WAYS IN WHICH CHILDREN LEARN SCIENCE


 The care and use of a bulletin board is important if it is
to be meaningful to the group. The materials to be used should
be grouped together as a unit, pupils should be encouraged to
assume responsibility for the care and arrangement of this ma-
terial, and care should be exercised in the length of time that
the material is to be kept on the board, depending upon the in-
terest span of the children.
 Models and collections. Models, collections, and museums
are forms of visual materials that have a definite place in the
elementary school. The collecting of science material by the
children offers great opportunities through which to encourage
and direct interest. It is profitable to keep a record of each
piece of material brought to the schoolroom and accepted for
the collection. This record might give the name of the pupil
finding the material, its source, the name of the material, and
comments about it. The comment is an important part of the
record, and helps to prevent collecting from becoming an end in
itself. The pupil should be encouraged to learn something about
the material he has found and to write the comment himself.
When a child brings material and asks questions about it, he
should be helped to find the answers that are scientifically true
and that satisfy his curiosity.
 As the process of collecting and labeling materials continues,
the problem of how to keep them will arise. This need may be
used as a motivation for establishing a museum in the school
room or a centralized one in the school. A museum collection
that is set-up through the scientific approach should consist of
the labeling and proper arrangement of the collection to give
those who look at the material a good understanding of it. The
specimen may be accompanied by pictures and a child's story.
In using material to put in a museum, it is well to observe the
following points: (1) secure or accept only such materials as
are related to the school program and which will help make the
content of the curriculum meaningful; (2) secure a few items
at a time so that their relationship to the curriculum may be
established and their value in making instruction meaningful,
assimilated by the pupils; (3) plan for student participation in
preparation and in explanation of materials to other students;
(4) look upon the museum not as a storehouse or showroom but
as a work and research center.
 Models may be included as a part of the museum. They
have advantages and disadvantages. The children are fascinated
with things they can see and touch but sometimes the difference
in the size of the real thing and the model confuses the child.
Models constructed by the pupils are often valuable. Young
children should not be encouraged to make small models because
detailed work involving a high degree of muscle coordination