Family Science Learning Overview
Use this activity to discuss a place (or several places) that are important to your family, and then discuss the histories of that place.
You can use the three-page activity sheet provided for this activity, or make your own template by drawing and writing on blank sheets of paper. There are no right answers to these types of questions so invite everyone to share and contribute ideas.
Overview
This is a three-part activity.
- Part 1: Pick a place that is important to your family. Draw it, and then discuss different questions about this place.
- Part 2: Interview a family member (or several family members) about the place you chose as a family.
- Part 3: Explore the histories of the place your family chose, and pose questions that you have about the place and its histories.
What Can You Do To Support Learning?
- The goal of this activity is to think and talk about the importance of place for your family, and to think about place using different time scales.
- Families can participate in different ways during this activity (there is no one “right” way to participate). For example, you may want to have these discussions together prompted by the various questions in the template. Or, different family members could participate in different parts of this activity.
- For example, someone could draw the place your family decides is important while someone interviews other family members about this place. Then everyone can share what they did, and what questions they have.
- For a related activity, you could do online research about the place your family has chosen using the different time scales on page 3 of the activity sheet. You could also find books and videos that relate to these time scales.
Activity Sheet
Connecting with Other Families
Ask other family members and friends to participate in this activity, then share your places and their histories. You might also choose to interview each other about the places that are important to you (use the questions on page 2 of the activity sheet to interview other families and friends).
Connect to Other Activities
Learning in Places Frameworks to Consider
- Socioecological Histories of Place
- Collaborative Discussions
- Thinking across Scales
