We have seen more than our fair share of blustery blowing snow and bone-chilling cold this winter! Let's hope that as you dig yourself out of this wild Iowa winter, this issue of Education e-News gets you thinking of blooming flowers, warm sunny skies and upcoming spring field studies!
If you know of a great field study program or educational Web site that you feel should be featured in a future issue of Education e-News, please contact me at lwagner@silosandsmokestacks.org.
Think springtime and enjoy!
Lynne Wagner, Education Coordinator, SSNHA |
| A Step Back in Time |
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When students enter Montauk they are asked, "What would you do for entertainment if you lived in this home with no electricity?" After realizing this means no television, video games or Internet, they look closer at the furnishings and start to notice the books, a piano and painting utensils. With this new awareness, the students begin to take a step back in time as they tour the 1874 family home of Iowa's 12th Governor, William Larrabee.
When students arrive, they are greeted in the Carriage House and shown a video that introduces the Larrabee family and their home. Sounds of cows mooing and chickens clucking help students grasp that this was a working farm, and while the family was wealthy, the children still had chores to do on the farm. Throughout the tour, students are asked to compare and contrast their own lifestyle to that of the Larrabee family.
The Larrabee's were quite involved in the development of Clermont too. If time allows, groups may tour the museum (located in the Larrabee Bank building), the Larrabee School and the Union Sunday School (where children can try their hand at cranking the last working Kimball Pipe Organ in the U.S.)!
 Your class can also explore country school life from walking the half-mile to the schoolhouse to writing on a slate board. This experience will surely complete the transition back in time.
For more information on this FREE tour, contact Nadine West, Site Manager at (563) 423-7173 or montauk@acegroup.cc. Also, visit www.iowahistory.org and click on Historic Sites.
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| Media Corner |
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 Did you know that over 90% of Iowa's land is used for agriculture? Celebrate Iowa's role in American agriculture during National Ag Week, March 16-22! Visit www.CampSilos.org and click on Farming Today & Tomorrow to explore a day in the life of a farmer, learn how GPS technology is used on farms today and uncover what exactly value-added agriculture is. Want more? Just click on the Ag Resource Library for links to other great Web sites! |
| An Artistic Adventure |
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 On this particular day inside Junior Gallery I, a group of preschoolers could be found fishing in the Caribbean, carving images on cave rocks, participating in an archeological dig and viewing life through Grant Wood's eyes in the one-room school, by creating masterpieces through a virtual painting simulation or driving a tractor through his paintings.
When they arrived, the docent told them that they were going on an adventure. They now know that he wasn't kidding. Visitors to the Waterloo Center for the Arts Phelps Youth Pavilion can experience a range of activities from milking a cow to traveling to other countries such as Iran, Mexico or China. This exciting destination, which is now open for school tours, has something to engage students of all ages.
As the group continued their adventure, they found themselves in another gallery where the current exhibits display works of art featuring animals. There is Iowa artist, Bonnie Koloc, who creates songs and poems to go with each farm animal print and classical composer Saint-Saën's "Carnival of the Animals" which echoed in the background. Not to mention elaborate animal costumes for students to try on.
Their tour concluded inside Junior Gallery III where they became actors donning various roles onstage, artists completing self-portraits, museum curators carefully choosing pieces to include in an exhibition or world travelers immersing themselves in the  culture as they listened to music, tried on clothing and viewed artwork from each region.
Their adventure took them back in time and around the world, now the only question to ask is where will yours take you?
For more information about this site, contact Bonnie Winninger, Education Director at (319)291-4490 or bonnie.winninger@waterloo-ia.org. Also visit www.waterloocenterforthearts.org.
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| ICN Courses Available |
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Be sure to sign up for these ICN sessions presented by SSNHA partners in collaboration with IPTV's K-12 Connections this spring! Visit www.k12connections.iptv.org to register.
Iowa History Through Photos
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
March 25
Grades: 3-6
Pioneers of the Prairie
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
March 20 & 27
Grades: 3-6
Start with Seeds
Member of the Iowa Ag Awareness Coalition: ISU Extension
April 17
Grades: K-1
Traveling Seeds
Member of the Iowa Ag Awareness Coalition: ISU Extension
April 17
Grades: 2-3
Adventures in Ag! Reading Series: Garden in a Glove
Iowa Ag Awareness Coalition
April 18
Grades: PreK-2
Adventures in Ag! Reading Series: I Drive a Tractor
Iowa Ag Awareness Coalition
May 2
Grades: PreK-2 |
"Play is essential for learning and human development. When children play, they learn to solve problems, make decisions, express themselves and communicate with others, and recognize boundaries. Children who play do better in school and become more successful adults."
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 Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 37 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Through the network of sites, programs and events, the Heritage Area's mission is to interpret farm life, agribusiness and rural communities - past and present. | |
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