Visiting a science museum is a highly underrated leisure activity. Everyone believes that museums are where you go to see the relics of dinosaurs and replicas of an ancient man building a fire or working with stone tools. While not exactly wrong, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Science museums offer so much more in the way of educational, fun-filled activities. And it’s not just for kids – the benefits of going to a science museum extend even to adults and professionals. If you find that hard to believe, then read on to discover five little-known benefits of paying a visit to your local science museum.
Benefits of Going to a Science Museum
Some of the benefits of going to a science museum include being able to access a ton of educational materials, go on field trips, festivals, tours and more.
1. Access a Ton of Educational Materials
Science museums are an educational hub. At any local museum, you will find tons of education materials submitted by the museum staff as well as volunteer communities with the aim of fostering science literacy for people of all ages, level of education, and backgrounds.
Kids are especially fond of traveling trunks, a compilation of learning units made from authentic materials and plenty of hands-on lessons for them to get involved in. Other museums host discovery classes in local schools. Discovery classes are classroom-based and can be hosted by the museum or school involved. They are also a fun way to gain scientific knowledge.
2. Field Trips, Festivals, and Tours Galore
You’re probably more familiar with field trips to the local science museum because visiting in large groups usually creates opportunities for discounted rates. However, field trips aren’t the only way to experience a science museum.
Festivals give you the opportunity to explore different stations around the museums where you get a ton of hands-on activities to dig your teeth in. Festivals can either be attended by individuals or by small chaperoned groups.
Self-guided trips and learning expeditions are a great way to follow a focused course of exploration as provided by the museum. Interested in early fossil discoveries? Looking to learn more about the evolution of early man and the body? These tours give you the freedom to explore a topic in-depth with the option of a chaperone available.
Adventure tours are as fun as they sound. Because they are chaperoned by museum instructors, you get access to a wide range of activities and exhibits around the museum.
3. Fun-Filled Summer Camps for Kids
Most people don’t know this, but many local museums have a summer camp program for kids of all ages. Summer camps have always been a great way for kids to socialize while learning new things. Museum-sponsored summer camps can have themes like fossil digging, robot building, or even navigation, which gives kids a lot of hands-on experience that can be useful in life.
4. Professional Development Courses are Available Here
If you thought science museums aren’t for you because you’re not a child, you’d be mistaken. Not only are there endless learning opportunities here, but your local science museum also offers a number of development courses for professionals.
Teacher training is one such course, whereby educators can be given a more insightful tour of the region’s culture, history, arts, and sciences. This makes them better chaperones and better educators.
5. Plenty of Hands-On Exhibits to Go Around
Perhaps the reason most of us go to museums is to get our hands on the exhibits (those were permitted to handle, at least). There’s plenty of interactive programs and hands-on exhibits to go around at any given science museum. They form part of a very involving educative experience for kids who get to learn about their surroundings, history, and culture in a way that’s easy to grasp.
Bottom Line
So, what are the benefits of going to a science museum? A few of the benefits include being able to access a ton of educational materials and resources, being able to go on field trips and more, having plenty of hands-on exhibits to explore and more.