Student using a rope pogo stick

McConnellsville Elementary School students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade got the chance to experience a slice of the Utica Children’s Museum during the school day on May 22nd and 23rd. The school had the privilege of receiving a visit from the Utica Children’s Museum’s Mobile Museum. 

 Within the confines of a single cargo van, the Mobile Museum brings a variety of large scale items for collaborative play-based learning into the community. The can provide a variety of fun and flexible experiences from building toys, to giant connect four, to a wobble chair that emphasizes an element of sensory play. 

 It not only brings an exciting experience to the school day, but provides access to some of the museum’s materials for every student regardless of resources. 

Kindergarten teacher Emily Closinski was the driving force behind bringing this exciting offering to McConnellsville. She was inspired to do so years ago by an advertisement she saw, and got the resources to make it happen through the Madison-Oneida BOCES Exploratory Enrichment Co-Ser, which is a shared agreement between multiple school districts that helps save on costs. 

“Students were able to explore and build together, and it was a great team building activity for all grades,” Closinski said.