Morning fog still hung in the playground of Potomac Elementary School as the students filed out, each holding a ruler and a journal. The mission for Schmill's fifth-graders and Kedra Cocherham's fourth-graders was to compress a bit of science, some math, a dash of writing and the best art they could produce on short notice into a single class period.
The journals, rulers and guidance came courtesy of Brian Williams, a naturalist with the Montana Natural History Center. On Tuesday, he helped a roomful of 9- and 10-year-olds understand the real mission of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. It wasn't just to explore the country, but to explain what they found to others.
“Jefferson took the temperature four times a day, every day, for more than 50 years,” Williams told the students. “On the day he was signing the Declaration of Independence, he made time to check the temperature four times.”
Lots of kids will be getting these visits this year. The Montana Natural History Center boosted its Visiting Naturalist program by 15 classes this year, bringing its total to 43 in and around Missoula. The naturalists meet with each class once a month, all through the school year.
The program grew in response to national trends showing American children are spending less and less time out of doors, center executive director Arnie Olsen said.
“We like to think that in a place like Missoula, kids are spending lots of time exploring in the natural areas that are so close to our homes,” Olsen said. “We're surprised to find out that, in fact, this national trend is mirrored here at home. There are schools that we work with that have students that have never been to Pattee Canyon or Blue Mountain.”
Some have never even looked at their own playground that closely.
“I would not like to go through there to hide,” fourth-grader Taylor Spear said while examining the rose hedge along one of Potomac's schoolyard fences. But on closer examination, he also found a cluster of white snowberries to add to his journal notes.
Classmate Rory Benedict observed that knapweed flowers extend out of a seed pod that looks much like a pineapple. That was a great way to describe the plant, she agreed, as long as Thomas Jefferson knew what a pineapple looked like.
The short-range lessons work well in tight budget years. Schmill still hopes to make two out-of-Potomac field trips this year. But they require parent volunteers to drive because the rural district can only afford buses for full-school activities. Having someone like Williams to help classes take advantage of Potomac's walking-distance wonders saves time and money.
“And this program fits comfortably with all our state standards and guidelines,” Schmill said. “The kids love a visitor, especially one with hands-on things where they can participate.”
Back in the classroom, Williams showed the practical application of good journal notes. He took the children's bags and figuratively ran them through the rapids, wagon rides and general rough handling that raw research often endures (he shook the bags). Then he gave each bag to a different group, and told them to match the specimens with the journal notes, just as Jefferson had to do when he received Lewis and Clark's mid-voyage findings.
The kids learned quickly the benefits of mentioning the purple color of knapweed flowers, the nubby texture of houndstongue leaves and the thorns on wild rose bushes.
And the habits of observation take root. Schmill said one of her favorite results of the naturalist visits usually pops up long after they're gone.
“Getting kids to look at their surroundings instead of just walking to school and back is really neat,” she said. “I love it when we're out on the playground and someone will run up and say, ‘Hey, Mrs. Schmill, there's a red-winged blackbird.' They know it.”
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.
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