Explaining Collections

Had an interesting talk with a mother at the Celebrations Program. She wanted more guidance on how to do science projects, but in the course of our conversation, she mentioned a great tip.

Her daughter had done a collection-type science project. The judging notes asked why the student had used the classifications that she did.

The key to a good collection is to have a good classification of the objects in the collection. Classification criteria can be quite simple, but it is vital to explain the classification criteria and why you chose that set of criteria.

As an example, let's think about something basic: a collection of rocks can be classified by color, roughness, hardness, appearance, weight, attraction to a magnet, density, melting point, ability to be polished, location found...and I bet you can think of a dozen more. For just rocks.

Elementary school students are often not so good at explaining stuff. They have a lot of brilliant thoughts passing through their heads, but they may need help figuring out how those thoughts got started. Practicing their presentation can help. Have them talk a lot about their project -- to everyone and anyone who will listen. Grandma and Grandpa can help, but do not be hesitant about seeking out experts.

Returning to the rocks example, if my son did a rock collection, I would start at the Texas Memorial Museum. They have a nice minerals collection there, and I bet I could find a geologist who would be happy to discuss rocks with an elementary school child.