Southern Museum homeschool program turns trains into hands-on lessons

For 13-year-old James Coggins, learning often starts with a question followed by measuring, testing and experimenting to find an answer. James and his 7-year-old brother, Jakob, are among the homeschool students who take part in hands-on educational programs at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw. During a recent workshop focused on counterweights and balance, students explored how those concepts connect to railroad systems. The workshop included three sections led by museum educators, giving students different activities and challenges to work through. At one station, James carefully measured the center of a balance before adding and repositioning weights. "Every now and then, the tiniest difference can make the biggest impact," James said as he experimented. His younger brother approaches problems with similar curiosity. "As you can see, I really like to test out different ideas that I have," Jakob said. Their mother, Jessie Coggins, said hands-on activities are an important part of how her sons learn. "They're creators," she said. "And we try in their schooling to always make sure that they have options to make those concepts really drive home." Jessie said the museum's programs bring several subjects together, including engineering, science, history and math. Students also use reading and writing skills as they work through instructions and projects. Amy Torrance, an early childhood educator at the Southern Museum, said that multidisciplinary approach is intentional. The museum's STEAM-based activities are designed to give children different ways to engage with the material. The counterweight workshop also introduced students to railroad concepts involving catenary systems, along with simple machines, levers, scales, pulleys and weight distribution. For James, trains are only one part of his curiosity. His father is a pilot, and James said aviation was one of his first major interests. Even the Air Force hat he wore during the workshop has a family connection. James called it his "show Air Force hat," explaining that he did not want to wear the original for his interview. He said the original is about 37 years old and was given to his father when he was 12 while visiting a relative graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. James said traveling has also expanded his interest in transportation. Riding trains during trips to Europe helped grow his curiosity about railroads and how the technology has changed over time. "Literally every time we come here, there's something new," James said. The museum has become familiar territory for the Coggins family. "It's fun enough that we come back every month," James said. Torrance has watched those visits add up over the years. She remembers when James and Jakob first started attending. Jakob was just 2 years old, and the family's youngest child had not yet been born. "So it's very, very fun, creating that community, watching children grow in the program, watching them grow in their knowledge and their personalities and their independence," Torrance said. Five years later, Jakob is 7, and James is 13. Torrance said creating a sense of community is an important part of the museum's homeschool programming. Families can move through projects at their own pace and connect activities at the museum with concepts children may already be learning at home. The programs are also designed around Georgia's Standards of Excellence. "The heart of our mission in every early childhood program is we want to be an integral part in creating lifelong learners," Torrance said. "So we want children to come in and have fun and play and also learn." For James, completing one project often means there is another question waiting to be answered. After measuring, cutting and assembling his train, he put it in motion and completed the station. "Boom," James said. "And that should be the station complete." Click here for more details. In: Georgia Education Featured Local Savings