home Cycle of Success Cycle of Success: Special Collection Instruction in Middle School Field Trips

Cycle of Success: Special Collection Instruction in Middle School Field Trips

Revision of article written by Clare Starkey, Haley Lykins, and Kelli Hansen

The University of Missouri’s division of Special Collections holds over 100,000 items, dating from the eighth century to the modern era, and focuses on books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps, posters, printed ephemera and artifacts. Though the typical patrons are collegiate researchers, classes for elementary and middle school students are common and are an important part of the University of Missouri’s mission to benefit all Missourians. In the spring of 2024, Special Collections at the University of Missouri hosted a series of field trips for every sixth grader in the Columbia Public School (CPS) district—more than 1,300 students—under the theme of “Ancient Writing Technologies Lab: Cuneiform, Papyrus, Palm Leaves, Oh My!” This workshop gave students a chance to experience ancient writing technologies from across Africa and Asia while interacting with primary sources. Conceived in consultation with the school district’s social studies coordinator, the Special Collections staff provided hands-on activities on the history of the book to complement the school curriculum on ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China.

Public Services Archivist Haley Lykins stated, “It was exciting to see our primary sources utilized by a new age group. The experience taught us to look beyond the walls of our academic institution for opportunities of outreach and instruction.”

The students rotated between three workstations representing the ancient world. Items from the University’s collection were included to provide a real-life example of the focus of each station and included cuneiform tablets, papyrus fragments and a facsimile palm leaf book. The students visited the University of Missouri campus over the course of 14 field trips throughout April and May. In addition to Special Collections, students visited the University of Missouri’s Museum of Art and Archaeology, Museum of Anthropology, and Francis Quadrangle. Although Special Collections hosted only 10-25 students at a time, around 100 students overall visited each field trip day.

In each 25-minute session, groups of 3-8 students would spend 7 minutes at a station before rotating to the next one. Each station began with a short informational presentation about the collection item before moving onto the activity. The workshops included making replica cuneiform tablets using playdough, drawing hieroglyphics on papyrus using calligraphy markers, and creating replica palm leaf books by writing stories on long strips of paper and tying them together with yarn. The learning objectives for the workshops were to discuss different writing surfaces from different times and different parts of the world, to describe the advantages and disadvantages of the different surfaces; and to interpret, analyze and evaluate primary sources.

After the field trips, Joy Bass, the social studies coordinator for CPS, said, “Just wanted to let you all know that teachers AND students have rated your ‘station’ very high in their reflection surveys and SO many have said it’s been their favorite.”

home Staff news Mizzou Giving Day, March 12-13, Noon-Noon

Mizzou Giving Day, March 12-13, Noon-Noon

Mizzou Giving Day is the University of Missouri’s day long campaign to raise support from our alumni and friends.

Earn prizes while supporting Mizzou.

You can help us make a difference for our Tiger family — all while earning some exclusive Mizzou gear!

The You+2 Challenge:
Spreading the word about #MizzouGivingDay is easy. Here’s how it works:

Sign up as an ambassador and generate a personalized donation link.

  1. Make a gift to the Mizzou Giving Day fund of your choice.
  2. Share your personalized link through emails, texts or social media.
  3. If at least two other people make a gift through your link, we’ll send you a special Mizzou-themed gift as thanks for your support!

Want to go above and beyond in answering the call? We’ll also have a special prize package for our top three ambassadors!

Sign up today!

home Staff news Highlighted Posts of the Week

Highlighted Posts of the Week

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home J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Mizzou Libraries and the Research Cycle

Mizzou Libraries and the Research Cycle

From discovering new resources to tracking your impact, Mizzou Libraries is here to support you every step of the way!

We offer a range of services covering all aspects of the Research Lifecycle, such as:

Contact your Subject Librarian for services in your area!

See more posts about Scholarly Communication issues

home Staff news Daylight Saving Returns on Sunday

Daylight Saving Returns on Sunday

Daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9. That means you should move your clocks forward one hour Saturday night before going to bed. It is also recommended that you use this as a reminder to change all batteries in fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

home Staff news In the News

In the News

“Gov Doc Talk: Prices and Wages Guide”
Beyond the Stacks (Missouri State Library newsletter), page 4

home Staff news New Muse Post

New Muse Post

National Reading Month 2025

home Uncategorized Cycle of Success: Special Collection Instruction in Middle School Field Trips

Cycle of Success: Special Collection Instruction in Middle School Field Trips

Revision of article written by Clare Starkey, Haley Lykins, and Kelli Hansen

The University of Missouri’s division of Special Collections holds over 100,000 items, dating from the eighth century to the modern era, and focuses on books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps, posters, printed ephemera and artifacts. Though the typical patrons are collegiate researchers, classes for elementary and middle school students are common and are an important part of the University of Missouri’s mission to benefit all Missourians. In the spring of 2024, Special Collections at the University of Missouri hosted a series of field trips for every sixth grader in the Columbia Public School (CPS) district—more than 1,300 students—under the theme of “Ancient Writing Technologies Lab: Cuneiform, Papyrus, Palm Leaves, Oh My!” This workshop gave students a chance to experience ancient writing technologies from across Africa and Asia while interacting with primary sources. Conceived in consultation with the school district’s social studies coordinator, the Special Collections staff provided hands-on activities on the history of the book to complement the school curriculum on ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China.

Public Services Archivist Haley Lykins stated, “It was exciting to see our primary sources utilized by a new age group. The experience taught us to look beyond the walls of our academic institution for opportunities of outreach and instruction.”

The students rotated between three workstations representing the ancient world. Items from the University’s collection were included to provide a real-life example of the focus of each station and included cuneiform tablets, papyrus fragments and a facsimile palm leaf book. The students visited the University of Missouri campus over the course of 14 field trips throughout April and May. In addition to Special Collections, students visited the University of Missouri’s Museum of Art and Archaeology, Museum of Anthropology, and Francis Quadrangle. Although Special Collections hosted only 10-25 students at a time, around one 100 students overall visited each field trip day.

In each 25-minute session, groups of 3-8 students would spend 7 minutes at a station before rotating to the next one. Each station began with a short informational presentation about the collection item before moving onto the activity. The workshops included making replica cuneiform tablets using playdough, drawing hieroglyphics on papyrus using calligraphy markers, and creating replica palm leaf books by writing stories on long strips of paper and tying them together with yarn. The learning objectives for the workshops were to discuss different writing surfaces from different times and different parts of the world, to describe the advantages and disadvantages of the different surfaces; and to interpret, analyze and evaluate primary sources.

After the field trips, Joy Bass, the social studies coordinator for CPS, said, “Just wanted to let you all know that teachers AND students have rated your ‘station’ very high in their reflection surveys and SO many have said it’s been their favorite.”

home Staff news Highlighted Posts of the Week

Highlighted Posts of the Week

Workshops

Other Posts

home Staff news Book Banning Webinar Announcement

Book Banning Webinar Announcement

Message forwarded by Cindy Bassett at the Law Library:

My firm is sponsoring a webinar on book banning that I think is important for all in our profession. It is being hosted by three top-notch partners plus a panel of experts with firsthand knowledge of this issue.

The webinar will be on 6 March 2025 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time

You can find all the details and the registration link on my LinkedIn page at Eugene’s Linkedin Post – Book Banning Webinar or Denton’s Book Banning Webinar – Registration Link

Regards
Eugene
Eugene M. Giudice, MBA, MLIS
Senior Research Services Training Specialist