Blast Off! Year 4 of Digital Universe Field Study

Our school's remarkable, unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History - Hayden Planetarium kicked off its fourth year last Friday, when our sixth graders spent the morning at the museum for the first session of the Digital Universe Field Study unit. The interdisciplinary study blends English, science and technology curricula, and is conducted both at the museum and in the boys' science and English classes at school.

Boys explore distance and size of planets in our solar system, using clay.

Over the next three months, the class will regularly visit the AMNH, working with the museum's astro-visualization team to master proprietary Digital Universe software that will enable them to simulate "flying through" the universe, using real-time astronomical data. Working in pairs, they will take this knowledge, as well as their learning about space in science class, and narratives in English, to explore an astronomy-related research question of interest and create a space show presentation that they will present to parents in the dome of the Hayden Planetarium.

This is truly a one-of-a-kind partnership with the AMNH; unique in its ongoing collaboration with the museum's experts and in our boys' private, continuing access to the planetarium and the Digital Universe software.

Boys learn best when they can benefit from the expertise of industry experts as well as their Saint David's teachers, and when their learning in and out of the classroom enables them to pose questions that require critical thinking and analysis. Our DUFS partnership does this, all while allowing our boys to take flight through our solar system and beyond. Who could ask for more?

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