SALT LAKE CITY — Before your child is old enough to nab their first job, they could be a construction worker, a baker, a musician or a homemaker.
Play time at Discovery Gateway Children's Museum is more than just that, and the museum's CEO says it's a great way to build literacy skills.
"Children really respond to what they see and when they see stuff, they learn from it and learning from play and learning through immersive experiences is the best way to get your children very engaged," said CEO Kathleen Bodenlos.
Engagement is the start of a healthy relationship with books and words, one that Discovery Gateway hopes to foster in little ones.
"The museum is a busy place and there's so much going on,” added Bodenlos. “It's really nice for children and parents to have a quiet place where they can just look through some books, maybe reinforce what they saw here in the museum and while they're still here, look for that book later and reinforce that learning."
This is what we call multi-sensory learning. According to Neuhaus Education Center, multi-sensory learning involves using multiple senses to gather and process information. By engaging more than one sense, kids are able to form stronger neural connections related to the material they may be learning.
In literacy education, integrating sensory activities helps students to better absorb and process new information.
"When you have an immersive experience, it makes children interested about what happens next or they want to learn a deeper understanding of something,” said Bodenlos. “So, if you came here and you were digging for fossils, you might want to get a book with your child on an actual dinosaur dig that has been discovered and they'll realize, ‘Wow, that's a whole career path, that’s something that I could do when I grow up.'
"It gives them this opportunity to discover now, but also think about their future, which is great for children."
It's easy to put into practice. Even when you can't sit down for story time, story time is all around you.
"You can ask your children about their senses, what they're seeing, what they're hearing, what they’re smelling, and it will help to home in their observation skills and also their communication skills as they try to explain that back to you," Bodenlos said.
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