Project by Margaret Saunders (2018)
This master’s project was centered around constructing an educational loan kit for the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington. As part of the Burke’s initiative to update the content and curricula of its “Burke Box” loan kit program, a kit on evolution was needed to represent the museum’s ongoing research in biology, paleontology, and genetics. Drawing on practices of utilizing tactile learning and object-centered interpretation to teach children complex concepts in science, three core concepts and corresponding lesson plans were developed to teach students about the fossil record, biodiversity and genetic variation, and natural selection. Thirty-six objects were chosen to represent these concepts and were packaged according to best practices for preserving teaching collections and traveling objects.
Keywords: Class of 2018, museum, museum studies, museology, education, learning collections, objects, education kit, loan kit, educational loan kit
Citation:
Saunders. M. (2018). Out of the Box: Building an Educational Loan Kit for the Burke Museum. Unpublished master’s project, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.