Discovery Museum Launches Its 3rd Hands-on STEM Distance Learning Resource


Feel the Force laboratory toolkit provides all materials and prompts students need for hours of hands-on science exploration

Discovery Museum announced today the launch of its Feel the Force laboratory toolkit, the first offering in a new product series for K-5 remote learning called Field Trip on Tour. Field Trip on Tour is the Museum’s third unique distance learning offering launched since the COVID crisis hit, all developed to provide hands-on STEM exploration for students both at home and in the classroom.

Themed around the scientific properties of force and motion, the new Field Trip on Tour: Feel the Force laboratory toolkit provides all the materials, prompts, and instructions students need for hours of exploration of the everyday science, math, and engineering that surrounds them. It includes seven hands-on STEM explorations to prompt in-depth experimentation at home, in the classroom, or both. The content connects to grades K to 5 curricula, supporting MA Science and Technology/Engineering Standards. The toolkits are available to order now at an introductory price, for Spring 2021 student learning.

Thousands of students and their teachers have participated in the Museum’s live virtual STEM workshops this school year. Virtual Traveling Science Workshops are live-streamed, hands-on workshops led by the Museum’s experienced STEM instructors. Eight topics including Force & Motion, Sound, and Physical Changes of Matter connect to MA Science and Technology/Engineering Standards for grades K to 8. All materials are provided, and students can participate in real time from home, in the classroom, or a combination of the two.

Teacher Resources for Distance Learning are curriculum-aligned, hands-on experiences students can do at home or in the classroom. Explorations are themed around the science behind popular Museum exhibits and school programs—students can try their hand at building mini exhibits, explore simple machines, test chemical reactions, and more. All activities use easily accessible everyday materials and cover a wide variety of STEM topics and MA Science and Technology/Engineering Standards for grades PreK to 8. They are available for free on the Museum’s website.

“It’s so important to get hands-on STEM explorations to students, and with the challenges schools are facing this school year we wanted to be sure to support that,” said Jill Foster, director of school and group programs. “We are excited to be able to supplement teachers’ educational plans and provide fun, hands-on, material-rich, state curriculum-aligned STEM explorations that are worthy substitutes for the in-classroom workshops we would typically provide and the visits to the Museum that classes would typically take. Students and teachers do not need to miss out on their favorite STEM explorations due to COVID—and these new resources will support student learning far beyond this school year.”

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About Discovery Museum

Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum that blends science, nature, and play, inspiring families to explore and learn together. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and 550sf treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single, 16,000sf accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together. Serving families and schools from towns throughout the region, the museum is devoted to informal education that enhances classroom learning. Discovery Museum is committed to accessibility and is a proud recipient of the 2017 Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the only winner in the Access category, and a 2018 LEAD® Community Asset Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information please visit www.discoveryacton.org. Discovery Museum is a community-supported non-profit organization.

Discovery Museum programming is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

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