How to Book and Plan your Museum School Week
Booking your Museum School week is easy, but you must book early. Simply contact the Museum School Coordinator who will be happy to discuss availability of weeks and funding options. At least two months lead time is required to properly plan your Museum School week.
Lindsey FosterMuseum School Coordinator
Email:
e-mail (519) 488-2003
The Museum School Coordinator maintains a schedule of available weeks and links the classroom teacher with the Museum School sites. Once your Museum School week has been booked, the Museum School Coordinator will discuss expectations, provide you with information about your specific Museum School site, and answer any questions you might have at that time.
Next, you will be contacted by the Museum staff to arrange a site tour and begin the process of custom-designing the schedule for your Museum School week. It is important to maintain communication with your museum contact during this planning time.
$1500 per class. Contact the Museum School Coordinator to discuss eligibility and availability of subsidy funding. Bussing arrangements and costs are the responsibility of the school.
Journal writing and drawing are key components of Museum School, with students spending time each day engaged in these reflective activities. When students spend an extended period of time within the museum environment, they have the opportunity to slow down and really see the world around them. Descriptive writing and detailed drawing helps the students to communicate their ideas and reinforce their learning. The classroom teacher provides the journals, which may be hard cover books, or soft cover notebooks.
Journal Writing Information for Teachers (pdf)
Adult volunteers are required to accompany your class throughout the week to assist with supervision and help engage the students during small group activities. These volunteers may be parents or grandparents. Other adults who may assist you with supervision are student teachers and educational assistants.
Volunteers enjoy seeing the children learn in such an enriched environment, and find that they also learn from the experience.
Each Museum School site has supervision ratios to ensure proper supervision and safety of visiting students. This information is included in the Museum Site section.
Guidelines for Volunteers & Museum Manners (pdf)
Museum School Classroom
Each Museum School site provides classroom space which is used as a home base while spending the week at the museum. Knapsacks, coats and lunches may be kept in these areas. Some supplies are provided. Teachers are to discuss their supply needs with their museum contact ahead of time to avoid surprises.
Appropriate Student Behavior
Teachers are responsible for the conduct of their students while visiting the museum. Students must be closely supervised. Supervision ratios are indicated in the program descriptions of each museum school site. In the case of disruptive behavior, a class may be asked to leave for the day without a refund.
Evaluation
By connecting classroom learning to London’s vibrant museum sector, London Museum School aims to:
- Increase student understanding of how history, culture, science and the arts influence their lives today
- Connect and engage students in their community, inspiring them to be thoughtful and contributing members of society, as they continue to grow and learn.
London Museum School is committed to continuous quality improvement. To assist us with our on-going evaluation process, teachers have their students complete a persuasive assignment during the week prior and the week after their Museum School experience. The assignment may take the form of a persuasive letter, oral presentation, art poster or two-person skit and addresses the statement, “Why some school lessons should be taught outside of the school classroom!” The assignment is assessed by the teachers using a rubric that we provide. Teachers are asked to submit their evaluation package to the Museum School Coordinator within three weeks of completion of their Museum School week.
The evaluation package should include the following:
- Pre and Post Persuasive Assessment scores for all students (student names not required)
- Program Evaluation Forms from Teachers and Volunteers
- 10 writing/drawing samples from student journals and 10 samples from persuasive assignment 2 that best reflect the students’ experiences and feelings about the week