In the first post of this series, I shared how you can maximise learning as a family during your excursions.

In this second part, I’ll share what you can do before and after an outing to make it a productive learning experience for everyone.

Before the visit

Research shows that learners’ prior experiences, knowledge and interests play a significant role in determining what they learn. If you find out more about the venue your family will be visiting and align their interests with your visit, you’ll make the outing more enjoyable and conducive to learning. Here’s what you can do before the visit:

1. Look up the venue and its offerings online.

Discuss what you’ll like to see as a family. See if there are any special activities or exhibitions. Check for any restrictions or content that may not be suitable for children. Confirm the opening and closing hours.

2. Decide how much time you’ll allocate to the visit.

Don’t try to pack it all into one visit, especially if the venue is huge. If you do that, you’ll end up with a quick walk-through and cursory viewing that will make only fleeting impressions. Instead, aim for deeper observations and discussions; such quality time and sharing will make the trip more fruitful. One visit may not be enough for some venues. Manage your children’s expectations by assuring them that your family can always return for another visit. 

3. Work out the logistics.

You don’t want to get lost on your way to the venue or spend too much time on the road. If that happens, your children may be tired by the time they reach the venue.

4. Drum up your children’s anticipation.

Talk about the upcoming trip during meals or whenever opportunities arise. Get your children excited about the visit and they’ll arrive at the venue curious and ready to explore.

After the visit

How do you measure the success of your visit, if your objective is for the family to learn something together? You may be tempted to simply ask your children what they have learnt, but that may not be advisable. Some children may have difficulty articulating what they have learnt. Others may be worried that what they have “learnt” is not what they are supposed to learn. Here’s what you can do instead:

1. Get your children to share what they like and dislike about the visit.

Their likes and dislikes can be anything, from the venue’s offerings to the artefacts or paintings to the architecture. Don’t restrict what they can talk about so that they can share freely. Through such sharing, you will also be able to make better plans for your family’s next outing.

2. Ask your children: “What do you remember most from the visit?”

The things that they remember are likely the things they have enjoyed. Having learnt about their budding interest in a topic, you can then support them in taking their interest further. Let’s say your children visited the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and found the three diplodocid sauropod fossils to be the most fascinating. You can take them to the library to get some books or videos on dinosaurs. This can be the start of many interesting discoveries.

No matter what answers your children have, do take heart in knowing this: If your family has enjoyed their time at the venue and will like to visit again, the trip is a success by any measure!

Try out these tips before and after your next family outing and let me know how they’ve worked for you. And if you have more tips on enriching learning during family excursions, I’d love to hear about them. Please leave a comment below. Till next time!

 Angeline Tong is an architect of narratives and Chief Curator at HOL, an experience strategy and curation consultancy. Angeline has a Master of Education (Human Development & Psychology) from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Harvard University. She currently resides in Singapore.

To contact Angeline, email atong@hol.sg