J.+Massachusetts

= ﻿ Locations with * denote field trips the school went on last year. = = = =Western Mass and vicinity= = Springfield =

Basketball was invented in Springfield in 1891, and this museum has interactive displays including the Spalding Shoot Out. The museum offers educational programs (the Fastbreak Curriculum) – a handout for K-12 teachers that focuses on core subject areas including math, science and physical education. There also are museum scavenger hunts available for classes that visit. Chris Webber will be a guest speaker this fall during the museum’s “Character Speaker” series, a program that offers “teachers and students an opportunity to explore the relationship between healthy character development, mature decision-making and academic achievement.” []
 * Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame **(1000 West Columbus Avenue Springfield)

**City Stage and Symphony Hall** (Box Office: 1 Columbus Center Springfield 413-788-7033) This season’s events offer a variety of shows for students of all ages: //Runt of the Litter// (Upper School) is a semi-autobiographical account of the competition between Bo and Tony Eason, two famed football players. Bo played for the Houston Oilers and Tony was the quarterback of the New England Patriots during the 1986 Super Bowl win. //Doktor Kaboom// is an interactive science show for all ages, as is //Super Science Circus//. At //Circus//, the audience will, among other things, learn how to make and throw their own boomerangs and put a needle through a balloon! []

**The Quadrangle** (220 State Street Springfield) This area features four museums where one admission charge allows access to all places. [|www.quadrangle.org]

**The Springfield Science Museum** offers exhibits such as Dinosaur Hall, featuring a life-sized replica of Tyrannosaurus Rex and Coelophysis, a plant-eating dinosaur that roamed the Connecticut River Valley about 200 million years ago. Other cool things to see include a cast of a giant sauropod footprint that students can stand in! []

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 * The **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> **Lyman** **and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History**, which recently opened in the fall 2009. While Springfield history may not be tops on the FCDS curriculum, there are some interesting exhibits, such as the Automobile Gallery where classes can see an original copy of the Duryea, the first successful gasoline powered automobile – built right in Springfield! Other vehicles on display include autos from the Knox Automobile Company and Rolls-Royce of America. For aviation fanatics, the museum also has an exhibit of the Granville Brothers aircraft, some of the world’s fastest airplanes made during the “golden age of air racing.”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Two other museums are the **D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts** (houses works from Winslow Homer, Paul Gauguin, Mary Cassat, and others) and the **George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum** (houses ancient Egyptian art and treasures, as well as items from ancient China, Greece and Rome). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[] (D’Amour) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[] (Smith)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">As a bonus, classes can wander in the **Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden** right on site at The Quadrangle! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">For those who want to venture further north into Amherst and Northampton, there are plenty of historic sites and architecture to see in and around Smith College, including the **Robert Frost** **Library** ([|www.amherst.edu/library]) and the **Emily Dickinson Homestead**, the “Belle of Amherst” ([]). The home is open to the public March to mid-December at 280 Main Street (413) 542-8161. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">You also may email info@emilydickinsonmuseum.org

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Click below to read a May 2010 New York Times article “My Hero, the Outlaw of Amherst.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">History buffs may delight in seeing the Lord Jeff Inn at 30 Boltwood Avenue, named for Lord Jeffrey Amherst, a commanding British general during the final battles of the French and Indian War. Native lore has it that he used “germ warfare” to disable the Indians when one of his soldiers threw smallpox-infected blankets to the Indians. (Amherst College’s mascot is the Lord Jeff).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">**The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art** (125 West Bay Road Amherst) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">These exhibits seem to be more for older Upper School students who may enjoy learning about the art and paper-painting techniques Eric Carle used. Their fond memories of reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Mixed-Up Chameleon make the trip enjoyable. They website has a link to their educational programs, which stress visual thinking strategies. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Click here for the education component: [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Click here for the main museum page: [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The museum also offers professional development workshops, such as “Using Picture Books with Older Students” and “Eric Carle Tissue Paper Workshop” where teachers can learn to “explore Carle’s paper-painting techniques.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[]

= Eastern Mass and vicinity = = Boston =

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**The Freedom Trail** is a 2.5 mile long journey to 16 sites that describe Boston's early patriots, including Paul Revere and Ben Franklin. The one-way trail starts at Boston Common, heads to School Street to Fanuiel Hall and concludes at the Bunker Hill monument in the North End of town. It takes between two and three hours to complete, and guided tours are available. This trek will help students see and learn about the many locations that were central to the Revolutionary War, including the Old South Meeting House, Paul Revere's house, and the Old North Church.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Museum of Science** (Science Park -- O'Brien Highway 617-723-2500) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Inside is the famous Omni Theater, a 76-foot domed screen and awesome surround system. Opening in September is the film "Australia: The Land Beyond Time." Step inside and "soar over the Outback's infinite desert, scale the sacred red rock, and sidle up to Australia's most reclusive creatures in a spellbinding film that explores the world's largest island." This film is one of many offered at the IMAX. The museum also has a planetarium and other cool exhibits revolving around life sciences, earth and space sciences, technology and engineering, and math and physical sciences. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|http://www.mos.org]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Boston's Children's Museum** (308 Congress Street 617-426-6500) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The museum offers professional development for teachers to help them plan trips around topics such as China, Native America, and Japan. Exhibits at the museum include the famous Science Playground and New Balance Climb, a three-story sculptural maze of painted towers, tubes and wobbly walkways that seem to be suspended from the ceiling. Other exhibits include Kid Power, where students can learn about healthy eating habits and The Global Gallery, a 2500-square-foot display showcasing exhibits from around the world. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.bostonkids.org]