Tips For Setting Up A Natural History Exhibition
Natural history exhibitions are one of the best ways to get kids engaged in both history and science, particularly in the natural world around them. A lot of kids have a fascination with animals, but most of them will probably have only seen ‘regular’ animals like horses, cows, dogs, and cats, and maybe some slightly more exotic ones on a trip to the zoo.
Many kids only learn about the existence of animals now extinct through exhibitions and the things that they see there will probably stick with them for a long time. If you work in a school, why not set up your own natural history exhibition as a part of a school fete? Not only will this be engaging for the kids, but it will also show the parents how much you value and dedicate time to their kids’ learning.
Get Some Lifesize Animal Sculptures
Having some visual things to look at is one of the best ways for kids to learn and to conceptualize historic animals. Therefore, if you get some life–size sculptures, this will make them connect the dots between the theory of an animal and its actual existence. When kids are told about a dinosaur, for instance, it is hard for them to picture it as something real and not just a mythical creature. Why not get some animatronic dinosaurs to make your exhibition super impressive and to totally wow all of the kids?
Ensure There Are Engaging Activities
Kids often learn best through engagement. If you talk at them for even just five or ten minutes without trying to get them to participate, they will likely lose concentration. If you want to make sure kids are remaining concentrated, you should plan a few activities for them to do.
This could be a ‘true or false’ guessing game, or it could be a charades-type acting game, where they act out a given animal and their friends guess what they are pretending to be. You could even get them to draw a picture of something that they saw during the exhibition and write a couple of facts that they remember about that given animal or object.
Provide Some Interesting Facts
If you have some memorable, but impressive facts, these will stick in kids‘ minds and are ideal for teaching them things about the past. Tips for making facts memorable are making them short and simple, and if using statistics, round the number up. If talking about the height of a dinosaur, for instance, compare it to something they are familiar with, like a truck, rather than saying ’15 meters’, which may not have as much significance to them.
Exhibitions are great fun to set up as well as to run throughout the day. Education is so important and when kids are properly engaged, they love learning new facts. Keep them interested and reward them when they get something right, then you’ll be sure to keep them fully motivated!
