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DOCUMENT RESUME SO 026 103 ED 391 774 Donley, Susdn K.; And Others AUTHOR The Pittsburgh Children's Museum. Study Guides. TITLE Pittsburgh Children's Museum, PA. INSTITUTION 93 PUB DATE 75p.; Funded by the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. NOTE Pittsburgh Children's Museum, Education and Outreach AVAILABLE FROM Department, 10 Children's Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Teaching Guides (For Classroom Use Guides PUB TYPE Teacher) (052) MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Anatomy; Architecture; *Art; *Art Activities; *Built DESCRIPTORS Environment; Elementary Education; Health Activities; Health Education; *Human Body; Museums; Mythology; Physical Health; Preschool Education; *Puppetry; United States History Henson (Jim); Mister Rogers Neighborhood; Ohio River; IDENTIFIERS Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh); Portraits; *River Occupations; Silk Screen Printing; *Warhol (Andy); X Rays ABSTRACT These five study guides present ideas for activities based on museum exhibition themes. The learning activities are designed for coordination with museum visits, but may be adapted for. independent use. Activities appropriate for preschool and elementary (1) "Space levels are indicated. ExhJition themes include: Exploration," whiz): explores the built environment and building's (2) "Warhol's Myth," which considers how American media myths space; (3) "Puppets," which reveal shared beliefs and experiences; introduces the art of Mister Rogers, Jim Henson, and other puppet masters; (4) "Riverscape," which re-enacts the hustle and bustle of a Pittsburgh workday of the past, for instance, children steer a boat down a theater-like set, loading fruits and vegetables, and selling them in a storefront; and (5) "Looking at You: Urban X-Ray/Self-Portrait/Stuffee/Heart Works" which views portraits from inside and outside the body and instructs in the care and feeding of the body. The guides include background information, instructions, suggested projects, worksheets, reproducibles, and when appropriate, musical scores, poetry, and illustrations. (MM) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** -tudy Guides to Pittsourgh Children's Museum. explorations Space U S. DEPARTMEN' OF EDUCKI-ION tfice of EatiCatiOnal , 60alch and Invovement Teacher's Guide EDUCATIONAL Rr .OURCES INFORMATION CONTER (ERIC: This document has been ,eproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made lo Improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OEM position or policy Feel mind and lkidy working together to nav- i_et the play begin igate a two-story maze reaching up into the 'lay is a child's work. The Pittsburgh Children's rotunda. Explore the buildings space with Auseum is dedicated to providing children with your eyes, mind, and iinagination. .xciting environments for active learning. This cries of guides will help teachers stimulate their tudents learning through play. Here are strat- gies to make learning fun before, during, and fter your visit to The Children's Museum. 2 A word to teachers Andy Theme tudio Silk KWarhol's Myths Classroom connections 3 Luckey's Climber 3 Before vour visit During your visit 4 After your visit 4 "Sky" sculpture The space you are in: The Old Post Office 5 (above) Background information < to Before your visit Courtyard 6 During your visit Changing exhibits Atter your visit 8 story activity sheet tf A/1 9 Heads up in the Sky Background about Sky 9 During your visit Surprises ator Ele PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Little in Store MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY 10 After your visit Theater! st ))1-7 11 Readings FIRST FLOOR TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Museum entrance INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).- Rotunda The Funded by the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. Pittsburgh Susan K. Donley, author, illustrator, designer; Lois Children's Winslow, project director. K. non- SINall )1993, the PittsburNh Children's Mum'uni and Museum lett. All $i0fq Re-wrved. BEST COPY AVAILABLE seum. On children use both A word to teachers Luckey's Climber physical and mental skills to navigate space. Think of this guide as a menu of ideas from The Old Post Office is one of Pittsburgh's which to choose activities to meet your own few examples of enclosing vast interior instructional objectivesyou won't have space with a classical dome. Sky celebrates time to do or even read everything here! this space with imagery from outer space. Several navigational features will help you The art u. sculpture uses space, as well as find the information you need at a glance: line, shape, color, and texture. /Learning activities are grouped for ap- The Pittsburgh Children's Museum also propriateness before, during, or after a dramatic performance offers Terminal Café, your museum visit. Consider doing one about the environment. Call 322-5059 to activity from each grouping so that your schedule an in-school presentation. students are prepared for their visit and able to connect their museum and class- Classroom connections room learning. /Titles of learning activities are literally Presi7kol written as activities. Skim through them Although most children realize Luckey's quickly to find activities that suit you. Climber is quite safe, some may be afraid of /Activities appropriate for various ages climbing so high. Practice ahead of time are marked: detailed belowshould calm their fears. Most preschoolers need little motivation to preschool (three-five-year-olds) start climbing, but might need encour- agement to try something new. The activ- early elementary (kdg.-second grade) ities suggested involve them in cooperative problem-solving using language, creative elementary (third grade and older) dramatics, and gross-motor skills. Besides being a great kinesthetic experience giving But don't let these age designations stop you them a thrilling view from above, the Climb- from adapting idea that suits your goals. any er is an ideal review of body parts and direc- The worksheets in this guide are not tional and spatial vocabulary. Children also available at the museum. If you use them, develop spatial skills in solving the maze. make copies for your students and bring Preschoolers can relate architecture to their them with you. Don't forget pencils! own building experiences by identifying the shapes the architect used in the Old Post Of- Theme fice building. Science and visual arts vocabulary can be used to name the parts of brings under one theme Space Explorations Sky. Colors, shapes, and textures are ma- three exhibits in the towering rotunda of the nipulated as they continue exploring space. Pittsburgh Children's Museum: Luckey's ntary Climber, the Sky sculpture in the rotunda, Ele and The Pittsburgh Children's Museum Elementary children enjoy releasing energy is hard to building itself. Luckey's Climber on the Climber and readily tackle spatial miss, but visitors often overlook the archi- problem solving on the maze. As they see siv&I tecture of the Old Post Office building and their world from a new vantage point, you the wonderful Sky environmental sculpture can challenge them to imagine other three- that hovers in the rotundas upper reaches. dimensional environments from different These diverse exhibits share the theme of ex- points of view. By this age students are ripe ploring the spatial environment and con- for studying architecture using science to veniently share the same area in the mu- figure out how the Old Post Office stands up and social studies to discuss how the building and its neighborhood have changed over time. Earth science images in Sky lead into the detective work of art criticism deciphering the meaning of a work of art. Back in the classroom, students solve science, social studies, and visual arts prob- lems to create their own environments. 3 2/Space explorations children to act out the storyor any other Airs"11 theme you may be studying (the zoo, circus, medieval times, the rain forest, etc.)on the Climber. Below are poems that may be used before, during, or after visiting Luckey's Climber. Every time I climb a treel Every time I climb a tree Every time I climb a tree Even/ tillW I climb a tree I scrape a leg or skin a knee And every time I climb a tree I find some ants Or dodge a bee titil.! .1 .Lv.t111.1E. and get Hit' ants all over me Every time I climb a tree Where have you been? They say to me But don't they know that I am free Every time I climb a tree? I like it best to spot a nest That has an egg Or maybe three And then I skin The other leg But every time I climb a tree I see a lot of things to see Swallows rooftops and TV Luckey's Climber And all the fields and farms there he Every time I climb a tree Before your visit Though climbing may be good for ants Preparing pre-schoolers for Luckey's Climber. It isn't awfully good for pants AChildren instinctively know what to do on But still its pretty good for me Luckey's Climberclimb! Most children re- Every time I climb a tree. alize that fact the enclosed structure is quite --David McCord safe, but some preschool children may be afraid of climbing so high. So, before vis- Teach children this Danish nursery iting the museum, build children's con- rhyme about cats climbing a tree and let fidence in their ability to climb on classroom them pretend to be cats on Luckey's Climber. slides, ladders, and monkey bars. Review The children can learn and repeat the Dan- the names of the body parts used to go ish line kritte vitt(' vit born bom: through the maze and 'directional/spatial vocabulary: up, down, over, under, left, Two cats were sitting in a tree, right, top, bottom, etc. Just before using the kritte vitte vit bom born Climber review some safety rules about tak- a cat called Lew, ing turns and counting the number of chil- a cat called Lee, dren who are on the Climber. kritte vitte vit bom bom. Now follow me, Tell a story or read a poem to encourage said Lew to Lee, creative play on Luckey's Climber. kritte vitte vit born born, Add a verbal dimension to students kin- tor I,ui loriger like this tree, esthetic experience of the Climber by telling kritle vitte vit bmn bom! a story like lack and the Beanstalk or The cd;o Spooky Old Tree in the classroom h,4ore your visit. lust a brief reminder will encourage Space explorations/3 the structure of a tree with trunk, branches, So Lew and Lee and leaves without resorting to the common climbed down the tree, kritte stereotype lollipop trees.I both Ihmt. Once down the tree to Lew salt! Lee, Construct an imaginary three-dimensional kritte z,itte born bom, environment. cM, Leie, I rather liked that tree! Ask students to name animals who build in kritte bom !Join. their natural environments: birds, bur- lip the tree, So Leie mid Lee rowing animals, ants, beavers, bees, etc. kritte born limn! Then ask them to choose an animal and Bodecker, frau,. elaborate on its building scheme to design A-maze your classroom! an imaginary super tree house, under- AYou can continue the theme ot mazes in ground ground hog city, an ant hill farm, an your classroom in several \yays. Set up a underwater beaver lodge, a bat or hear cave mate in classroom using chairs and tables to condo, a spider and bugs living in a garden create an obstacle course. Ask children to apartment, or a bee hive high rise. Two pos- demonstrate "under," "over," "through," sible methods for creating their environ- etc. in the maze. Ask one student to be the ments include: play-by-play sports announcer who de- Two-dimensional method: Create an scribes what is happening to the rest of the architectural drawing called a section, class as another child navigates the obstacle which is a eut-awaY or x-raY view of a course. Design mates on paper, then trade building. A useful way to think of a sec- to let anothei- child solve the puzzle. Create tion is how a building would look if one a maze with blocks and let toy cars or fig- of its outside walls was removed or ures go through the maze. If the class has a made of glasslike a doll house. Use 18 X pet hamster or guinea pig, put food at one 24-inch drawing paper and fine drawing end of the maze and see if the animal can tools, like small crayons, fine-tipped navigate the maze to find it. Be sure that the markers, or colored pencil and encour- maze is not precarious so the anithal does age as much detail in the drawings as not topple it and get hurt. possible. Three-dimensional method: Use a tall, During your visit skinny box as a diorama to built the en- Move through the Climber like another vironment in. Use cut, folded, and curled construction paper, cardboard, creature. ii string, and found ct,iects to build the en- As the children climb, encourage them to vironment and the creatures in it. change identitieN and move through the Des4 maze like ants in -in ant hill, worms under a play ground "make-over." the ground, spic-krs in a web, bats in a cave, Now that they have been inspired by Luck- moles underground, or mice in the walls of ask students to dream up new ey's Climber, (74 a house. Let children take turns calling out playground equipment for their school. Pro- animals for the children on the Climber to vide large paper for drawings of a new play- act out. 'Cjr6) ground. Or have them create a three- dimensional model of a new climber for the After your visit playground out of cardboard, found materi- Recreate the complex life of a tree. als, and pre-cut paper strips. They can build their climber design from a cardboard base Before class, glue 2 X I8-inch brown paper or build it inside a cardboard box so they strips down the centers of 12 X 18-inch can attach parts to the walls and ceilings, as white drawing paper. Read the poem "Eve- in Luckey's Clinther. ry time I climb a tree." Ask children to close their eyes and imagine themselves climbing a tree. What would they be feeling? What would they see? I lear? Smell? I lave children draw themselves climbing a tree and all the things they might see. [The brown paper trunk is effective in getting children to draw 5 ("iplOrall011S 4/S1)(1(1' was designed to be an impressive building The space you are in: The Old to show the power of government, but not Post Office so huge that it intimidated its customers. The public only glimpsed the awesome Background information dome inside through a screen when they came to do business. Only postal workers The building that now houses The Pitts- used the inner core of the building: the pub- burgh Children's Museum was constructed lic was restricted to the outside corridors. for 5900,000 in 1897 as the central post office In 1907 Allegheny became part of Pitts- of what was then an independent city. The ..s own downtown burgh and gradual] ..V t city of Allegheiw was established in 1788 as 1 character. By the late 1960s, plans were made to tear down most of the buildings, including the post office in Allegheny Square, and to replace then, with the apartments and mall of today's Allegheny Center. Pitts- burgh History & Landmarks Foundation raised money to save the building and used it as The Old Post Office Museum. They created the garden courtwhich vou max' visitwith artifacts from demolished Pitts- burgh buildings, including huge sculptures rescued from the Manchester Bridge. The Pittsburgh Children's Museum moved in to share the Old Post Office in 1983 and took over the entire space in 1985. Before your visit Experience how this building stands up. Gravity can either hold a building together (stones stacked in a wall stand without mor- 1276 tar) or tear it apart (the same wall tumbles if a careless opening is made in it). All buildings must be constructed to manage gravity so that it works to the buildings benefit, not its destruction. One of the best \ vavs to learn about how buildings manage the stresses of gravity is to feel them in your Own body. a square of blocks and streets (now Al- Students can do the following exercises in legheny Center) surrounded by a commons class before discussing how the structures in for grazing cattle and sheep. Allegheny the Old Post Office have allowed it to stand Town was supposed to be the Allegheny so many Years: County seat, but since it was still just a plan on paper, Pittsburgh across the Allegheny Masonry wall. In a masonry structure, River became the temporary counts, seat. bricks or stones are piled up to control When Pittsburgh held on to the title, a cen- and use the crushing force of compres- tury of rivalry between the two cities began. sion. The pressure of each stones weight The Allegheny Post Office overlooked is absorbed by the block below it until the Alleglwny town square with its loon- all the pressure is absorbed by the lain. Its neighbors were the Allegheny City ground. All the stones are in direct (where the old Planetarium now equilibrium when they are balanced stands), (_ arnegie I ibrarv1 vast market carefully On top of each other as in a house where tanners came to sell t heir wall. goods, and a whole variety ot shops, ;Il- i hiding the Boggs and Buhl Department reating an opening in a ma- Column. store. Ser\ ing a city of over 100,000 people, sonry wall disturbs the dired equi- _(e was busy at the the Allegheny I librium and the wall tumbles. Indirect ( ")._ i l I I enter of downtown hustle and bustle. It equilibrium mtP-4 be created with \Plobltiolys/5 6 beams and columns. The beam transfers is called a rotunda. Any ideas why? the weight of the [Think about other similar-sounding wall to words.l What are the columns, which safely some of the struc- carry the tures that take weight in- advantage directly around of the the opening to lofty the ground. To spaces feel how a column works have two stu- of the rotunda dents hold a stack of books as shown in the diagram. Who lasts longer: the col- at The Chil- eren's Museum? [Luckey's umn or the cantilever? At The Chil- dren's Museum try to identify columns Climber," "Sky."[ that bear weight and columns that are just decorative. How can you tell the dif- Decipher architectural clues hidden in stone. ference? While standing in the rotunda, ask students: What supports the ceiling in this room? Arch. An arch is another way to use in. What do you think this rooM was originally used direct equilibrium to create an on:.--ang for? WInf are the stairs uneven in the center? in a masonry walI. An arch pses corn- Which columns are structural (support weight) pression to baLinct its ow l,. weight anc and which are ornamental (just for decoration). the weight piled on 4.op ot it. An arch Where do you think the space was divided be- works by transferring weight through tween the public and the postal workers? Try to each of its stones, then into the wall be- find clues showing where the screen was that di- side it and the ground uoder it. It is easi- er to feel how stress travels through an vided the public space from the work space. Take the class outside (or wait until you arch than it is to imagine it: have pairs are leaving the museum) and ask: of students build an arch by leaning What shapes can you see making up the out- against each others hands. Ask them to tie side of The Children's Museum (point out the slowly step backwards as far as they can progression of geometric shapesa large without collapsing the arch. Stand quiet- rectangular box topped by a smaller rec- ly for a minute. Ask where in their bod- tangular box topped by a square box topped ies they feel the most stress. Most people by a half-sphere dome topped by a cylinder are surprised to feel some stress in their and another half-sphere dome). Which build- arms, but most in the ings do you think were the post office's neighbors Achilles tendons. before Allegheny Center was built (Buhl Plan- Look around the etarium and the Carnegie Library)? What are interior and the the clues? If the Old Post Office could talk, what exterior for do you think it would say about the changes it arches at The has seen and experienced? Children's Museum. Dome. A dome works like many arches arranged in a circle. Start to make a dome by having two people make an arch, leaning their hands against a large rubber ball (like a basketball). Keep add- ing pairs around the ball until there is no more room. What would happen if someone took the ball away? Once built, domes are very strong, but since they are difficult to construct, we do not find them very often. An igloo is a good e. ample of a dome. At the museum ex- plain that the space enclosed by a dome 7 6/Sp1ce explorations Ask children to use all they've learned After your visit about architecture and environment to de- Write The Old Post Office's autobiography. sign the Old Woman a deluxe shoe apartment that will make her less frustrated and GjZ)If weather and time permit, this makes a abusive with her children. good quiet-down activity right before leaving the grounds of the museum, otherwise it Create structures with blocks. is an effective post-visit activity for the class- Use building blocks to review the basic room. kinds of structures that allow buildings to Ask students to put themselves in the stand up: masonry walls, columns and place of the Old Post Office (The Pittsburgh beams, arches, etc. See how tall students can Children's Museum): What is it like to be a build a structure with blocks. Can they try senior citizen building? What was it like to build the Old Post Office? Where do prob- when you were first built? How have you lems start to set in [domes are difficult to changed over the years? How did you feel build with blocks]. Find examples of these about the changes? Was there ever a time structural types in use to hold up your when you were afraid? proud? angry? hurt? school. What do you think about the people who Adapt this activity to two dimensions. have visited you? What is the expression on Supply students with a variety of pre-cut life, your face? Write a short story of your construction paper geometric shapes to as- including the best and worst of your mem- semble on a piece of background paper. Or ories. cut geometric shapes out of cardboard, for print- Redesign a house for the Old Woman Who sponge, or potato to make stamps ing a building (see Warhol's Myths teachers Lived in a Shoe. guide for more information). Arrange the Living in unsuitable environments can be buildings into a town for display as a mural. sometimes very stressful for people, who react in unacceptable ways. What happened when the Old Woman tried to live in a shoe with her many children: There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, She had so many children she didn't know what to do; She gave them sonw broth without any bread; She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. 71All 110 , kitr Allcxliny Square, 111_* C. 1900. Came Nie Library, Pit tburgh. Space explorations/7 MY STORY as told by The Old Post Office to YM 0 Mt II IC 4It WHEN I WAS FIRST BUILT IN 1897, I never expected to see so much change in my life.... w , LI 8/S1 )o( e e\ploralion,, During your visit Heads up in the Sky Learn to look at art. Before your visit Unraveling the secrets of an original work of art can be great fun for students, who are Background about Sky. rarely given the opportunity to do so. I lelp Skv, hanging in the rotunda of The Pitts- your students explore Sky with the fol- burgh Children's Museum, was designed es- lowing process called art criticism, a term pecially for this space in 1988 bY Pittsburgh that sounds like it couldn't possibly be fun!. artist Christopher Anse lmo Priore (Amer; Art criticismthe process of unraveling the ican, b. 1959). It is a painted mixed media meaning and value of an artworkinvolves sculpture that includes painted sections of four steps: description, analysis, inter- building. At 42 feet high, 265 feet wide, 36 pretation, and evaluation. As IN ith all the ac- feet deep, Ski/ is the second largest hanging tivities in this teachers guide, use as much of sculpture in Pittsburgh (the Carnegie's Al- this process as you wish and adapt freely. exander Calder mobile is the largest). The I. Describe: Without telling them its name, sculpture's label notes: "Priore's witty and ask students to look at the sculpture care- whimsical interpretation of the universe fills fully for one minute in silence (without try- 40,000 cubic feet of space. It honors The ing to guess Ivhat they are hjoking at or Children's Museum's magnificent archi- whether they like it or notthat would be tecture, drawing attention to the space it so jumping to wnclusions). Now have them dramatically tills. At the Same time, its im- turn away from the sculpture and discuss: oth- age," trom the heavenssome familiar, Without looking back, lets test Your obwrya- ers lc ,s soinvite viewers to join in the tions. What familiar things did you see in timeless and fanciful tradition of star- the sculpture? Describe the parts of the ga/ing." Space explorations/9 0