Make Way for Ducklings Liquid Galaxy

The projection table

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Liquid Galaxy project using Google Earth but I had yet to teach using it. Well last week I finally had my chance.  Using the last school day before vacation as my excuse, I set up my version of a LG rig and gave it a test.  The setup included: 3 Mac Minis, 3 projectors and a MacBook Pro as the master controller.  All of the computers were using wired ethernet connection.

The Setup #1

The Setup #2

The first test was using the book Make Way For Ducklings with a kindergarten class.  The plan was to read the story to them first, then give the students a tour of Boston following the events of the story.  The story went well, the students loved it, and we made sure to point out landmarks in the story that would be later referenced in Google Earth.  Before we left to go to the viewing area, we told the students that they were about to go on a trip to follow Mr. and Mrs. Mallard adventure. Once the students left the storytelling room and saw the big screens set up, you could just see their eyes light up. Many of them got very excited.  The tour of Boston and Make Way For Ducklings  was courtesy of GoogleLitTrips.  We began our guided tour with a closeup of our school building and then “flew” to Boston and began hopping around to the different locations.  The students loved seeing the locations from the book in the real world.

After the success of the first test, I really began to see the potential using LG and Google Earth to take students on virtual field trips. One of my school’s principals came in during the class and was thoroughly amazed by what she saw during the class.  I had  told her earlier in the morning that I was going to be taking the students on a virtual trip using Make Way For Ducklings, what I didn’t tell her was that I was using such a big setup.  The kindergarten teacher commented, as she picked up her class, that we essentially brought an imax theater to the school.

Overall it was a great project and lesson and I believe that the students loved their “trip” to Boston. What a great way to spend the day before vacation at school.