For the last two weeks, the Jasper Museum hosted a hands- on learning experience for Jasper students called Science in a Crate.

With material from the Alberta Science Foundation the crate contains what is called “Colour Talking Circles.”

“Initially we sent the info to the schools and we got a little bit of reaction,” said Karen Byers, Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives manager.

“But now they know we do it, so they watch to see what we have booked,”

For several years the museum has rented a crate.

“It’s science experiments where kids can experiment with colour. This one nicely ties in with aboriginal knowledge, and has things like porcupine quills and aboriginal dying techniques,” said Byers.

“It’s a really hands on experience.”

Byers said over the last two weeks, the crate has been used by 80 students, ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 4.

“I think there are different things you get at different levels,” said Byers.

The Alberta Science Foundation has different crates for different age groups. Byers said. It’s about being a child and experimenting that is the benefit of the program.

 “École Desrochers was in here for over an hour-and-a-half, two hours, and were just happy campers,” said Byers.

Byers said opening the crate was like opening a Christmas present.

“It all came in one amazing box,” she said.

The museum is an ideal place for the crate says Byers, because they can set it up and leave it there for the duration.

“We were thinking about using our meeting room downstairs, but it gets rented once a week or so,” said Byers. “So we would have to put it all away.”

The museum put the crate on display in a big room on the main level that had great lighting and space to move around.

“It’s so much nicer to use a space like this and leave it set-up, and so the public use it too.”

Jasper Elementary students in Donna Heine’s Grade 1 class used the crate on Tuesday (Feb. 16) and enjoyed the experience very much, said Mary  Nicolle, one of the teachers who led the class trip.

“They (the students) were very interested,” said Nicolle. “The only problem was we didn’t have enough time to do every station.”

Nicole said the class spent over an hour going over the different stations.

“Any field trip is an excitement for them. It’s only around the corner, so it’s easy, it’s accessible, and it’s the hands on things that they enjoy the most,” said Nicolle.

Although Heine was away that day she says she had experienced several crates in the past and had enjoyed them all.

“That one was geared toward grade one science curriculum, which is about colour,” said Heine. “It is about the primary, secondary basic building blocks of how colour is made.”

Heine says getting out of the classroom is always a good way to engage the students in their learning.

“Doing active hands on stuff is always better because the kids get the concepts – they understand it,” said Heine.

Because the crate complements the Grade 1 curriculum, Heine said it was a good review for them.