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Here are comments to go with previous message (part 3 of 3)
Age-related concerns:
Preschool/Young
* Our school is preschool/pre-k/kindergarten. More
activity/exhibits for the very young child would be nice.
* The 'Peeps' experiments were very educational and an
entertaining way of presenting cause and effect. My kindergarten class
loved it. Any chance it will come back? The class also enjoyed the Boa
presentation,(or at least most of them!) Having real people as
presenters is much more interesting for young children that can't read
yet. They also love the planetarium. It is perfect for their level.
Thank you!!!!!
High School
* Please consider adding more events or activities that might
interest the high school age student.
* Many things at the science center are geared toward younger
students. Having more things (like the Dead Sea Scrolls) that can
appeal to high school students would help.
* My students are high school juniors and seniors. There are
fewer activities for them.
* My main use would be to visit the planetarium. What I have
found is that the programs were scripted for elementary school groups
with nothing available for high school students. The presenters that we
have had were following scripts. When presented with questions they had
difficulty and often answered incorrectly. It would be nice to have a
presentation that was done by someone with an astronomy background.
* I would like more exhibits geared to the 7-12 grade levels.
* Need higher level and more advanced exhibits
* Gear exhibits for high school age.
Lunch accommodations, etc.:
* I would appreciate having more places to eat lunch. Also, being
able to schedule a time for a planetarium viewing without having to have
all the kids sitting in line for 20 minutes would be helpful.
* I like it best when we can reserve the lunch area - the
first-come first-served times makes me nervous...
* One thing that would be helpful is to let us know ahead of time
if the inside lunch eating area is going to be closed on the day our
group is coming. This happened to us and we had already given chaperones
a written agenda of where to meet us, so when they arrived only to find
the eating area closed they didn't know where to go. We, the teachers
looked uninformed and unprepared and we never did get to catch up with
all of our groups.
* The lady who helped me with my reservation was not very helpful
or friendly...maybe they need more training.
* Quicker check in at the box office. Lots of time for kids and
parents to wait while this happened last time.
* A warm area to eat in & a safe area to leave coats, backpacks
etc. would be very helpful
Other:
* We love the connections to ancient cultures--any chance you could
focus an exhibit on archaeological science?
Or bring a visiting team to our campus where the kids
could try their hand at some archaeological studies? Do some sort of
artifact analysis simulation?
* Districts are requiring teachers to only use 'out of service'
buses and in my district I can only have a bus from 9:30-1:30. It takes
an hour to get there and an hour home, I can hardly justify a trip for
only 2 hours. What about offering docents and trunks or traveling shows
that come to us?
* A current sending of exhibits, IMAX, and other things to do and
see. Are you still sending out vans? Do they relate to current exhibits
that a visit to PSC would enhance learning?
* Keep exhibits free of too much literature unless there is some
sort of rationale for why the students or persons should be interested
in reading it. Also, keep things as real as possible. It is difficult
to take science out of its natural environment and have it continue to
be real.
* I think that our class usually ends up visiting the PSC when you
are in the midst of changing exhibits or special programs, but that
would be something for me to work out.
* I need there to be a least one of the temporary exhibits per
year that is hands on and friendly to first graders. And, when I ask if
the current temporary exhibit would be good for first graders, please
don't give a hopeful 'yes'. Say no if you need to. The 'Shake and
Quake' exhibit last year was pretty much a dud. My first graders could
not read much of the info - nor were they interested in historical
facts. Other than play with the blocks and crank the gazebo, there
really wasn't much for them to do. We would have organized our day
differently and taken in a science demo had we known that the exhibit
was not for us. PSC workers have been helpful about recommending an
IMAX film. I really depend on their opinion for grade appropriateness.
I really miss being able to schedule a discovery cart. Also, at times
I've been told that info for the science demo schedule is unavailable
and then found that we could have seen one when we got there, if only we
had known about it. We like to come in January or February because this
field trip is indoors. It would help if we knew we'd definitely have
space to eat indoors, as sometimes the lunch room is not available or
full. Thank you for your consideration. We do value the Science
Center.
* I was upset when the Dead Sea Scrolls preview seemed to be
directed at people who live near the Science Center. An evening during
the week is difficult for people who live in outlying areas (Bremerton,
for instance)
* 1. Maybe have the school name welcome sign 2. Provide lunch on
the premises (include with costs of admission 3. Have more live
exhibits that children can see, or even touch 4. Add some exciting
exhibits that will make them laugh or show emotion (most of the exhibits
are pretty safe and boring for most kids 5. Include an exhibit related
to games or a video based with well known video icons. 6. Have staff
or special guests that will demonstrate or present 7. Give away small
tokens or something that kids can hold onto to take back to school and
show others (show and tell) I hope these suggestions will help!
* We had a great time when we were there in 2005, and plan to come
back in 2007. Being from Eastern Washington and not familiar with the
area, more clear signs for the bus to unload and reload would be great.
A person directing us upon arrival for registration, lunch cooler drop
off and lunch area designation, as well as directing us to our first
selected exhibit would be extremely helpful and less stressful with a
bunch of antsy teenagers.
* For the last five or six years I've ended my school year with a
trip to the science center. However, the cost of the trip is hard on my
students as we are in a lower income area. In the last two years, I've
had a parent that has helped to pay for additional students that enabled
me to lower the price for each student. Without this help we wouldn't
have been able to afford to go. The other complication with going is
arranging the students who have family passes. Even though it helps
with the cost, gathering the passes and getting them back to the parents
is a hassle. Having the parents send in a copy of their pass would be
easier.
* Getting in touch with an 800 number would help. Schools don't
give long distance calls to teachers and we have to remember to bring in
our cell phones (which are not appropriate for classrooms) or call from
home. Then we 90% of the time get a machine, not a person, and replies
are often long coming or not at all.
* We have 376 6th graders and it is difficult to bring that many
in one day. We had to go in 2 days this year so we could see the
Scrolls and Egypt IMAX. If there were some way to facilitate larger
groups, that would be helpful, but I know it is difficult. We have had
at least 3 trips to the PSC in the last 4 years! We appreciate all that
you do!
Compliments:
* Keep on being a great interactive and free thinking center! I
love you guys!
* I like the Science center.
* I have been very pleased with exhibits and staff at the Pacific
Science Center. Even though we travel from north Whatcom County it is
well worth the experience for my students. They not only get the
experience of the outstanding exhibits at the Science Center but an
opportunity to experience the city of Seattle and urban life. Thank
you
* I teach special education students and highly appreciate that we
get in free to the IMAX exhibits!!! Thank you.
* Science center is a great field trip, self contained and
allowing the children to freely explore is a great advantage.
* We love the science center1 CSE Rainier
* I simply love the field tips to the P.S.C. I do one once a year.
* I make it a point to visit the Science Center once a year with
my class. Science is my passion.
* My cohort teacher and I bring our classes (3rd and 4th grades)
each year. We appreciate that there are new and different exhibits each
time we come. We like the variety of IMAX films that are available.
There is always room for improvement...but we think you are doing a fine
job.
* We make an annual trip to the Science Center, and it is always
an enjoyable day.
* Every time we've come, it's been great!
* Our school is a private school and we frequent the PSC for many
grade levels. The Dead Sea Scrolls was a bonus for us since we're a
Christian-based school.
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