Field Trips- Printing Press & Nature Center & more

Josh's class was studying the middle ages in school this year and they were currently learning about the printing press... A field trip to the Special Collections Library was a must!  They have a whole section that shows the history of printing.  They even have a replica Gutenberg Printing Press :).  It was an amazing experience!  These technology driven kids, were so fascinated with the mechanical operation of everything-- just look at their faces.

After a introduction of how the printing press changed history and a display of some really old books (both manuscript and print), they got to tour the various printing presses that they had on display.  

 Some were more modern than others. 

 This man used to be the printer for his small town and used a similar machine to print his town's newspaper every day. 

 He showed us how it worked.

 Then he showed us how the original printing presses worked by removing letters and dabbling on the ink before pressing it down to print. 

 Then the kids got to go to do several hands on stations that allowed them to experience printing.

 They wrote their names with different alphabets. 

 and they designed their own Gothic letters. 

 This is the Gutenberg replica... Each kid go to prep and press their own print. 

 First, you roll on the ink...

 Then align the paper and board...

 roll it under the press and push it down as hard as you can...

 Unroll, open and see your printed work :).  FUN!

April must be field trip month... It seems we are busy going places now that the weather is warming up!  This trip was to the Nature Center with Kyle's 1st grade class.  They were learning about reptiles and amphibians and we got to expand on those topics while we were there.

Meet and greet.  

 The leader brought a lot of hands on items and games to play.  

 Then they went on a nature hike to the river. 

They used their senses to explore. 

We also got to see the museum and ecosystems on display.  

 I think he is ready for a nap!

Our favorite pizza place (probably just about everyone in ABQ's favorite) is Dion's.  The kids also got to go on a field trip there with Jacob's kindergarten class.  Come see!

Lining up listening to the importance of washing our hands!

 tour of the kitchen...

 And pizza making :). 

Science Day was held at the local children's science museum.  I got to help Jacobs class, the theme this year was shapes and bubbles.

Trying different shapes with the bubble solution.

 love this kid!

 Using our bodies to make shapes. 

 Exploring the museum.

 We ran into Kyle's class!