G4 Field Trip | 天津蓟州之行：赴一场文化与自然的约会

独乐寺，了不起的中国古建

一次与小昆虫的亲密接触

——做昆虫标本

On May 29th, students and teachers arrived at the Dule Temple, a historical monument located at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, one of the three surviving Liao Dynasty temples in China. According to the guide, Dule Temple was built in the beginning of Sui and Tang dynasties. The wooden structure of the building was built without a single nail and rivet, with all the beams and arches fitting together, and the eaves and teeth pecking in one piece. The fourth graders learned that Dule Temple is composed of ancient buildings such as the Mountain Gate and Guanyin Pavilion. What was most interesting and surprising to the children was that the mortise and tenon structure of the entire Guanyin Pavilion was like putting together Lego blocks. Even after a thousand years of wind, sand, rain and snow erosion and many earthquakes, the structure is still standing! The children marveled at the ingenious art and craftsmanship of Chinese architecture and felt proud of the ancient wisdom of the ancient Chinese. At the end of the tour, a small test allowed the children to quickly review what they had just learned about ancient architecture and to refresh their knowledge of the past.

Insect hotels are a very important part of ecological design. At the Eden Spring Mountain, the children learned about the operation of insect hotels and the ecological cycle of nature. The children worked in groups to design and build insect hotels of various shapes and sizes. Eleven creative insect hotels were placed in the Eden Sustainable where they will welcome different insects. The children experienced the beauty of nature and gained a new understanding of the environment, its resources, and the interconnectedness of life.

As the sun set and the night drew in, everyone gathered in the Spring Breeze Library to listen to a graffiti artist share his journey of art creation and his knowledge and thoughts on art. The atmosphere was very interactive. The busy day ended with the viewing of documentary “The Biggest Little Farm.”

The next day, May 30th, at Eden Spring Hill Lane, the children had a close encounter with insects. The children used a horned hibiscus as a specimen-making bug and learned how to make the insects in a whole posture, how to preserve them, and how to assemble them after disassembly. They also learned about the different parts of the insects’ bodies and experienced fixing the insects with specimen pins themselves. Some children were resistant to small insects at first, but after understanding and exposure, they changed their views on insects and learned to accept and bravely engaged in the taxidermy activity. The children understood the importance of insects in the natural ecosystem and realized the harmony between human and insects.