CREATING STEAM BACKPACKS FOR OUTDOOR HISTORIC SITES

Abstract

Museums and historic sites can utilize interactive activities in order to encourage visitors to explore the location in an independent and meaningful way. The activity examined in this thesis explains the use of backpacks and their contents for activities and crafts related to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). Over the course of this thesis, I was able to create four STEAM backpacks for children ages 8-11. These backpacks were created with the goal that children would be able to explore the outdoor site throughout the year with minimal help from a guardian. Using my time at the internship to make note of the outdoor grounds, I made note of observations that would be interesting for the children of this age group. Then, with this information, I was able to create interactive activities and crafts for the children. These ideas went into the design of the packets and backpack materials. Current feedback from the site is overwhelmingly positive, and the backpacks can be checked out by interested visitors. This idea can be further individualized for different areas of this historic site and can be altered for other museums and outdoor sites.