Sean C. Morgan
Oak Heights fourth graders will embark on a two-day trip of exploration in February.
Discovery Project, hosted by several Portland groups, is a pilot program aimed at increasing awareness among school children of the value of learning about art, history, science and cultural diversity and how they are interconnected.
The program offers teachers and students of rural and underserved school districts around Oregon a totally new means of enhancing school curriculum. It integrates the programs of various organizations around a central theme addressing current curriculum needs. The program is designed to meet Oregon certificate of initial mastery requirements.
Organizations involved include the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Historical Society, the World Forestry Center, the Oregon Zoo and the Portland Classical Chinese Garden.
Last year, teachers Connie Rice and Jerika Spencer, along with the fifth grade classes, visited the Portland Art Museum on a Weyerhaeuser grant.
“We loved it,” Rice said. “The art museum sent us slides so we could teach to what they were going to see. I was concerned the kids wouldn’t enjoy it, but they did.”
“I call the Portland Art Museum and asked if they had any Native American outreach,” Spencer said. A representative of the museum “called the school during summer school and said she had a great opportunity and to give her a call back. She started off asking if we would be in a pilot program they’re trying to get grant support for.”
Small, outlying communities don’t have as many opportunities to visit places like the museum or zoo, not like Portland schools located nearby, Spencer said. This program is meant to provide that opportunity.
Rural schools, such as Sweet Home, are especially challenged because of limited outside resources, but they face the daunting task of providing a comprehensive education for their students, information from the Portland Art Museum said. Upon completion of the pilot program, it will be expanded to include underserved schools throughout the state, both urban and rural.
On the first day, students will visit the museum followed by the zoo after it closes. At the zoo, they will participate in science activities and stay overnight. Among their activities, they will help feed animals and make a toy for the polar bears.
The zoo will serve dinner and breakfast, and the students will see a live reptile show, an insect show and show on birds of prey.
The second day, they will visit the Chinese Gardens and the World Forestry Center.
The program’s theme is “discovering Oregon” and will focus on various elements that combine to give Oregon its sense of place.
The program is about enriching the children’s education, Rice said. The program is directly related to fourth-grade curriculum, which focuses on Oregon.
“The cool part is it’s all paid for,” Rice said.
The organizations want to get an overall feel for how the program will work, Spencer said. In the future, it will probably do smaller programs with other schools.
The organizations hosted Spencer and Rice last month through a two-day straining in the program. Now they can teach and prepare their students for the trip. They saw everything the students will see.
“When we’re done, they want us to evaluate their program,” Rice said.
The Portland Art Museum is currently seeking sponsorships from foundations, corporations and individuals to pay for the program.
“We don’t have to ask parents for money,” Rice said. “You always feel like you’re nickel and diming parents to death.”
The program is meant to be fun, “but mostly to learn and discover Oregon,” Rice said.
Between the two classes, 53 students will be going on the trip. The students depart on Feb. 26 and return on Feb. 27.