PeggyG's Blog for Introduction to the Teaching Profession: Sanford's Student Museum

    Today I visited the School Board of Seminole County Student Museum and Center for Social Studies in Sanford, FL. This is an exceptional field trip experience for kids. I loved it! The building was erected in 1902 and it's all brick. There are gardens all along the back of the building that has many things growing in it that pioneers and Indians from the area made use of. There was also a place that has now become part of the parking lot, that was previously the location of the first school lunch room in Seminole County. It was built, equipped, and staffed in 1921 by the Sanford Woman's Club. It was demolished in 2008.
     As soon as you walk through the doors, every wall is lined with photos and information on the history of Sanford and the history of the building as the first Grammar School of Seminole County. Inside the museum there are 6 "classrooms" that the staff lead the kids through. They start upstairs in a large classroom where they watch a power point presentation and get their minds cranking. There is an impressive collection of dolls in this room that give examples of period dress for many different eras. After the upstairs presentation, they lead the kids downstairs and each group gets to visit 3 different rooms. It is a shame there isn't enough time for everyone to see all of the rooms. All of them are worth seeing. The classrooms downstairs consist of the Pioneer Room, the Timacu Indian Room, the Turn of the Century Classroom, Grandma's Attic, and the Geography Lab. Each and every room was fantastic and filled with so many interesting things, but the Turn of the Century Classroom was my favorite. When you walked through the door, it was like stepping back in time. It was the one room in the building that is still in all it's original 1902 glory.
    This is a field trip that is guaranteed to open the minds of kids and let the questions and curiosity just pour out. The staff has provided a tour that allows the kids to stay busy and engaged. The program maximizes the amount of information the children will absorb and retain by involving them in every aspect of every room. I was thoroughly impressed with how they have made something that could be very boring to young children into an exciting and active experience. They even get to make their own butter in an old fashion butter churn and eat it on crackers during their lunch break! Who could ask for more?

I hope you enjoy the picture tour of the museum that I have provided below.