Building Connections with the Neighborhood and Community

Natural Resources

Parks and nature centers offer extra glimpses into the world of woods, trees, plants, ponds, lakes, beaches, animals, birds, and the like. The National Park Service runs a number of centers that have hands-on science activities for children, trails to follow with guides written for children, and knowledgeable rangers to pose and answer children’s questions. The ranger or guide may have a snake on hand or an active animal shelter to show. Local communities also sponsor park and recreational services for children.

Visitors

Visitors who enhance the science curriculum include parents and other specialists in transportation, health care delivery, computer technologies, music, art, cooking, mechanics, and many other fields that have scientific aspects. They can be effective resource people if the teacher prepares the children carefully for their visits, and encourages them to provide active demonstrations or hands-on opportunities.

Zoos

Zoos are controversial in the science and environmental community because they remove animals from their natural surroundings and, until recently in this country, relied on fences and other restraints to separate the animals from their visitors. More recently, zoos have become more aware of concerns for animals and employ more natural barriers, fewer cages, and appropriate habitats for the animals. There are many good zoos with highly trained docents and guides to work with children. At the National Zoo in Washington, DC, the volunteers who work with children must take a rigorous course of study in both animal life and how to teach life science effectively to children. Excellent written materials enhance the child’s visit with questions and comments to promote scientific thinking and invitations to make drawings and write stories about the animals. The zoo staff will hang the children’s pictures and stories where they can be viewed by other young visitors.

Science Centers and Museums

Most science centers and museums have planned activities for children including experiments and opportunities to handle small creatures. At the Lawrence Hall of Science, young children are invited to don a lab coat and go down to the pond to collect tadpoles. The specimens are arranged with the children’s names and are observed over time. At the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, “Don’t Touch” has been replaced by “Please Handle with Care” in the discovery areas of the museum. Trained persons supervise the handling of fragile shells and nonpoisonous insects.

Other community resources that teachers may want to consider are

• colleges and universities
• radio or television stations
• transportation services such as airports and train stations
• professional services such as doctors’ offices and hospitals
• commercial services such as bakeries, pharmacies, factories, and farms
• observatories
• aquariums.