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Self-guiding in the Galleries
Pre & Post Visit Resources

Kid Stuff: Math & Science

Click here for printable version of all resources

Grades 3 - 5


Pre Visit Questionnaire
Program Outline

Grades 3 - 5
Program Length:  1 hour
Program Location:  Alexander Calder Toy Gallery

THEME:  Toys make math and science fun.

GOAL:    Students become more familiar with toys in Kid Stuff exhibit while
practicing 3 - 5 grade math skills and observing basic science phenomena.


Introduction
Welcome! This program will introduce you to many of the toys in the exhibition, and use those toys in fun math and science activities.

Symmetry
The group defines symmetry and meets various toys (ie., Raggedy Ann, Mr. Potato Head, Tinker Toys) to determine whether they have symmetry.

Fractions / Probability
Students participate in a demonstration of how a magic eight ball works. The group then charts how many eight ball responses are positive, negative, and ambiguous. Students will either analyze the data in terms of fractions or probability, depending on students' prior knowledge.

Possible Combinations
Students calculate the total possible number of combination outfits Barbie / GI Joe can create from their closets.

Car Races
Students try cars at different stations powered by different energy sources including magnets, solar panels, and more! Based on their observations, they predict the outcome of a car race. The race is carried out and students analyze the data.

Conclusion
Not only can toys make science and math fun, many fun toys were invented accidentally while scientists were trying to make other things! A few examples will be shared, and any final questions will be answered.

Frameworks Covered

Massachusetts:
Science, Technology & Engineering
Grades 3 - 5
3.1 Differentiate between properties of objects (e.g., size, shape, weight) and properties of materials (e.g., color, texture, hardness).

3.4  Identify the basic forms of energy (light, sound, heat, electrical, and magnetic). Recognize that energy is the ability to cause motion or create change.

3.9  Magnets have poles that repel and attract each other.

3.10  A magnet will attract some objects and materials but not others.
 
MATH:  PATTERNS
4.P.6 Determine how change in one variable relates to a change in a second variable, e.g., input-output tables.

5.P.4   Represent real situations and mathematical relationships with concretemodels, tables, graphs, and rules in words and with symbols, e.g., input-output tables.

5.P.5   Solve problems involving proportional relationships using concrete models, tables, graphs, and paper-pencil methods.

5.P.6   Interpret graphs that represent the relationship between two variables in everyday situations.

GEOMETRY
3.G.6  Identify and draw lines of symmetry in two-dimensional shapes.

4.G.8  Identify and describe line symmetry in two-dimensional shapes.

5.G.6  Identify and describe line symmetry in two-dimensional shapes, including shapes that have multiple lines of symmetry.

MEASUREMENT
3.M.1  Demonstrate an understanding of the attributes length, area, and weight, and select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each attribute using both the U.S. Customary (English) and metric systems.

4.M.1  Demonstrate an understanding of such attributes as length, area, weight, and volume, and select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each attribute.

3.M.5  Identify and use appropriate metric and U.S. Customary (English) units and tools (e.g., ruler, scale, thermometer, clock) to estimate, measure, and solve problems involving length, area, weight, temperature, and time.

4.M.5  Identify and use appropriate metric and English units and tools (e.g., ruler, angle ruler, graduated cylinder, thermometer) to estimate, measure, and solve problems involving length, area, volume, weight, time, angle size, and temperature.

DATA, STATISTICS, PROBABILITY
3.D.1   Collect and organize data using observations, measurements,surveys, or experiments, and identify appropriate ways to display the data.

3.D.2   Match representations of a data set in the forms of tables, line plots, pictographs, tallies, or bar graphs with the actual data set.

3.D.3   Construct and draw conclusions from representations of data sets in the forms of tables, line plots, pictographs, tallies, and bar graphs.

3.D.4   List and count the number of possible combinations of objects from two sets, e.g., how many different outfits can one make from a set of two sweaters and a set of three skirts?

4.D.1  Collect and organize data using observations, measurements, surveys, or experiments, and identify appropriate ways to display the data.

4.D.2  Match a representation of a data set such as lists, tables, or graphs (including circle graphs) with the actual set of data.

4.D.3  Construct, draw conclusions, and make predictions from various representations of data sets, including tables, bar graphs, pictographs, line graphs, line plots, and tallies.

4.D.4  Represent the possible outcomes for a simple probability situation, e.g., the probability of drawing a red marble from a bag containing three red marbles and four green marbles.

4.D.5  List and count the number of possible combinations of objects from three sets, e.g., how many different outfits can one make from a set of three shirts, a set of two skirts, and a set of two hats?

5.D.2   Construct and interpret line plots, line graphs, and bar graphs. Interpret and label circle graphs.

5.D.3   Predict the probability of outcomes of simple experiments (e.g., tossing a coin, rolling a number cube) and test the predictions.

New York Standards
[NY Standards MST Standard 1.1 Inquiry; Standard 3 Math Grade 3: CN.1, CN.3, CN.6, G.5, M.2, S.2, S.4 - 5.  Math Grade 4: CN.1, CN.3, CN.6, M.2, S.2; Math Grade 5: M.1, CN.1, CN.3, CN.6, S.2, S.4, S.5, S.7.   Standard 4 Physical Setting 4, 5.]

What’s In the Exhibition?
Visit the KID STUFF exhibition before or after your program!

Kid Stuff is one of the most popular exhibitions in Berkshire Museum history, and we are delighted to bring it back home for the summer,” said Stuart A. Chase, executive director of the Berkshire Museum. “We realized that there are many families in our region who weren’t around eight years ago to experience this fun exhibition of great toys, so why not give them a chance? And of course adults of all ages will remember these toys and enjoy the nostalgia.”

Click here for a scavenger hunt of the exhibition!

Featured Toys:

Ten retro themed areas of the exhibition explore the vintage toys. Each section provides historical information about the toys’ origins, includes period advertisements, and features hands-on activities for all ages.

In “Go To Your Room,” visitors will encounter the Magic 8 Ball, Whee-Lo, Labyrinth, Slinky, Silly Putty, Magic Slate, Wooly Willy, and Raggedy Ann & Andy.

Can I Try?” highlights creative and hands-on toys, including Nerf Ball, View-Master, Etch-A-Sketch, Duncan Yo-Yo, Spirograph, Mr. Potato Head, and Colorforms.

Practical jokes are the focus of “That's Not Funny,” which includes joy buzzer, spilled ink, whoopee cushion, snake-in-the can, and similar Adams gags.

I'll Never Ask For Anything Else” features the ever-popular Lionel Trains. The train layout includes both vintage Lionel trains and a modern train set that visitors can operate by pushing a button.

Don't Make A Mess” includes Magic Rocks, Crayola Crayons, Play Doh, Easy-Bake Oven, and Ant Farm

Outdoor fun is the theme of “Go Outside and Play,” in which visitors will learn about Flexible Flyer, Balsa Planes, Frisbee, Radio Flyer Wagon, Wiffle Ball, Tonka Trucks, and Hot Wheels.

Classic board games including Twister, The Game of Life, Monopoly, Candyland, Cootie, Go to the Head of the Class, Yahtzee, and Chutes and Ladders are explored in “It's My Turn.”

I'll Trade Ya” showcases the popular collectibles Pez and Matchbox cars.

Wanna Play Dolls?” features vintage Barbie and G.I. Joe. Visitors will have the chance to pose for photos with life size versions of these childhood favorites in front of realistic backdrops.

Finally, “Look What I Made” showcases building toys such as Lincoln Logs, Lego, Erector Sets, Legos, and Tinker Toys. Visitors may operate an Erector Set ferris wheel with the push of a button.

What is there to DO in KID STUFF?

Visitors to Kid Stuff will not only see vintage toys, but have the chance to play. Visitors can throw Nerf Balls at objects or create different Mr. Potato Heads with magnetic parts. Wooly Willys, YoYos, Wheelos, Etch-a-Sketches, Magic 8 Balls, View-Masters, and Slinkys are all available for hands-on play. A six-foot long board provides for an ever-changing Colorforms “mural” created by visitors. A small staircase serves as a place for Slinkys to walk, and visitors may race Hot Wheels side-by-side on a track. The exhibition also features a Lego construction area and a Raggedy Ann and Andy reading area.

Many visitors will be transported back to childhood memories at the sniff jar station, where they can experience the distinctive smells of Crayola Crayons and Play-doh.

Kid Stuff is based on the 1996 book Kid Stuff: Great Toys of Our Childhood, by David Hoffman, with photographs by Victor Budnik.

Accompanying the exhibition will be two works by contemporary artist Wendy Walgate. Walgate is a ceramic artist based in Toronto. She casts groupings of brightly colored, toy-like animals to create whimsical ceramic sculptures that are commentaries on collecting and accumulation.

The Berkshire Museum aquarium will add Sea Monkeys. Sea Monkeys is a registered trademark of Transcience Corp., which began selling this unique species of brine shrimp as pets in the 1960s.

Kid Stuff: Great Toys from our Childhood is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union, Hasbro, and Mattel.

National Tour

Since originating at the Berkshire Museum in 1999 Kid Stuff has been seen at: the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vt.; the Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago; the Duluth Children’s Museum, Duluth, Minn.; the Capitol Children’s Museum, Washington, D.C.; the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Mich.; the Memphis Museum System, Memphis, Tenn.; the Strong Museum, Rochester, N.Y.; the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, N.J.; the Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, N.M.; Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland; Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, Wis.; the Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond; Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, Tex.; the Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Oh.; the Iowa State Historical Museum, Des Moines; Calgary Science Center, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Following its 2007 run at the Berkshire Museum, Kid Stuff will be next seen at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Florida.

Don’t miss KID STUFF’s return home to Pittsfield!

History Channel’s Toy Timeline
http://www.history.com/exhibits/toys/timeline.html

Fact Monster:  20th Century Toys and Games Timeline
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768872.html

History Slice:  Toy Timeline
http://www.historyslice.com/

Nerf Ball History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerf

History of Barbie
http://www.loti.com/barbie_mattel_1959.htm

History of GI Joe
http://www.hasbro.com/gijoe/default.cfm?page=History

How Stuff Works:  Etch-A-Sketch
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question317.htm

How Stuff Works:  Yo-Yos
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/yo-yo.htm

Silly Putty
http://www.sillyputty.com/history_101/history101.htm

Slinky
http://www.poof-slinky.com/history.asp

Woolly Willy
http://www.smethporttoy.com/woolywilly/timesherald.html


The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities supports the Berkshire Museum.

 

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