educational

Teaching children about the science associated with the natural elements of earth, air, light and water in an imaginative, fun and engaging way is one of the key missions of modern museums of science.  Conveying those concepts through a landscape, however, is a unique and ambitious goal - one we suggested to the directors of Montshire Museum of Science of Norwich, Vt., as a way of transforming the museum's grounds from ordinary exhibit space into a true laboratory for learning.   During all of the early discussions of types of natural phenomena Montshire wanted us to explore, museum representatives always seemed most excited about those associated with water.  They agreed with us that water exhibits could teach children about wonders as diverse as stream erosion and deposition, the reflection and absorption of light, how the pattern of water currents and flow velocities are affected by the size and shape of the water's container, how the pressure of water increases as its depth increases, and how the air temperature cools as one