Student educators at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum offer guided tours for elementary school students and communities.
The museum’s mission is to “inspire wonder, understanding and reverence for our evolving planet,” according to their website.
The museum offers nine different school programs designed for specific grades in connection with the Utah State Science Core Curriculum, according to the website. Each program includes an interactive presentation made by one of the student educators and corresponds to the curriculum taught that year.
Mckenna McLaws, a first grade teacher at Parkside Elementary, brought her students to the Bean Museum for a program about family patterns in nature — something her students are learning about this year.
"We talk about parents and offspring in our class and similarities and differences and protective behaviors in the life cycle," she said. “So it was all right together, all along with what our standards are.”
The presentation included videos, matching games and an appearance from Rosie, one of the museum’s live Chilean rose hair tarantulas. The kids participated by choosing videos, answering questions and discussing with their neighbors.
“They do a great job with the presentation and the videos and getting the kids involved,” Debbie Smith, one of the teacher aides with the Parkside group, said.
Leah Obarr, a student educator for the museum, led the kids in learning about differences and similarities between parents and their offspring — which the first graders are learning in their classes.
“It makes a difference to actually see the things that you’re learning about,” she said. “Whether that’s in a structured presentation with specimens and with videos and things like that, or just to be at the museum and actually see the things, I think that it helps remember things.”
At the end of the presentation, the kids got to interact with a few of the museum specimens, including a crocodile skull, turtle shell and a real taxidermy duck, all of which they could touch and feel. They then had time to explore the museum and see the animal exhibits.
“The thing we have to offer that’s different than what anyone else is offering is the specimens,” Obarr said.
The Bean Museum has more than 3 million specimens, ranging from giraffes to beetles to hippos to plants. Many of these specimens are in their research collection, but more than 2,000 are available for teachers in their education collection, museum education director Katy Knight said.
Every program offers interaction with the specimens and schools can access the programs in several formats: in-house, outreach and webcasts. All of these programs aim to make curriculum more accessible to students by providing interaction with the subject material and specimens.
The specimens can also be loaned out to teachers and schools for use in classrooms.
“Turning kids on to science is what we’re trying to do,” Knight said. “If they can get that wonder and awe and curiosity and start to explore themselves, we’re hopefully inspiring the next generation of scientists who can carry on this work.”
The museum hosts other educational programs and events available to community members, families and students. Free programs include family home evening events and community programs, which the museum provides to help people understand and appreciate the world, Knight said.
“The ultimate goal is obviously conservation and taking care of the earth,” Knight said. “When you start to learn more about it, then you care and then you take care of it.”
