In the middle of the classroom Thursday, they passed around pieces of pottery.
The Littlewood Elementary School fourth-graders surrounded a circular table, trying to figure out the historic background of each small piece. It was the beginning of an hour-long tour through the history of Florida.
The tour was the third in a series of interactive explanations the Florida Museum of Natural History is hosting as part of a program that allows fourth-grade students in Alachua County Public Schools to visit for free. The tours began Oct. 27, and before April 17, the museum hopes about 2,000 students will participate in the program, said Paul Ramey, the museum’s public relations director.
“I think that is fantastic,” said Sunshine Moss, a UF special education doctoral student. “It is incredible for kids who do not have access to the exhibits normally due to the usually high cost museums have.”
The main focus of the tour is the museum’s newest exhibit, “First Colony: Our Spanish Origins,” which opened Oct. 17. The exhibit focuses on the Spanish origins of Florida and how the state has evolved since the establishment of St. Augustine.
“They picked fourth grade because that’s when students study Florida history,” Ramey said. “The (museum) board felt it was important to teach students about Florida history.”
It costs about $20,000 for students to visit the museum, Ramey said, accommodating for teacher training, bus transportation, admission and classroom resources.
Keith Lynch, whose Littlewood Elementary School class visited the exhibit Thursday, said she wasn’t sure how much information her students absorbed because so many students visited at the same time.
“I think it’s a good idea, I’m just not sure it’s accomplishing its goals,” Lynch said. “There are too many kids at one time with two schools viewing this exhibit on the same day.”
However, Lynch did feel like some of her students were learning.
“Some students you could tell got a lot out of it,” Lynch said. “I hope all the history lessons are more meaningful now that they’ve seen the exhibits.”
