At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, we know that children who are encouraged to use their creativity learn to innovate, and those who are innovative can have great success in the sciences. At first blush art and science look like different disciplines, but if you look closely you will see they share much […]
Mosaics were common features, in both public spaces and private homes, in ancient Rome. Mosaics are beautiful, but also historically important. Mosaics provide a visual record, detailing everyday life, by depicting items such as food, dress, pets, and people. This common art form provides a looking glass into the past. The mosaic below depicts several […]
The compass, historically one of the most important aids to navigation, helped to drive the great sea voyages of Europe’s Age of Discovery. The compass, a Chinese invention, was introduced to Europeans by way of Arab traders in the 13th century. Two thousand years ago the Chinese had already developed a primitive working compass. […]
Materials: String Material – 2’’ x 8’’ per student Scissors Hole-punches Something safe to throw – small hacky sack-type balls Prep-work: Familiarize yourself with the sling in Medieval warfare by reading background information Make an example if you don’t already have one Practice using the sling Cut a 2’’ x 8’’ piece of fabric for […]
Canning…. I should be excited about this in the spring, but I never seem to get around to it until the fall. Canning has a weird backstory. In a nut shell, Napoleon wanted to be able to better feed his troops during war. By better feed, I don’t mean quality. It was hard finding enough […]
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okra Ah, okra. Okra is one of those divisive foods like mayonnaise or Brussel sprouts. Some people love it, while others are repulsed by the mere mentioning of its name. It’s like a culinary four-letter word. As a child, I was predisposed to hate okra. Everyone always described it as “slimy.” I’m not one […]
At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, we know that people are as much a part of natural science as rocks and dinosaurs. That’s why we love social studies and maintain exhibits like the John P. McGovern Hall of the Americas and the Hall of Ancient Egypt. We find the development of societies fascinating! The […]
At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, we understand the value of education, as it is an integral part of our overall mission. The value placed on education extends to museum employees as well. Whether through offering CPR training to employees or encouraging participation in continuing education in disciplines in which they are already trained, […]
As educators, we all want students to understand the world holistically, but we still tend to teach each subject independent from all other subjects. Food is an effective way to capture the attention of students and provide a useful tool for creating a more global and cross-curricular learning environment. This global approach to learning has […]
I’m a dyed-in-the-wool museophile (no, I did not just make that word up). I love to look at collections of amazing specimens and artifacts. Turns out I also love to hoard things — oh, I mean collect items of great interest and importance. I like to believe my propensity to collect is an adaptive instinct […]
