Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers of all sorts: how are you feeling about keeping up with your kids’ education in addition to all the other craziness going on right now? If you’re like me, you’re maybe freaking out just a tad… Well, Vulcan Park and Museum is here to help! Starting today and each week going forward, we will have fun (and easy!) learning activities for you to do with your kiddo. Everything will have a Birmingham theme to it, and all activities have been designed specifically to be easy to understand and complete with materials you have on hand. From hands on STEM to virtual tours of our exhibits, we know that there will be something for everyone. Keep scrolling for a demonstration from three very special guests! If you and your kiddos complete any of our activities, we would love for you to post pics online using the hashtag #LearningWithVulcan!

Check out the Outreach portion of our website for additional activities, and look for more to be added each week!

Grace and Layla decided to complete the bridge building activity with marshmallows. Yum!

First, they chatted about bridges, why they’re important, and thought about some bridges they had seen or ridden across before, making notes as they went. 

Next, they drew a picture of the bridge they had in mind. Excellent artwork, ladies!

And finally, the best part: they got to construct their bridges using items they had at home: marshmallows and toothpicks! (There may or may not have been some snacking involved as well!) 

Great job, Grace and Layla!

Aubrey chose to complete the Build Your Own Monument activity. After chatting about Vulcan and what monuments are, Aubrey took out her favorite notebook and started thinking about what was important to her and what she might want to memorialize in her very own monument. She decided to create a big house for her and all of her friends to live in together as a tribute to their friendship!

Next, following these instructions for salt dough and using ingredients from her kitchen cupboards, she mixed up a batch of dough 

After letting the dough rest for a few minutes, Aubrey took her project outside to enjoy nature (and avoid making a big mess inside!) and molded her dough into her chosen design: a house!

Finally, she baked the dough in the oven to harden and dry out, and painted her creation for an added bonus! Great job, Aubrey!

We hope you and your students enjoy these activities as much as Grace, Layla, and Aubrey did! Check back each week for new posts and learning activities!

Lots of love,
Casey

Casey Gamble is the Museum Programs Coordinator at VPM. She loves teaching students about the history of our magical city, hanging out with her chickens, and thinking of ways to annoy her daughter.