Meredith Osborne
Meredith Osborne has been with the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center since 2014. She began working as a lead infant teacher and then worked as a lead toddler teacher before becoming the Infant and Toddler Specialist. Meredith is originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and came to Washington, DC to study Museum Education at the George Washington University where she received a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). She has worked with a wide variety of audiences and believes children are never too young to learn while in a museum.
Meredith Osborne's collections
Batiks: A Classroom Exploration
<p>What lines and shapes might represent you? This classroom exploration is on batiks - a fabric that this made by applying wax and then dyeing to create lines, shapes, and patterns. Explore the history of batiks and learn about how different batiks appeal to different people and cultures. Create a batik inspired project using fabric, glue, and paint. </p>
<p>This project was inspired by a Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center's <a href="https://seecstories.com/tag/bisa-butler-project/">Teacher Feature on Bisa Butler.</a> To learn more about the batik process, read the blog <a href="https://seecstories.com/2022/11/14/making-batiks-bisa-butler-project/">Making Batiks: Bisa Butler Project</a>.</p>
Meredith Osborne
32
Bisa Butler: A Classroom Exploration
<p>How can you create art using fabric? This classroom exploration is on Bisa Butler an artist who creates portraits using quilting techniques. Look closely at "<em>I Go To Prepare A Place For You</em>" a quilted portrait of Harriet Tubman. Compare and contrast the quilted portrait to the photograph which inspired it. To learn more about quilting techniques, you will look at the patterns, textures, colors, and fabrics in a variety of quilts. </p>
<p>Create your own fabric inspired art. Start by choosing fabric. Consider how the fabric feels. Practice new skill sets of sewing and stitching. Learn to thread a needle and make zig-zags like Bisa Butler. This project was inspired by a Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center's <a href="https://seecstories.com/tag/bisa-butler-project/">Teacher Feature on Bisa Butler.</a> </p>
Meredith Osborne
35
Car Design
<p>Objectives: </p><ul><li>Discover that cars come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors </li><li>Learn that some design elements improve functions of cars and some are purely aesthetic </li><li>Have the opportunity to design own car </li></ul><p><br /></p>
Meredith Osborne
13
Dramatic Play Pirate
<p>Objectives:</p><ul><li>Be exposed to pirate motifs (eye patch, parrot, jolly roger flag) </li><li>Learn that pirate sail ships </li><li>Talk about ideas of fair and unfair, hero and wrongdoers </li><li>Learn about Anne Bonny and Mary Read two famous women pirates </li><li>Explore through play fair and unfair and hero and wrongdoers </li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
19
Emotion Eruptions
<p>Objectives </p><ul><li>Build an emotional literacy </li><li>Discuss ways to calm down body instead of erupting </li><li>Use bells to practice breathing and mindfulness</li><li>Explore ancient bells of China</li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
38
Expressing Emotions
<p>Objectives</p><p>● Identify facial features<br />● Learn about different ways to communicate<br />● Discover that the way your face looks can communicate emotions<br />● Explore different emotions and how faces might look when expressing emotions<br />● Build empathy by learning how others might express their emotions</p><p></p>
Meredith Osborne
15
Fire Engine vs Fire Pumper
<p>Objectives: </p>
<ul><li> Learn that firefighters are people who help keep you safe</li><li> Discover that firefighters use fire trucks to help them get to the fire quickly</li><li> Compare familiar firetrucks to the less familiar hand pump fire truck in the museum</li></ul><p></p>
Meredith Osborne
30
Firefighting Dogs
<p>Objectives:</p><ul><li>Learn about firefighting dogs</li><li>Walk by a working fire station and make observations</li><li>Practice identifying different scents </li><li>Explore the sense of smell </li></ul><p><br /></p>
Meredith Osborne
13
Fire Safety
<p>Objectives </p><ul><li>Identify objects that help to prevent fires </li><li>Learn what to do if they hear an alarm </li><li>Identify objects that are fire hazards</li><li>Learn to stay 3 feet (two big steps) away from fire hazards</li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
32
Flying Trapeze
<p></p>
<ul><li>Learn that trapeze artists had to be very precise with their timing</li><li>Experiment with motion and pendulums </li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
5
Grasshopper - Lesson
<ul><li>Compare and Contrast the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper to the Conehead Grasshopper<p><br /></p>
<ul><li>Colors</li><li>Ability to move</li><li>Shape and size</li></ul></li><li>Explore grasshopper's mouth pieces that are used for grinding </li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
7
Hot Air Balloons
<p>OBJECTIVES:<br /></p>
<ul><li>Explore the differences between the positions up and down</li><li>Imagine what it would look like to float high in the sky</li><li>Identify the parts of a hot air balloon—basket and envelope </li><li>Experiment with hot air balloon design</li><li>Be inspired to create own fabric design</li><li>Discover that the flame heats the air causing the balloon to float up</li></ul><p></p>
Meredith Osborne
23
Monkeys Grasp
<p></p>
<ul><li>Compare movements of the flying trapeze artist to the movements of monkeys swinging from the trees </li><li>Imagine what it would feel like to swing (like a trapeze artist and like a monkey)</li><li>Learn about how monkeys move </li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
12
Pretend Robots
<p>Objectives</p><ul><li>Learn closely at a variety of fictional and toy robots</li><li>Compare and contrast a group of fictional and toy robots</li><li>Develop an understanding that people like to imagine different types of robots</li><li>Have the opportunity to create their own pretend robot using various household items</li><li>Think creatively and be inspired to wonder</li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
30
Riding on a Carousel
<p>OBJECTIVES</p><ul><li>Look carefully at a variety of carousel animals </li><li>Identify the animals </li><li>Compare and contrast the animals </li><li>Talk about which animals people typically ride</li><li>Talk about real vs pretend</li><li>Create a model carousel</li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
26
Robots that Help
<p>OBJECTIVES:<br /></p>
<ul><li>Learn that people make robots to do things to help people </li><li>Look closely at a robot that some people have in their house</li><li>Learn about other types of helping robots </li><li>Talk about why robots are made</li><li>Learn that robots are designed with a purpose </li><li>Think about times when it might be helpful to have a robot </li><li>Use creativity to design robots </li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
22
Saturn V Rockets
<p>Objectives</p>
<ul><li> Learn that astronauts took rocket ships (Saturn V) to the moon </li><li> Pretend to be on the moon</li><li> Imagine being in a place that is different from earth</li></ul><p></p>
Meredith Osborne
24
Sink Float
<p>OBJECTIVES:</p>
<ul><li>Experiment with objects to see if they sink or float</li><li>Learn that boats float</li><li>Discuss how sometimes boats sink and learn the word shipwreck </li><li>Look closely at the 3D model of the Philadelphia Gunboat (a boat which sunk and was then later brought to the surface and into the Natural History Museum)</li><li>Make ships out of aluminum foil and experiment to see how many pennies can go on the boat before it sinks</li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
22
Stanley - The Driverless Car
<p>Objectives </p>
<ul><li>Learn that robots need special sensors to help them understand the world around them</li><li>Discover that we use our senses to help learn more about the world around us</li><li>Explore our senses</li><li>Compare our senses to the senses of Stanley the driverless car </li></ul>
Meredith Osborne
14
Volcano Eruptions
<p>Objectives - </p><p><br /></p><ul><li>Learn that active volcanoes erupt </li><li>Discover that volcanoes erupt when pressure builds up </li><li>Experiment with eruptions </li><li>Learn that some mountains are volcanoes </li></ul><p><br /></p>
Meredith Osborne
22
