities for the purpose of sharing resources.
- Build an understanding of how the world developed, our relationships with it and our responsibilities to it.
See What’s In Store this Year!
“Around the World in 175 Days”: May 4 – May 8, 2015
This year’s Museum will open on Monday, May 4, and will run through Friday, May 8. In honor of Prairie’s 50th Anniversary, the Primary School Student Council will also host a special exhibit, “Past, Present, Future!” taking us back through the school’s history. Event Details …
Previous Museum Projects
- 2000: Oceans
- 2002: Habitats Around the World
- 2004: Celebrate America
- 2006: Books, Alive!
- 2008: The Spirit of Adventure
- 2011: No Place Like Home
- 2013: Window to the World!
Photo Gallery
