Grade 3 Field Trip - Indian Sea Shell Museum

The children of Grade 3 were taken on a field trip to the Indian Sea Shell Museum, Mamallapuram. The trip was organised to enhance students' understanding of marine biodiversity, the importance of conservation, and the cultural significance of a variety of seashells.

The first unit entered was the ‘Seashell Gallery'. A brief talk was given by an expert about the variety of seashells exhibited over there. The students were amazed to learn that there were over 40,000 species of seashells collected and that it was the largest seashell museum in India. They had a gallery walk and observed the rare shell collections arranged in different sizes. Next, they were taken to the ‘Dinosaur Museum and the 3D Art Gallery’. They had a glance at the different dinosaur species and the 3D art paintings on walls. They were fascinated by seeing the paintings illustrated on the walls that looked realistic. Moving on, they visited the ‘Fishing and Fish Museums’, where they witnessed the different kinds of fishing equipment and tools that were used in the past and now. They observed the structure and materials of the items displayed. They were curious and questioned the escort about a few tools and the purpose of the types of boats used for fishing. The fish museum displayed a variety of fish in tanks. They looked around and shared their thoughts about the size, colour, and movement of the fish seen over there. Then, they entered the ‘Pearl Museum’ and noticed a display of pearls in different sizes, shapes, and colours. They saw two souvenirs: the rare pearl collected by a Chinese person and Queen Elizabeth’s crown made of diamonds, gems, and pearls. Finally, they entered the ‘Mineral and General Museum’ where they saw a display of minerals collected from the sea and land and also models of the underwater.

The trip was a great learning experience. It supplemented the students' classroom knowledge about marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and conservation in an interactive and visually engaging manner. The students shared positive feedback, highlighting their amazement at the diverse shapes, colours, and sizes of the shells. Many expressed interests in revisiting the museum with their families.