Homeschool days at the Mariner's Museum

September 6, 11:29 AMNorfolk Homeschooling ExaminerSherene Silverberg

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• Take time to think before you click.
• Remember the "rule of thirds"
• When in doubt, get closer
• Don't let trees grow out of heads
• Don't clutter up the photographs

The museum i developed the photographs, critiqued them, bound them into a book and sent them back to the kids. How neat is that?

This activity would have been even better if the children could have used their own digital cameras and emailed the photographs back to the museum. I realized  that my children had never been exposed to an analogue camera. They've only used digital ones, are used to composing pictures on the screen and being able to look at what they've taken. It was quite an exercise in delayed gratification for them as they kept on wanting to look at the pics they had already taken.

We spent a lot of time in the Stationary Vogages Exhibit reading about the photographers' motivation. Ben and Shira are always drawn to artistic endeavors and reading about what the photographers thought about as they photographed the various boats helped bring the exhibit to life for the children. You can listen to podcasts of the photographers discussing their work.

Another fascinating exhibit was the Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands features more than 60 photographs illustrating the spectacular diversity of the marine and terrestrial life in the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 14th marine sanctuary opens January 27 in the Daily Press Inc. Changing Gallery in the new USS Monitor Center. This exhibition hosts stunning images of rare plants and animals of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, made by legendary fine-art photographers and award-winning environmentalists David Littschwager and Susan Middleton. NOAA is The Mariners' Museum partner in the USS Monitor Center. NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was the first marine sanctuary, designated in 1975.

The exhibit had a good blend of images, environmental information and back story. Ben and Shira make a beeline for it each time we visit the museum.

After we finished with the inside of the museum, we spent time in a paddle boat on Lake Maury and then took a leisurely stroll through their park. We felt like we were in the middle of the countryside. We left the museum regenerated and relaxed. Normally my kids are all wired after we've visited museums, so this was a welcome change. The walk through nature did a lot to calm them down after the excitement of the scavenger hunt and the photography.

The Mariners Museum hosts many homeschool programs.  You can contact Armalita Holley at (757) 591-7743 or email HomeSchoolPrograms@MarinersMuseum.org.