Students Take a Field Trip to Arusha History Museums
May 04, 2017 | Kelsey Friedman
Mungere students were buzzing with excitement as they prepared to leave their hometown of Mto wa Mbu for a field trip to Arusha. Forms II, III, and IV gathered in town, with teachers and staff, and loaded into three mini-buses to begin the two-hour journey.
For many students, this was the farthest they had ever traveled from home—some having never before ridden in a private car. They sang the whole way there, pausing only to stare in awe at the huge city buildings. Form III’s Sofia beamed when recalling how she “woke up early and couldn’t wait to go to Arusha because I have never been farther than Monduli [a nearby town, 50km away]. I want to see what it looks like in a city!”
After weaving in and out of Arusha traffic, the buses pulled into their first stop: the Arusha Declaration Museum. Here, students learned about the history of Africa and Tanzania, ancient tools and tribal practices, important political figures, and the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. They viewed real artifacts as well as replicas of important Tanzanian relics.
The second stop on the field trip took Mungere students to the Arusha National Natural History Museum. They ate lunch in the garden before receiving a lesson from the museum’s director. He explained about the origin of man and how mankind scattered across the world over time, before releasing them to explore the museum. Exhibits ranged from the history of humans, wildlife and botanical photography, taxidermied animals from all over Africa, and even a live snake! “There were so many animals I have never even seen before,” said Form IV’s Mandela, who said his favorite part of the day was seeing the stuffed animals and realizing how big they were up close.
The visits to the museums supplement lessons the students are learning in their history, civics, and agriculture classes. It was especially important for those students preparing for Form II and Form IV national exams in October and November. John Losieku, Mungere’s history and Swahili teacher said, “I wanted to take students on this trip to reinforce, through seeing and observing, what we have been learning in the classroom but cannot access as a teaching aid. The trip helped the students to know that even arts subjects are important and arts make science.”
Not only do excursions like this one give Mungere students a well-rounded education and provide hands-on learning of national exam content, they give children from rural villages a cultural experience to which they might not otherwise have access. Interested in sending the school on another field trip? Check out the donate page for more information about how you can contribute to their education!
