The same visionary spirit that founded Museum School over seventy years ago continues to propel the program forward today into a new decade. For the first time ever, Museum School will offer classes for students as young as thirty months of age in the 2020-2021 school year. This innovative addition to the seventy-year educational legacy of Museum School makes the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History the first museum in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to offer a thirty-week science enrichment program for children under three years of age.

“Museum School has inspired generations,” said Van A. Romans, President of the Museum. “Thousands have discovered a lifelong love of learning in those classrooms, and now we can instill that passion for education at an even earlier age.”

The expanded age range of Museum School adjusts the age requirement for school year classes by six months – a vital six months for child development. Around two and a half years of age, children’s communication skills progress as they form phrases, they learn the concepts of pretend play and socialization and they become more independent as motor skills are mastered. The new Science Sprouts program will support this important learning stage by providing developmentally-appropriate science experiences within the engaging Museum School environment. Much like the classes for ages three to six, the weekly discovery time for Science Sprouts will often feature science specimens and history artifacts related to the lesson’s topic.

“Museum School fuels exploration and discovery with innovative and interactive lessons,” commented Amber Shive, Director of Education. “We’re thrilled to offer our community the gift of another year of learning through the addition of the Science Sprouts program.”

The inaugural class of two-and-a-half-year-old Science Sprouts will join a rich history of over 220,000 students that have participated in Museum School. Science Sprouts classes aren’t the only new addition to the 2020-2021 school year. Twice-a-week and extended day classes will be available for four-year-olds as well as the traditional 2 hour or 2.5 hour classes. Five- and six-year-olds, who previously had choices of 2 hour, 2.5 hour or twice-a-week classes, will also have an extended day class option.

Registration for Fall/Spring 2020-2021 Museum School opens to the public on March 2. The brochure will post on the Museum School’s webpage on March 2 and registration will open at that time.

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My mother and I were at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History for my first day of Museum School, and, although I did not realize it in that moment, that brief but indelible nexus of dinosaur-boy-astronaut was the tip of a mental iceberg that I still contemplate today. Every week of the school year for the next three years, I held lizards, patted skunks, fed snakes, looked at stars through telescopes, looked at amoebas through microscopes, made volcanos, drew pictures, painted paintings, and had the time of my young life! Museum School was one of my favorite childhood activities and remains one of my favorite childhood memories. In fact, I consider it formative, even foundational.

First called the Frisky and Blossom Club, after a pet possum and a pet skunk, Museum School was founded by Francis Hicks Townsend and Ann H. Webb in 1949, only eight years after the founding of the Museum (then known as the Fort Worth Children’s Museum). Sixty-nine years later, Museum School is now a Fort Worth institution and serves as the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s foundation of early childhood learning. It was the first program of its kind to be accredited by the National Association of the Education of Young Children. With annual programs tailored for preschoolers through sixth graders, Museum School is a national model for young children’s science education.

Combining natural and physical science, history, and anthropology with art, music, and literature, the Museum School curriculum has for more than sixty years engaged children on a level young minds cannot access elsewhere. The playful learning environment and hands-on approach taken by the school encourages children’s natural curiosity and desire to explore. The journey of discovery is centered on class topics and activities that change weekly and build on each other. The tactile reality of artifacts, animals, and instruments gives students first-hand knowledge of the worlds of science and history and enriches the developmentally-appropriate learning experience.

Since its beginnings in 1949, over 200,000 of Fort Worth’s children have had their minds expanded and their imaginations captured at Museum School. Many friends and acquaintances I still maintain attended Museum School at the same time I did. I knew when I had children of my own that they should get to experience the magic that happens every day at Museum School, no matter what. All four of my children attended Museum School, and they still talk about it. In fact, they occasionally say they wish they could go back.

I know how they feel.

This article originally appeared in the March/April issue of Madeworthy.

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