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SAINT LOUIS - The St. Louis Museum of Illusions has partnered with STEM.org to bring STEM education to its visitors.
Located at 3730 Foundry Way Suite 168 in St. Louis, the Museum of Illusions allows visitors to experience optical illusions. Through this new collaboration, educators can take advantage of K–12 lesson plans to help their students learn more about the science behind the illusions.
“We wanted to make sure that we were still providing that exceptional STEM-based experience,” explained Julissa Noyola, Director of Sales and Partnerships. “A lot of our teachers have asked for more. We saw the need and we met it. Partnering with STEM.org is going to give us this opportunity to offer really tailored lesson plans that coincide or go hand-in-hand with our exhibit spaces.”
STEM.org is a STEM education research and credentialing organization. They have worked with the Museum of Illusions to provide tailored lesson plans and other interactive activities for educators and parents to utilize on field trips or regular visits.
“It’s really kind of putting our money where our mouth is,” Noyola said. “Our exhibits already have STEM-oriented components to them, so being able to provide a curriculum that goes hand-in-hand with it is ideal for educators. Those lesson plans are going to be available to them when they take their field trips. They can pick and choose which ones make sense for their grade level and their class.”
According to Noyola, 91% of parents agree that they’d like to see more STEM education in their children’s lives. She believes the Museum of Illusions is meeting that need by providing STEM-based lesson plans, so students can enjoy the fun of the illusions while also learning about the science, technology, engineering, art and math that make the illusions possible.
In an effort to help facilitate field trip planning, admission is free to educators with a valid school ID. Noyola noted that people can also rent out the museum and book the space for team-building events and parties.
There are several Museum of Illusion locations around the globe, “all the way from Dubai to Atlanta,” Noyola said. Only ten are currently offering the STEM lesson plans, including the St. Louis location. They hope to expand this soon as they open more museums across the U.S.
“The people who started building those exhibits from early on in our inception in 2015, they already had that passion and that love for the STEM behind it,” Noyola added. “So as we continue to open, especially here in the States, we just see more and more of the demand for it. And we want to be responsible in how we educate, and so it was important to make sure the curriculum we were developing was accredited by someone like STEM.org so it has that value and that credibility.”
For more information about the St. Louis Museum of Illusions, visit their official website at MOIStLouis.com.
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