Field Trip Guide To. . .

 

The National Watch and Clock Museum

 

                                   

www.nawcc.org/museum/htm

 

Conclusion to 5th Grade’s Time Unit

 

Table of Contents

Field Trip Summary

Photos

Directions

Curriculum

Activity Summary

Trip Handout

Discussion Questions

Works Cited

 

 

Field Trip Summary:  The National Watch and Clock Museum

 

Site: National Watch and Clock Museum

Hours: 10-4 Tuesday thru Friday

Location: Columbia Pennsylvania

Travel Information: Approx. 35 minutes from Elizabethtown

Time: Allow 4-4.5 hours for travel, tour and lunch

Cost: 2.50 per person for guided tour

Participants: Students in grades three and up

                     One adult for every five students

Experience: Clocks and other time devices from Asia, England, and Europe

                    Tour in chronological order, a visual history of time keeping

                    Focuses on North American pieces

                    Changing Exhibit of early Pennsylvania clocks

Take Home Message: Visualize different ways of keeping time

                                    Actually see timepieces talked about in time unit

                                    Gain a richer knowledge of clocks

Other Information:  Students should bring $5.00 for lunch at a fast food restaurant

                               We will need four parent drivers to accompany us to the museum

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Photo Page

These photos were taken from the National Watch and Clock Museum’s official website.  A virtual tour and other photos can be accessed on the site.

This is the museum's interactive learning station. Students will have a chance to participate in four different activities related to the mechanics of clocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A map of the museum.  As you can see, the museum is set up so that visitors can view timepieces in chronological order.

 

 

This is a special exhibit of early Pennsylvania clocks.  The exhibit will remain until May 2003.

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Map And Directions to National Watch and Clock Museum

 

 DIRECTIONS

 

DISTANCE

 

1: 

Start out going Southeast on S MARKET ST/PA-230/PA-743 toward W BAINBRIDGE ST.

0.81 miles

 

2: 

Turn RIGHT onto MAYTOWN RD/PA-743. Continue to follow PA-743. Pass through 1 roundabout.

6.51 miles

 

3: 

Turn LEFT onto RIVER RD/PA-441. Continue to follow PA-441.

4.16 miles

 

4: 

Turn LEFT onto MAPLE ST.

0.25 miles

 

Total Estimated Time:

Total Distance: 11.73 miles

26 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Curriculum Ties

 

          The trip to the watch and clock museum will conclude fifth grade’s unit on time.  Although time is nearly always associated with math, all subjects have been included in the unit plan.  The unit on time will wrap up our school year with a week of activities and lessons about time, the history of time telling, different types of clocks, and how clocks work.  Following is a breakdown of the unit by subject area.

 

Math:  We will begin the math portion of our unit with a brief review of hours, minutes, seconds and other units of time.  We will then move on to time equations involving elapsed time, and time zones. 

 

Science: The science part of the unit will deal with how clocks work.  These lessons will focus on the scientific reasons of how clocks work.  We will begin at the beginning of time telling with lessons on hourglasses, sundials, and water clocks (clepsydra).  We will move on to lessons on pendulums and gears.  The museum has an interactive learning center that explores how clocks work.  Students will be expected to participate in at least two of these activities as a follow-up to in-class activities.

 

Social Studies:  Social Studies lessons for this unit will focus on the history of time.  The class will discover when and why timekeeping became important.  Changes and developments in timekeeping, such as the invention of the Julian calendar, daylight savings time, and standardized time, will be explored.  The museum is set up as a journey through the history of timekeeping.  The tour will allow students to see the clocks and timepieces they learned about in class.

 

Language Arts:  The first exercise in language arts will involve time vocabulary, which will familiarize students with the vocabulary used throughout the unit.  Other lessons will include creating a time chart, and a written summary of the history of time.  At the conclusion of the field trip, students will be asked to write a short, one paragraph reaction to the museum experience.  The reaction paragraph will be used to facilitate further class discussion about timepieces and the history of time.

 

 

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Activity Summary

 

Unit theme: Time  Grade level(s): 5  Time to complete: Four twenty minute sessions.

 

Summary of activity:

Using pictures from magazines, newspapers, home, and digital pictures taken at school, students will construct a calendar.  Any pictures brought from home will be scanned during computer class.  Students may also use the scanner during recess.  Students who have trouble with the scanner or digital camera will receive special help from the teacher.  As a group, students will write a history of the calendar and timekeeping, to be placed at the end of the calendar. 

 

Media and technology used by the TEACHER:

 

Newspapers

 X

(Digital) camera

 X

Word Processor

 

Periodicals

 

Video camera

 

Spreadsheet

 X

Books

 X

Flatbed scanner

X

Database

 

Video/DVD

 

Slide projector

 

PowerPoint

 

CD/Cassette

 

Overhead projector

 

Web page editor

 

Audio file (MP3)

 

Search engine

X

e-mail

 

Bulletin board

 

Web browser

 

Educational software

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other materials to be used by the teacher (e.g. paper, glue, scissors): 

You will need enough paper to make one calendar for each student in your class.  You will also need a computer and a printer to make the final copies. 

 

Media and technology used by the STUDENTS to complete the activity:

 X

Newspapers

X

(Digital) camera

X

Word Processor

X

Periodicals

 

Video camera

 

Spreadsheet

 

Books

X

Flatbed scanner

 

Database

 

Video/DVD

 

Slide projector

 

PowerPoint

 

CD/Cassette

 

Overhead projector

 

Web page editor

 

Audio file (MP3)

 

Search engine

 

e-mail

 

Bulletin board

X

Web browser

 

Educational software

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other materials used by the students (e.g. paper, glue, scissors):

It will be easiest to use a large notepad on an easel for the student scribe to write down ideas for the calendar history summary. 

 

 

 

Step-by-step instructions for completing the activity:

 

1. Send an e-mail or letter home alerting parents of the need for family photos, newspaper and magazine pictures for the calendar two weeks in advance.

 

2.  After each lesson on the history of time, have students break into small groups and write down the most important facts from the lesson.  Allow ten minutes for groups to meet.

 

3.  At the end of ten minutes, appoint one student class scribe.  The scribe will write down at least one fact that each group found important.  The writing should take ten to fifteen minutes.

 

4.  Throughout the week, students will take turns during computer class and recess scanning pictures from home and taking digital pictures.  The pictures should be kept in a special folder created by the teacher.

 

5.      The fourth day of the unit, students will choose the twelve pictures they like best to be used in the calendar.  They will then print those pictures.

6.      After printing the pictures, students will attach each picture to its corresponding month and bind the calendar.  Month pages will be prepared before hand by the teacher.

 

 

 

References used and sources of additional information:

 

Burns, Marilyn. This Book Is About Time. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. 1978.

 

 

 

 

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Trip Handout

 

Today we will be visiting the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania.  Our trip concludes the unit on time.  I would like you to think about what we have learned about clocks and time over the past week while we tour the museum.

 

Part 1: The tour

 

1)     Make a list of the clocks you see that we talked about in class.

 

2)     Do you see any clocks in the museum we didn’t talk about?

 

3)     What problems do you see with some of the clocks used in past times?

 

4)     Do you think our clocks are better today? Why?

 

Part 2: Learning Station

Complete these questions after using two of the stations

 

1)     What stations did you use?

 

2)     What did these stations tell you about how clocks work?

 

3)     Do you better understand how clocks work because of these stations?

 

 

 

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Discussion Questions

 

1.     How much do you think time keeping has changed since the first clocks were invented?

2.     Do you think our way of telling time is the best? Why/why not?

3.     Which kind of clock did you like best?

4.     Did you think you would like that clock the best when we studied the history of timekeeping?

5.     If you could make any type of clock, what would it look like?  How would it measure time?

 

 

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Works Cited

 

Burns, Marilyn.  This Book Is About Time.  Boston:  Little, Brown and Company, 1978.

         

Burns’ book covers the history of time keeping, including clocks and calendars.  The book also includes several good interactive activities for students that will help them better understand the concepts covered in the books.

 

“Clocks. . .Teaching Time.” February 3, 2003: n.pag. Franklin Institute. http://www.fi.edu/qa00/attic3/index.html.

             

              This site, sponsored by the Franklin Institute also explores the history of time, as well as several specific types of clocks.  The interactive slide show on the Frick clock will be used as a classroom activity along with a worksheet.

 

Landes, David S. Revolution In Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World.  Cambridge: The Belknap Pres of Harvard University Press, 1983.

         

David Landes’ book also covers the history of time keeping.  His book is on a more advanced level, but has extra information that students would find interesting.  The book also contains some wonderful color photographs of different time pieces.

 

McMillan, Bruce. Time Too. . ..  New York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books, 1989.

         

Although McMillan’s book is a picture book, it is an excellent example of talking about time.  Students will be expected to write a piece modeled after McMillan’s book.

 

“National Watch and Clock Museum.” February 13, 2003:  n.pag. National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.  11 February 2003 www.nawcc.org/museum/museum.htm.

 

This is the official site of the National Watch and Clock Museum.  This is the source of the pictures in this guide, and a good way for parents and students to explore the field trip site before the trip.

 

Nobili, Luca, ed. The Clock of Seravalle.  February 11, 2003: n. pg.  http://dns1.pd.astro.it/othersites/serraoro/English/introduct.htm.

             

              This website tells the story of a hidden clock.  The story will be used in the language arts class as a reading exercise.  The background information is also useful, as it tells when and why man decided to use clocks, and what man used to record the passage of time before clocks existed.

 

 

 

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