Hi Lonnie, I used to teach natural science and anthropology to 4th graders in a museum setting. I only got them one hour at a time, so had to get a lot into their heads before they left. Fortunately, my mentor was a master teacher who quickly headed me off when I did the natural “tell all” approach using the objects in my collection. He advocated that I instead teach the kids how to learn on their own. The objects were arrayed on five tables, grouped according to something common. (In my anthropology of Native Americans class, each table was a grouping based on where in life the objects were used: hunting, recreation, general tools, home, cooking, etc.) I would introduce the overall subject and give some back story. Then, each student had a worksheet with five large columns, three on one side, two on the other. They had about a minute and a half at each table to pick three objects, sketch each within that one column for the table on their sheet, write down something they thought was interesting about each object, and then answer the special question I had for the subject matter. Once everyone had a chance at each table, I would go through each table, introducing the different items and then ask questions about what they noticed and how they’d answered my special question, so the learning actually happened as a conversation. So, an example: For the Native Americans class, I introduced the idea of Native Americans, who they were, where they came from and lived, whether they’re still amongst us (I used the shovel incisors to point out that many of us have Native American’s in our family tree.) I removed the tags from each object (they still had numbers and I kept the tags so they could be reconnected… these were deaccessioned objects, by the way) and charged the students with telling me what the objects were made of and how they were used. I had some very obvious artifacts, but also had some real stumpers include the atl-atl on the hunting table. LOVED that one! I found this to be a very engaging approach and rarely had a fail in my classes with this method. I used an alternate to this approach for my summer class curriculum where the kids could go into the actual halls for their object hunts. I used some particular commonality to teach a lesson, but they had to observe and report the commonality in order to get the answers for their game. Good luck! Cecelia Cecelia Ottenweller [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 713-302-2793 > On Aug 31, 2015, at 3:59 PM, Lonnie Goodwin <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Hello all, > > I'm curious, can someone describe to me the differences between interpretive tours and object-based tours or lessons? I have the sense that object-based tours are more hands-on and interactive, but I was wondering if there are other differences. > > Also, does anyone have an example of an object-based tour script or lesson plan I could peruse? > > > Thanks, > > Lonnie Goodwin > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).