The FOS 2 classes at CHS have been learning about evolution, the structure of the earth, fossils and more. Students took a field trip to the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History to learn more about the content they have been studying in class.
Lila Sarnecki, a sophomore who went on the trip, enjoyed seeing the exhibits.
“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,” Sarnecki said. “And that was super interesting, because I thought it was cool and then I also connected it to the things we learned about evolution in class.”
Sarnecki also enjoyed seeing the ancestors of modern fish, because she had learned about them in class.
“I hadn’t seen it up close, and I got to touch it and see it in person, which was 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 puts things into perspective.”
While at the museum, students took the first 20 minutes walking around and doing a scavenger hunt. Then, they had time to look around the museum as they liked. Sarnecki said she found a lot of interesting things while looking around.
“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 found 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 things,” Sarnecki said, “And a lot of times, I just made inferences that I wouldn’t have beforehand.”
Tiffinny Moutardier, a sophomore who also went on the trip, said the experience was similar to Sarnecki 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.”
Moutardier’s favorite exhibit was Exploring Michigan.
“It was super quiet, which was a good break from all the other exhibits.” Moutardier said, “And there was a raccoon holding like a peanut butter jar, which was really cute.”
Moutardier’s group found eight of David Zinn’s paintings, which are carefully hidden around the museum.
The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History is a great place to learn more about what the students in FOS 2 have been covering in classes. Students such as Sarnecki and Moutardier, who went on the trip, enjoyed it and thought that it was a good way to dig even deeper into what they learned in the classroom.
