Highlights:
The Train Time program introduces young children to the Museum as part of our community. Through play on our Kids’ Train, a tour of our galleries, and stories, children experience the Museum as a place that tells us about who we are, what we do, and how we make things.
Links to Nova Scotia Dept. of Education Curriculum:
Grade Primary Specific Learning Outcomes (Social Studies, ELA):
- Describe some of the natural and constructed characteristics of their community (SS P.3.1)
- Identify connections between their community and other communities. (SS P.3.3)
- Express feelings and give simple descriptions of past experiences (ELA 1.1)
- Ask and respond to questions, seeking information (ELA 1.2)
- Express opinions, and listen to ideas of others (ELA 1.3, 1.4)
- Participate in conversation and in small- and whole-group discussion (ELA 2.1)
- Regard reading / viewing as sources of interest, enjoyment, and information (ELA 4.1)
- With assistance, interact with a variety of simple texts, as well as human and community resources (ELA 5.1)
- Respond to and give simple direction and instruction (ELA 2.3)
Grade One Specific Learning Outcomes (Social Studies, ELA):
- Demonstrate an understanding that the way people live in their communities evolves over time. (SS 1.3.2)
- Explain how interactions between communities have changed over time (SS 1.3.4) Ask and respond to questions, seeking information (ELA 1.2)
- Express opinions, and listen to ideas of others (ELA 1.3, 1.4)
- Participate in conversation and in small- and whole-group discussion (ELA 2.1)
- Regard reading / viewing as sources of interest, enjoyment, and information (ELA 4.1)
- With assistance, interact with a variety of simple texts, as well as human and community resources (ELA 5.1)
- Respond to and give simple direction and instruction (ELA 2.3)
Social Studies Skills:
- Generate very simple questions
- Locate a few obvious details in simple print, visual and oral sources
- Restate very simple information (P) Restate and offer an obvious interpretation of very simple information
- Select or create simple drawings and other visuals to share ideas and information
- Cooperate with a partner or a small group by following simple instructions (P) or by adopting simple group management strategies (1)
Duration
90 minutes
Program Capacity
- 2 classes (50 students maximum)
- 1 chaperones for every 5 students
Availability
May – June
Program Outline
Arrival: Bathrooms, hang up coats
5 minutes: Welcome and introduction
25 minutes: Story and play, at Kids’ Train
Using a “Story Suitcase”, a Museum Interpreter leads students in discussing travel and in sharing their own experiences. A story about trains is then read aloud, and students are encouraged to share their responses. Students are then introduced to the parts of a train, through play on the Museum’s Kids’ train.
25 minutes: “Meet the Engines” tour of in the Museum galleries
Students visit the Museum’s exhibits of train engines with a Museum interpreter. Discussion of the engines focusses on trains as a means of transportation, a source of employment, and a way of connecting communities.
5 minutes: Break
25 minutes: Train whistle craft; Train signals game
Students create a simple train-themed craft to take home. Time permitting, students play a train game, focusing on recognizing colors, letters, and following instructions.
5 minutes: Conclusion and dismiss
Additional Resources
- Kids’ Train at the Museum of Industry Slide Show.
- Locomotives. The Museum of Industry’s six locomotives represent all of the power sources that have so far been used to run a railway: steam, diesel, gasoline and electricity.