Creative Curriculum

By Julie Duffin
July 2021 View more Kudos

Thanks to a partnership between the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 and the DuPage Children’s Museum, over 6,800 elementary students were able to participate in authentic, hands-on STEM experiences—despite pandemic restrictions.

Typically, DCM provides high-quality science and engineering enrichment through in-class labs and field trips to the museum. Since that wasn’t possible this year, the two groups worked closely together to create STEM experiences that teachers could use virtually in their classrooms. The labs were customized specifically to align with the district’s third-trimester curriculum.

“Initially, a learning commons director at Naper Elementary used the virtual programs DCM had posted online. It was so successful we decided to work with them to see what else they could create for us in relation to our K–5 and PI+ [gifted] curriculum,” explains Jennifer Donatelli, D203 director of curriculum and instruction. “We were able to pivot and make the virtual field trip experience work within our classrooms.”

“It has been an amazing partnership,” explains DCM’s chief of play and learning, Brett Nicholas. “Even though lessons were delivered over Zoom, they were all hands-on activities aligned to the Next Generations Science Standards,” he says. “We were able to deliver STEM with DCM labs about animals and habitats; seeds and their disbursement; earthquakes and seismographs; and the Mars Perseverance Mission. We had so much fun together and the feedback from students and school officials has been extremely positive.”

Kelly Talaga, D203 Project Manager, agrees. “We learned a lot of great lessons on how to continue offering engaging STEM opportunities to our elementary students. The teachers were fantastic and an integral part of working with museum facilitators to bring these experiences to the students. We’re looking forward to increasing the collaboration between DCM and our classroom teachers in the coming years.”

Photo courtesy CUSD203