TRAVELING MUSEUM CALLS ON STUDENTS AT FRANKLIN

Students at Franklin Elementary School are developing math, science and social skills by visiting an interactive museum during physical education classes this week.

The traveling museum has 19 exhibits and arrived at the school Sunday. It is an extension of the Bootheel Youth Museum in Malden, which was created to let children see firsthand how math and science concepts are used.

"The museum has a hands-on approach that allows children to learn by doing," said Jim Watkins, principal. "If you can see something happen, then it becomes real."

The museum, which opened in spring 1996, is modeled after the Magic House in St. Louis and Memphis Children's Museum.

Museum employees trained 19 teachers to explain the concepts behind each of the exhibits. Teachers then trained fifth- and sixth-graders to demonstrate the exhibits to younger students at the school, helping the older students develop leadership skills and giving them an opportunity to apply and share concepts they have learned in class in a fun way.

"We wanted the fifth- and sixth-grade students to be able to explain what was going on in a way the younger students understood," said Watkins. "It definitely helped them gain leadership and other social skills, too."

Michael Heise, a sixth-grader at the school, said he enjoyed explaining the exhibits to younger students.

"It's pretty neat teaching them," he said. "With the younger kids you've got to save the best stuff for last or else they'll get bored."

Heise said all of the 19 exhibits are popular with his classmates, but the bubble maker, X-ray machine and magnetic sculptor are the top three exhibits. Probably the least favorite exhibit let students place bones on a skeleton.

The bubble maker uses a combination of water, dish detergent and glycerin and a plastic ring to make body-sized soap bubbles. The X-ray machine lets students view actual medical X-rays on a lighted screen and look for physical characteristics. The magnetic sculptor shows how powerful magnets can suspend a metal object even when without actually touching it.

One of Heise's personal favorites showed how mirrors can give a realistic or distorted view of an image.

"You can almost make a game of it by guessing what the picture is, then seeing if your guess was right in the mirror," he said.

Watkins said the exhibits have taught everyone something this week. Faculty members have enjoyed the museum exhibits almost as much the students have, he said, and they've also learned more about applying math and science concepts to their classroom teaching.

Franklin School parents got the chance to play during the March PTA meeting Thursday night. The Parent Teachers Association paid the fee to have the museum housed at the school for a week.

The museum continues its tour of Southeast Missouri when it heads to Jackson schools next week.