Museum On The Move
Early Explorations
Calling all early childhood teachers! The Duluth Children’s Museum has launched Museum on the Move – Early Explorations. Six field-tested, thematic trunks are available for preschool classrooms and stocked with teaching materials. We include a notebook in each trunk, chock-full of activities tied to early learning standards. The trunks are loaned free of charge for three weeks at a time. 
Some feedback we have received…
- “Great materials in the trunk. Lots of choices covering several topics” – Hermantown-Proctor ECFE
- “Made teachers think of other ways to use the materials we had in the classroom.” – Happy Time Day Care Center
- “When I plan for next year, I will reserve appropriate trunks for my themes.” – Hermantown School Readiness
- “Keep them coming. Helped me set up more centers in the room.” - Spirit Valley YWCA Head Start
For more information, contact Jane Benesch, Educational Program Developer, at 218-733-7518.
Exhibit Explorations
Museum on the Move: Grand Opening!
By Jeffrey Maas, Curator-in-Residence, Lakewood Elementary
In the spring of 2009 the Children’s Museum received an education award as part of a federal funding bill. The funding was to assist the museum in its efforts to become a regional service provider for the Duluth, Twin Ports, and Iron Range areas. Outreach to local schools was a key component of those efforts.
In the fall of 2009, a committee was formed to brainstorm possible formats for satellite exhibits. Plans were developed over the winter to create a “Museum on the Move” exhibit that would focus on history. The exhibit, entitled “Turn Back the Clock,” was to be “field tested” at Duluth’s Lakewood Elementary in the spring. On Friday, May 28th, the Duluth Children’s Museum Lakewood Center officially opened for visitors.
The Grand Opening represents the culmination of many months of collaboration between various aspects of the “Museum on the Move” initiative. The four mobile display cases, centered around the themes of food, clothing, transportation, and entertainment, were created in the museum’s new fabrication department. Items for the display cases were selected by the museum’s curatorial department, including Merle Jean Eliason (staff), Judy Fredrickson (volunteer), and Brittany Bird (intern). I acted as a “curator-in-residence” to help feed the spark that the cases would create.
In just three weeks, the children of Lakewood transformed an empty classroom into a mini-museum. Through artifacts gleaned from the museum’s collection, storytelling, and art, children “turned back the clock” to discover what it was like to be a kid so many years ago. Kids were invited to tell the histories of their families and to add their stories to the museum. Through shoebox collections, posters, quilts, family trees, and narratives, kids from kindergarten through fifth grade filled the room with colorful displays. The center was open before school and during the day so kids could discover the history of their Lakewood community.
“Turn Back the Clock,” will move to a new school in the fall. Plans are currently underway to create two more exhibits focusing on science and math. For more information on the museum’s satellite exhibits, contact Rich Jaworski(rjaworski@duluthchildrensmuseum.org).
“Old is different from new.” – second grade student
“I learned about how people lived and the materials they used.” – first grade student
“I liked looking at the boxes because I want to be able to learn more about the students at Lakewood.” – third grade student
“(The Museum on the Move project) gave our students a museum experience many would never have had. It gave them a concrete example of how much things have changed in 100 years.” – Lakewood teacher