Wednesdays@TFI
Wednesdays@TFI is an award-winning weekly educational program at The Franklin Institute, created specifically for SLA's 9th grade. Wednesdays consist of visiting museum exhibits, watching educational IMAX® and 3D films, and participating in "Mini-Courses." Mini-Courses are short, one-to-two month long, once-a-week workshops in a variety of topics from immunology to astronomy to computer animation. Mini-Courses are typically linked to exhibits and other resources in the museum, which serve as a pedagogical tool to enhance the students' level of engagement and understanding. These courses, in combination with the other Wednesdays@TFI curricula, lay the foundation for an engaged and exciting four years of partnered learning with Science Leadership Academy and The Franklin Institute.
Your Role:
The partnership is more than just a museum and a school. It's a substantial network of Philadelphia organizations that come together to inspire a passion for learning. Our mini-courses and workshops* are developed and implemented by universities, museums, businesses, as well as individuals from graduate students to CEOs.
Developing your Mini-Course or Workshop:
To lead a mini-course or workshop, you just need to start with an idea. We'll work with you to develop it into a full-blown curriculum. Feel free to pick any topic that you think will satisfy the program goals. During any given mini-course session, we try to keep a somewhat balanced mix of content areas but this is by no means strict. The bottom line: if you are passionate about the topic, it will be contagious.
General Guidelines:
A mini-course should be connected to the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in some way, whether that means it's specifically a science course or more of a STEAM (A for art) course. It can also have scientific inquiry and discovery as the central theme, but content that is not STEM-related. For example, we've had excellent archaeology, history, theology, and geography mini-courses and workshops, built around the museum's amazing artifact exhibits.
Most mini-courses should take advantage of the museum's resources (exhibits, theaters, observatory, demonstrations, and special events). If it doesn't enhance the course, then we obviously won't force it. But the best courses tend to be built around these resources, and often topics are picked accordingly.
Most mini-courses should take advantage of the museum's resources (exhibits, theaters, observatory, demonstrations, and special events). If it doesn't enhance the course, then we obviously won't force it. But the best courses tend to be built around these resources, and often topics are picked accordingly.
Timing:
Mini-courses take place 1:30-3:30 on Wednesday afternoons. They tend to be 3 or 4 weeks, but some can be up to 2 months. The duration of your potential course will depend on what session you sign up for. There are usually 5-6 sessions per year: 2-3 in the fall and 3 in the spring. They fill up quickly, so keep in mind that we may not be able to run your course at the time that you request.
*A workshop is simply a mini-course that only meets once.
*A workshop is simply a mini-course that only meets once.