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"What If...?"
Before designing What If...?, educators asked over one thousand Marion County youth, "If you could explore anything, what would it be?"
From youth responses and based on the museum's knowledge of what kids age 6 to 10 like to explore, three environments were researched and developed which reflected the strongest topic choices: underwater environment, dinosaurs, and Egyptian culture.
"What If...?", located on Lower Level of the museum, showcases these three environments and encourages learning through playful activities and interactive exhibits.
Mystery Challenge
The gallery features 3 major learning areas:
Coral Reefs:
Imagine life underwater while studying sea creatures.
Dinosaurs:
Become a paleontologist while you study fossils, dig up a dinosaur, and discover what makes an animal a dinosaur.
Ancient Egyptian Mummies
Visit an ancient Egyptian mummy's tomb and discover how ancient Egyptians prepared their bodies for their greatest wish, to live forever.
Recommended ages:
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"What If...?" is designed for children 6 to 10 (Grades: 1 through 4) but is appropriate for visitors of all ages. "What If...?" sparks rich conversations and play in a family friendly environment. Don't miss it! |
Additional Resources for Kids:
To learn more about coral reefs, kids can check out the following books:
ages 4-8
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Hello Fish! Visiting the Coral Reef, Sylvia A. Earle |
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Sea Critters, Silvia A. Earle |
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Curious Clownfish, Eric Maddern |
ages 9-12
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Where the Waves Break: Life at the Edge of the Sea, Anita Malnig |
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Fish, Elizabeth Schleichert |
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A City Under the Sea: Life in a Coral Reef, Norbert Wu |
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One Small Square: Seashore, Donald M. Silver |
Or the following websites:
To learn more about dinosaurs, kids can check out the following books:
ages 4-8
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Dinosaur Days, Linda Manning |
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Patrick's Dinosaurs, Carol Carrick |
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What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs, Carol Carrick |
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Dinosaurs from A to Z, Keith A. McConnell |
ages 9-12
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A Dinosaur Named Sue: The Story of the Colossal Fossil, Pat Relf |
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Walking with Dinosaurs: A Natural History. Tim Haines |
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Discovering Dinosaurs, Victoria Crenson |
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Paper Dinosaurs, Alan Folder |
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The Visual Dictionary of Dinosaurs, David Lambert (Eyewitness Books) |
Or the following websites:
To learn more about Ancient Egyptian Mummies, kids can check out the following books:
ages 4-8
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I am the Mummy Heb-nefert, David Christiana |
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Hieroglyphs from A to Z, Peter Der Manuelian |
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Mummies Made in Egypt, Aliki Brandenburg |
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The Winged Cat: A Tale of Ancient Egypt, Deborah Lattimore |
ages 9-12
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What Do We Know About the Egyptians?, Joanna Defrates |
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Mummy, James Putnam (Eyewitness Books) |
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Secrets of the Mummies: Uncovering the Bodies of Ancient Egyptians, Shelley Tanaka |
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Dig (magazine) |
Or the following websites:
Additional Resources for Adults:
To learn more about coral reefs, adults can check out the following books:
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The Encyclopedia of Aquatic Life, Dr. Keith Banister and Dr. Andrew Campbell |
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To the Bottom of the Sea, George Sullivan |
Or the following websites:
To learn more about dinosaurs, adults can check out the following books:
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The Ultimate Dinosaurs Book, David Lambert |
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How to Talk Dinosaurs with Your Child, O.L. Pearce |
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Dinosaur in a Haystack, Stephen Gould |
Or the following websites:
To learn more about Ancient Egyptian Mummies, adults can check out the following books:
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Tales Mummies Tell, Patricia Lauber |
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Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure: Secrets of Ancient Egypt, Lila Perl |
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Mummies, Bones, and Body Parts, Charlotte Wilcox |
Or the following websites:
Family Learning Connection:
Don't let your Museum experience end when you leave the museum! Take time as a family to discuss what you saw and further discover history!
Younger Children and Families
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Coral Reefs
Investigate the animals and plants in a local stream, pond, lake or ocean. Talk about how animals and plants adapt to survive. |
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Dinosaurs
Using glue, pebbles, clay, colored paper, mirrors and other items found in the house, along with plastic dinosaur figures, use your imagination to create your own dinosaur diorama. |
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Ancient Egyptian Mummies
Make an apple mummy. Mix together in a container equal amounts of baking soda and table salt. Cut an apple in half and bury halves in mixture. Wait and watch for 7 days. |
Older Children and Families
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Coral Reefs
Create a family aquarium. Choose a variety of fish and plants and study how these living things interact. |
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Dinosaurs
Go on a dinosaur dig. Look for sedimentary rock that is stratified. Explore mountains, bluffs, buttes, canyons, riverbanks, deserts, cliffs or eroded hillsides. Always be careful when digging! Look for unusual shapes and textures — objects that are clearly different from the rock around them. Write down where you found your fossil and what type of rock it was found in and then research your fossil in a field guide or at a museum. |
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Ancient Egyptian Mummies
Make life size mummies. Have the "deceased" lay on a large sheet of paper and trace with a marker, cut out two pieces. Draw a face, add hieroglyphics and pictures. At the foot of the mummy drawn the person's name in hieroglyphics. Staple the two pieces together and stuff with newspaper. |
Academic Standards Addressed:
Within the gallery, the following Indiana academic
standards may be addressed by teachers or
facilitators:
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