Who Are the Explainers?
The Field Trip Explainers are a group of experienced educators who love working with kids. The crew is diverse in their academic, professional, and life experiences. While they are at the Exploratorium, they work hard to develop their skills as educators through extensive training and reflective practice.
What Do They Do?
The Field Trip Explainers are here to support, inspire, and empower the visitors.
Explainers Orient School Groups
Every school group is greeted by an Explainer, who gives them an introduction to the Exploratorium, a logistical overview of the day, and a connection to a real person. The Explainers bring each group into the museum to explore one exhibit during the orientation. The Explainer models the process of using Exploratorium exhibits and allows the students to try things out and get started. Each orientation is different, depending on the Explainer, the age of the group, and the specific needs of the group.
Explainers Interact with Visitors at the Exhibits
You’ll find Explainers roaming among the exhibits in all areas of the Exploratorium. They entice visitors to engage with exhibits by playfully engaging with the exhibits themselves, and they help teachers and students investigate their questions on a deeper level.
Explainers Are Stationed at Demonstration Hubs
Explainers are stationed throughout the Exploratorium doing structured and open-ended demonstrations. For example, Explainers dissect cow eyes, perform magic tricks, facilitate experiments at the drawing board, and engage visitors in philosophical discussions.
We have two groups of Explainers
In addition to the Field Trip Explainers, we have High School Explainers. If you are a high school teacher, you might want to let your students know about the High School Explainer Program.
Ann studied biology and speaks French. She’s also a dancer, and she’s put together an exhibit tour called Dance Walk—a tour of exhibits you can dance with.
Ryan was a classroom teacher before he became an Explainer, and he’s very interested in the life sciences. He speaks some Spanish and knows American Sign Language. He’s designed an exhibit tour called Constantly Changing Patterns that enables you to notice patterns in nature through our exhibits.
Jarrod has a strong interest in audio and video communication. He’s designed a tour of exhibits called Putting the Pieces Together in which you can use audio segments to create a mood or tell a story.
Manpreet has a teaching credential but loves working in the informal learning environment of the Exploratorium. She speaks Punjabi and is interested in perception. She’s created an exhibit tour called Mess with Your Mind that lets you explore sensory illusions.
