By Mattea Ortiz
Excited gasps, enthusiastic answers and the rattle of fossils being fidgeted with could all be heard during an educational workshop for members of LEAP New Haven held at the Yale Peabody Museum on a recent afternoon in August.
Focused on animal adaptations, the workshop, made for seven- and eight-year-olds, featured a presentation on the traits of whales, monkeys, beetles, lizards and more, followed by an activity where the children got to examine items from the Peabody’s collection. Students then leave the workshop with an understanding of the physical and behavioral adaptations that animals make to survive.
“Outside, we don’t really get to learn about those types of things, so to see them engage with that and actually know different things, I thought it was really cute and fun for them,” said Meilani Salazar, one of the group’s counselors.
Fossils, antlers, taxidermied birds and insects were all available for campers to touch or observe, but it was a knobbed whelk shell that caught Joshua Banilla’s attention.
“Listen!” said Banilla with excitement as he ran around the room, putting the shell up to the ears of several fellow campers, as well as counselors, so they could experience hearing the ocean inside of it.
Also wandering the room was proud Tyrannosaurus Rex fan Quinye Turner, who had visited the Peabody in the past. She remembered the dinosaurs being her favorite part and was very excited when given the opportunity to touch an Aranthosaurus claw, which she said was “so awesome.”
“When you have something real from the natural world that they can touch, it brings these concepts to life for them in a tangible way that will be memorable,” said Gina Impronto-Rodriguez, Lead Educator of K-12 School Programs at the Peabody.
Impronto-Rodriguez hires, trains and supports the staff who facilitate the workshops, which happen one to three times a week, depending on how many camps are visiting. The workshop is also often paired with a scavenger hunt throughout the Peabody, giving groups another tool to explore the floors.
She has worked hard to develop six different workshops, with the topics being animal adaptations, geologic time, impacts of climate change, ancient explorers, rocks and minerals, as well as evolutionary anatomy. Different workshops are suited for certain age groups, with the Peabody providing workshops to 600 students this summer, 280 of those being LEAP participants.
During LEAP’s time at Camp Cedarcrest, Museum Educators also offer programming based around increasing the students’ comfort in nature, which consists of making friendship bracelets, painting, scavenger hunts, nature walks, creating self-portraits, learning about the layers of a forest and doing an obstacle course while taking on the personas of different animals.
“It’s really fun to just be out there and enjoy the camp space,” said Impronto-Rodriguez.
The Peabody education team shifts its focus during the school year. Impronto-Rodriguez’s work then consists of developing new workshops for the visiting schools’ field trips. This process includes one on one contact with New Haven teachers, and professional development sessions that happen at the Peabody.
After food and conversation, Peabody researchers talk about their work, give previews of workshop content, and offer gallery tours to demonstrate what is aligned with the current curriculum,
“Those nights are awesome because they align current Peabody research, what we’re doing in the education department, and then they align teachers with different grade levels within the same school,” said Impronto-Rodriguez.
These sessions prepare the Peabody to welcome 30,000 K-12 students with field trips and provide workshops to 10,000 of them, working to ensure that every student has a unique experience.
Remaining at his table for much of the workshop was Tommy Julius, who wrapped his arms around a case displaying two taxidermied house finches. He carefully examined the birds. “I wish I could have a bird as a pet,” said Julius, followed by jokes about how the finches were, in fact, his pets.
For more information, or to schedule a school visit, contact peabody.education@yale.edu.