Museum makes learning fun, helps stop the 'summer slide'
As students across the nation head back to school, they should be diving into new material. Instead, many will spend the first few weeks or even months reviewing what they learned the year before, due to what experts call the "summer slide."
The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) says that if students didn't consistently practice math and reading skills over the summer, they will start the school year at a loss. Many will have forgotten up to 2.6 months' worth of material, or 22 percent of what they learned the previous school year. The non-profit's website cites studies from as back as far as 1906, showing that when students are given the same standardized tests at the beginning and the end of the summer, they score lower after the long vacation.
When it comes to literacy skills, the summer slide disproportionately affects low-income students. A 2007 study found that two-thirds of the ninth grade achievement gap is caused by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. But when it comes to math, socioeconomic factors fade away -- students at all income levels lose skills equally.
As she was planning summer activities for her four daughters, Lisa Cunningham, a mom from Freeport, Maine, wanted to make sure that the girls didn't fall into the slide this summer. She knew she wouldn't have any trouble getting them to read, but struggled to think of fun ways to keep their math skills sharp.
"Math is harder. You can do it with cooking, or the grocery store, but there aren't too many things," she told CBSNews.com. And so, when her oldest daughter, Madison, asked if they could visit a math museum in Manhattan, Cunningham loved the idea. Madison's sixth grade teacher had told his class about a square-tired tricycle and other innovate, math-themed exhibits at the museum, and she wanted to be the first of her friends to check it out.
In August, the Cunninghams drove down the East Coast to visit the museum.
Opened in December 2012, the National Museum of Mathematics features exhibits that bring classroom skills to life, says co-executive director Glen Whitney. Thousands of wide-eyed students just like Madison have spent hours rolling around on Coaster Rollers, where they're surprised to find that you can smoothly roll on acorn-shaped "balls." In the Enigma Cafe, they work on puzzles; at Human Tree, they see their bodies turn into fractals. The square-tired tricycle, which uses calculus and has to be kept on a precise track in order to work, is by far the most popular exhibit.
Madison's mom, Lisa, said the trip was a welcome break from an otherwise carefree summer.
"They all seem to be sliders, so they just do nothing all summer," she added. But at the museum, she said they were learning without even realizing it.
She's hoping that as her girls head back to school this September, they are ready to dive right into learning new things.
