Keisha Johnson
April 14, 2010
EDU 230
Jeffery Sheritti

Multicultural Fieldtrip: Children’s Museum of Phoenix Visiting museums has always been an interesting experience for me since I was a child. When I would go on fieldtrips with the schools that I attended, I preferred going to museums rather than amusement parks because I enjoyed learning about the history of people and was extremely ecstatic with seeing art. When I was given this assignment I was excited, not only because I was going to go to a museum here in Phoenix, but also because I choose a museum that my five year old daughter Erica would enjoy as well. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix was by far the most interesting museum I’ve been to and the environment was also something I’ll never forget. As we arrived to the museum I was taken aback by the look of the building until I realized that it was actually a school at one point. I did some research before going and most of the reviews I saw stated that the museum was every child’s dream museum, however this resulted in it being overly crowded at times, luckily we went on a day where this wasn’t an issue for us at all. There were quite a few families there, that ranged in many different cultures and backgrounds and it made the experience more pleasant. Since the museum didn’t focus on true history and art, it made it easy for anyone from any background feel welcomed to come through the doors. The entire building, all three floors were dedicated to children playing and learning and exploring every inch the museum had to offer. My daughter Erica enjoyed the third floor just as most of the children did, because the third floor was more for children who were five years old or older.
The museum had a grocery store, where children selected items they wanted to purchase which lacked any snacks or sweets children might be tempted to buy, but had all the healthy items parents would want and their children to choose. The children enjoyed picking out their grocery items and then ringing up the items for each other at the checkout line. There was also a garden where the children pretended to plant an array of flowers, most of the children made patterns of the colors which were beautiful to see. The art room, which is a room my daughter didn’t stay in too long, had several different stations were the children could be creative by drawing or coloring different things. In the middle of the art room the children were able to paint over a five-foot rocket with any design they wanted, which seemed to be too messy of a task for my daughter.
Although there were plenty of items that were there for the children, parents enjoyed the art that was displayed in every room. In the kitchen and chef room there were some very interesting pieces handing from the ceiling and from the items I could make out there was a grasshopper and a fish flying in the air. In the art room there was a moose there the window and a African Mask piece hanging on the wall which I absolutely loved. There was also some childlike paintings in the ball room hanging from the wall, which were extremely colorful and breathtaking to me. When I first arrived at the museum I thought that I wouldn’t find too much there that interested me, but I am glad I was proven wrong, because at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix there is something there for everyone.