Yesterday, we opened our DoSeum to the first group of visitors- forty-four students and five adults, and I could not have been prouder of my 5th grade G/T students! Our host and hostess, Kendra G. and Garrett E., welcomed the two fourth grade classes and guided them to three separate areas, being careful to take just so many into each room. The 5th grade docents were ready to assist as the fourth graders entered, and it was so much fun watching the delight as their DoSeum actually come to life! They were wonderful docents!
Earlier that day, I took my students through some of the contents of this blog, beginning with my October post, and they had forgotten so much! I reminded them of the Padlet on which we first listed our "dream big" ideas, and of the CoRT Thinking strategies we used throughout the process, and I could tell they were pleased with themselves! I explained that- if I had been the one to plan a DoSeum- I would not have thought of having puzzles out for visitors to try. That was totally their idea. It's funny, too, that our local San Antonio DoSeum recently opened a "Puzzle Bar," and hosted a Rubik's Cube competition, so I think that my students are on the cutting edge in their museum-planning!
The fourth graders seemed very excited and engaged as they raced to solve the scavenger hunt in "Seeker Space," tried out unfamiliar puzzles in "Puzzle Parlor," and tinkered with technology in "Tech Town." My students showed a lot of leadership and decorum throughout the hour, as they assisted the visitors and guided them to other areas. These first visitors gave us great feedback as well! We had prepared a feedback form in advance, and both classes have already submitted very specific and helpful comments. For example, in Seeker Space, where students completed a scavenger hunt as they read projects on display, the visitors were given a choice of working with a partner or working independently. This was a little confusing to some, so we will adjust that by having all students work in pairs. This will actually free up clipboards that can be prepared in advance for the next group to come in. The feedback forms included a lot of praise and compliments for the creators and docents, which my students will appreciate when I have a chance to share it with them. We will have a good time discussing the feedback in detail, so that we can make improvements for our next five showings!
After this grand opening, we had lunch in the classroom and discussed how much fun it was sharing our museum! My students' comments were enlightening! Most of them loved being docents and enjoyed seeing the delight of the visitors in what they had created. However, they also commented on how exhausting it was to teach on their feet for a whole hour! This was hilarious to me! One student was suffering from a headache as a result of helping with the LittleBits and listening to an hour of buzzing! So we discussed a few ideas to deal with that issue! I hope they can hang in there for four more museum tours; we could have as many as 200 additional visitors! I'm counting on them to be proper docents for the remainder of the month.
After this grand opening, we had lunch in the classroom and discussed how much fun it was sharing our museum! My students' comments were enlightening! Most of them loved being docents and enjoyed seeing the delight of the visitors in what they had created. However, they also commented on how exhausting it was to teach on their feet for a whole hour! This was hilarious to me! One student was suffering from a headache as a result of helping with the LittleBits and listening to an hour of buzzing! So we discussed a few ideas to deal with that issue! I hope they can hang in there for four more museum tours; we could have as many as 200 additional visitors! I'm counting on them to be proper docents for the remainder of the month.
Writing about this class project on a blog has been extremely helpful to me. I needed some kind of reflection piece, and I also needed to hold myself accountable. There's nothing like "going public" to guarantee 100% commitment to a project! Thanks to all of my educator friends on Twitter who, week after week, inspire and encourage me! I hope to post a few videos of the DoSeum in action; I just need to verify permission from parents before posting to the internet. Happy EOY, everyone!