Valencia County 5th graders are learning about the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science thanks to a five-year partnership with Meta.
Students will get free field trips to the museum as part of a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program.
“They will be visiting our planetarium and seeing a planetarium show," Deb Novak, education director at the museum told KOB. “They’ll also be doing some classroom activities with us and some hands-on. They’ll learn about space, learn about astronomy and about our solar system.”
Novak told KOB that 5th grade is the right time for youngsters to understand and appreciate what the museum has to offer.
“What we’ve learned is that if you work with kids around the age of 10, what they get excited about then often influences what they choose to do with their personal time, influences what they choose to study, and can lead as a stem workforce pipeline directly into things like our national labs here in New Mexico,” Novak said.
Meta, according to KOB, is donating $300,000 for the five-year field trip program. More than 1,000 students will experience these trips.
“It really builds on our emphasis on science in elementary school,” Los Lunas interim superintendent Deborah Elder told KOB. “It gives kids a way to really experience science in a very tangible way that they can never get in the classroom.”
Meta also is periodically offering free museum admission to Valencia County residents.
