Visiting the Natural History Museum of Valparaiso

With the incoming storm this past weekend here in Valpo, we decided to take our students to the Natural History Museum of Valparaíso for an environmental themed excursion. When we first arrived at the museum, we were greeted by some members of their staff, who gave us a brief overview and introduction to the museum. The museum has two floors of exhibits, which are broken up by the different ecosystems that are present in Chile. The museum has items and displays examining the depths of the ocean floor to the sky with its different types of birds. It even had an exhibit focusing on Easter Island!

We then proceeded to explore the museum with our students. We got to see many of the animals that we had learned about in class, which was a nice way to put into practice what they had learned. After the initial tour of the ecosystems, we separated into groups with the tíos and students, and did a treasure hunt throughout the museum. The students were challenged to find facts relating to exhibits in the museum, among other activities. After the treasure hunt we finished the excursion with a lunch. This excursion was a great experience for us because it helped our students connect with nature through all the different examples of flora and fauna in Chile. A big thank you to the Natural History Museum of Valparaiso for graciously hosting us!