 | Marisa Honomichl is Vice President of Marketing and Development at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. The Cosmosphere houses one of the largest collections of space artifacts in the world including the Apollo 13 space capsule. The mission of the Cosmosphere is “Honoring the Past and Inspiring the Future of Space Exploration.” This is accomplished through educational programming such as space exploration camps for students in the summer. Feel free to contact the Cosmosphere for more information on their camps and programming at (800)397-0330 or visit www.cosmo.org. |
Science
2010-05-01 14:25:00
Keeping minds engaged
Question: Over the summer I would like to get my kids involved in something other than video games; any ideas?
Answer: This month at the Cosmosphere signals the start of our award winning camp programs. Students and adults from around the globe come to the Cosmosphere to experience space science, learn about the history of space exploration and find out what it’s like to train like an astronaut. All of these programs are designed to take an interest that these individuals have in space exploration and grow it, feed it and help it to develop a life of its own.
Many studies have show that learning takes place more readily in an environment that stimulates multiple senses. Many parents tell us they can’t believe that one week can make this large of an impact on their child’s learning and enthusiasm toward learning in these subjects but there is a lot of science to explain why this happens. Learning environments at the Cosmosphere are multi-sensory. Students will for example, sit in a shuttle simulator that moves, makes sounds, looks just like the real shuttle and they will be feeling a lot of different emotions as well. There is the anticipation of their mission, the stress of trying to accomplish it, and the exhilaration of successfully performing as a team. All of those things add up to a multi-sensory activity that has a very high level of impact on their brains.
Over the summer many students suffer from what educators call “brain drain” where they are not engaged in any learning activities over the summer and they tend to fall backwards in their performance academically. Summer, however is a great opportunity to feed the interests of young people and prepare them mentally for going back to school through fun and interactive activities like camps, visits to the zoo or historical sites, even family trips can be a wonderful education without feeling like “school”. By involving as many senses as possible physically and mentally, these short experiences can literally have a life-long impact.
This is just as relevant to adults, particularly those over 55 who need a little brain exercise now and then.
Multi-sensory learning helps to create new pathways in the brain, strengthens our ability to recall what we have been taught and keeps us engaged in new and different experiences. We can all benefit, regardless of age, from new learning experiences that keep our minds exploring. So take that painting class, enroll your child in a camp they have an interest in, and get hands-on with new activities even if you’re over 55. Summer is the perfect time to grow our brains!
