The FOS II classes at CHS have been learning about evolution, the structure of the earth, fossils and more. They took a field trip to the University of Michigan Natural History Museum to learn more about the content they have been researching in class.
Lila Sarnecki, a sophomore who went on the trip, said, “The most interesting part for me was seeing all the stuff about evolution and seeing videos of what life was like millions of years ago. And that was super interesting, because I both thought it was cool, and then I also connected it to the things we learned about evolution in class.”
Sarnecki said she enjoyed seeing the old fish that were pre evolutionary fish, because they had been taught. “I hadn’t seen it up close, and I got to touch it and see it in person, which is really interesting.” Sarnecki said, “I also loved seeing the geologic calendar. I think that’s a thing that people never really think about, like the times of different things. It kind of puts these perspectives.”
While at the museum, the students took the first 20 minutes walking around and doing a scavenger hunt that the teachers had assigned to them. Then, they had time to look around the museum as they liked. Sarnecki said she found a lot of interesting things while at the museum. “We took a picture inside of the dinosaur head, which I thought was funny,” Sarnecki said, “Then we spent half an hour trying to find all the David Zinn drawings.”
Sarnecki said that using what she learned in class made it more interesting to see things at the museum. “I understood it on a deeper level and I knew what I was looking at more, so I didn’t have to read as many of the descriptors of the things,” Sarnecki said, “And a lot of times, I just made inferences that I wouldn’t have beforehand.”
Tiffiny Moutardier, a sophomore who also went on the trip, said the experience was similar to Sarneckis, in the sense that it was interesting to see things that they had learned about in class and make a connection. “It was really fun to go on this trip,” Moutardier said” I actually appreciated doing something different in science for once.” Moutardiers favorite exhibit was the Michigan one. “It was super quiet, which is like a good break from all the other exhibits.” Moutardier said, “And there was a raccoon holding like a peanut butter jar, which is really cute.” Moutardier said her group found eight of David Zinn’s paintings, which are hidden around the museum.
The museum is a great place to learn more about what the students in FOS II have been covering in classes. Students who went on the trip mostly enjoyed it, and said it was a good way to dig even deeper into what they learn in the classroom.
