Windsor
The phrase stood out to me and on a brief tour of the museum from education director Scott Davison, it stuck with me. Davison recently launched the “Junior Machinist Apprentice Program,” part of the Windsor-based museum’s efforts to expand its educational programming.
“The majority of our visitors are not children,” Davison said, “which I’m trying to change.”
There are plenty of hands-on activities for younger and older learners alike: Colorful magnetic gears are at eye-level for inquisitive toddlers; a large table holds simple machines for visitors to experiment with; another station encourages people to sketch a machine.
But the Junior Apprentice Program goes much further by linking all the components of the museum together for younger visitors.
“It’s several steps of engaging them with the history, the artifacts, the future and the people,” Davison said. “That’s a big one. It’s the people who made it all possible.”
Davison said the program, aimed at children ages 6-12, takes about 45 minutes to complete (parents are encouraged to help younger children). The booklet has seven “learning chapters” that lead youths on a scavenger hunt through the space, the former Robbins & Lawrence Armory where the mass-production process was pioneered.
One notable question queries kids to look at a rendering of the building in its heyday and go outside to compare it to the building as it is now.
But, more than that, it encourages young minds to dig deeper, posing the question: “Why do you think the building has changed over time?”
Other segments ask youngsters to identify machines and their uses. In a test of imagination, a blank space encourages visitors to design and name a new machine. Davison is excited to see what the kids come up with.
“It’s not just go and find it and check it off,” Davison said. “It’s go find it and tell me about it.”
Upon completing the program, kids receive a badge printed by the museum’s 3-D printer and a certificate of completion. They also sign a pledge to share what they’ve learned with others.
And while these activities certainly serve an immediate educational purpose, they’re tied up in a long-term goal as well: To embolden young people to pursue a career in the STEM or STEAM fields. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. STEAM adds art and design to the mix.)
When I asked if changes to the program would be made, Davison said, “The kids will teach me.” I thought this exemplified the direction the museum is going in for children’s programs.
The museum also has a program that employs high school students as interns in its Working Machine Shop, where they learn to operate equipment and teach others about it.
“Maybe a future junior apprentice is an intern when they turn 16,” Davison said. This program might be the first that provokes the interest of a future scientist or engineer. Davison has spoken to museum visitors who lament that it is difficult to recruit people in the field.
“You make a very good living wage and there’s room for advancement,” Davison said, “which isn’t readily known in America.”
And why is that? There’s the old adage, “Those who don’t study the past are doomed to repeat it,” which has been bandied about quite a bit recently. That phrase obviously doesn’t apply here, but I present this tweak: “Those who don’t study the past will never fully appreciate what we have in the future.”
Pausing at a machine that once made screws for pocket watches, Davison said, “A man had to do that by hand before this machine was invented and none of them matched.”
Stop and think about that for a moment: Prior to precision machine tools, each working part of each working object had to be made individually. While writing this piece, I’m looking at the items on my desk: ballpoint pens, a telephone, reading glasses, a keyboard and computer. All were made possible by machines, some of the ancestors of which were invented in a factory in the 1840s in Vermont.
“Before this all occurred, the blacksmith was the manufacturer,” Davison said. “The history of manufacturing takes a huge leap in this building.”
Broken down that way the history of precision machines comes alive, making it more apt to be interpreted — and appreciated — by those with little knowledge of machines.
“It becomes a work of art when it’s done,” Davison said.
Visit the American Precision Museum. You’ll see what Davison means.
Editor’s note: The Junior Machinist Apprentice Program will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. on Saturdays in September. It is free for any child of any age, but adults must pay an $8 admission. For more information, visit americanprecision.org, email Davison at sdavison@americanprecision.org or call 802-674-5781.
