"MESSING ABOUT WITH TEACHING" - SANTA FE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

What is the role of this type of 
teaching and learning 
in 
today's educational culture?

Set in the stimulating and rich environment of the Santa Fe Children's Museum, workshop participants from schools in and around Santa Fe, as well as members of the Santa Fe Science Initiative, took part in a day of messing about with materials and ideas inspired by the philosophy of Frances and David Hawkins.

 Karen Worth gave a brief welcome to the day, speaking to the nature of science education.

Participants were then invited to read the exhibit and mess about with the accompanying exhibit materials. This was followed by a walk around the museum's rich outdoor spaces guided by the idea of eolithism. The goal was to find materials that piqued curiosity and inspired the play that would follow in the day.

Upon return, participants were invited to mess about with open-ended materials...

... and a series of materials inspired by David Hawkins' work with the Elementary Science Study. With these materials, participants explored concepts of balance. Barry reflected on the excitement of watching the participants access understandings of complex physical properties through only a few hours' play.

The participants reflected on the disequilibrium felt during open-ended exploration and the ways to incorporate this type of play into the school day so that children can maintain a feeling of ease with creativity. 

Participants reflected on the power of taking time in their own play: 

"I appreciated the pace. Usually I feel like I'm being rushed which can mirror how it feels in school."


"I will take back to my context the importance of teachers learning in a way similar to their students. And the idea that mistakes are joyfully revealing as to how the learner is thinking and perceiving their world..."