In the beginning God created food, water, and shelter. As man and time progressed we found ourselves quite easily bored, and so entertainment was born. Now entertaining yourself is something we as adults find easy( even though we can rarely find the time to do so ). However, planning entertainment for kids that is the holy grail of awesomeness and educational is an entirely different ball game!
Recently, I was given the task to arrange a field trip for the 5th grade students at Meramec Elementary as part of UrbanFUTURE's Explore! Career program. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with excitement, but at a loss for where I could take these kids who have probably been to all of the staple locations in St. Louis (the Magic House, the Art Museum, the History Museum, the Botanical Gardens, the City Museum, and of course the designated fall guy…the free and infamous St. Louis Science Center). So, the first thing I did was ask the school’s Parent Facilitator for ideas; it was then when she informed me that the kids hadn’t been to any of the aforementioned locations. So, immediately I thought ….”the free and infamous fall guy”! But, instead of doing the expected, we would go to the Science Center’s Omnimax theater.
The kids had a blast, and would you believe it, most of them had never been to the Science Center. I mean everybody was in awe of this carnival of mystery and fun, and we’d just walked in the front door. The movie I’d planned for was Hubble (a fifty minute exploration into the life of astronauts planning on repairing Hubble, a space telescope.) Hmmm….I thought to myself, this could either turn out to be the greatest movie ever, or they kids will sell parts of me on EBay in exchange for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Blow Pops. You find yourself reading this so obviously my brilliance paid off…thank you Tom Cruise! They loved the movie; the jocks, the goof balls, the scared cats, and even my stage five clinger managed to pry herself away from my arm just long enough to enjoy new found independence and the show.
When we got back, I had to give the kids a much deserved pat on the back. They were on their best behavior, they willingly took notes and most important, they had a chance to discover new possibilities for themselves. I learned a lot from my short lived solo gig as an entertainment planner of education and awesomeness. I can’t wait for another opportunity to show these students what their possibilities can be when they work hard in school.
If you’re interested in having UrbanFUTURE students come and learn about your business please call our office at (314)776-3434.
Tam Anthony
Meramec Team Leader
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