Transfer at The BEACH

One of the great debates and Holy Grails in the education world is 'transfer'. Can a student apply the knowledge and skills they learned in Maths class in a different context, like Chemistry or Home Economics? Can they take the grammatical understanding gained in English and apply it in a History essay or in Spanish? Some would say, based on experience of students in their classroom, that this transfer of skills doesn't happen. It's not to say that it can't, it just doesn't seem to happen easily or naturally. 

My morning at The BEACH exhibit at the National Building Museum provided ample evidence that humanoids of all ages seamlessly transfer learning from one experience to another. Here is what I witnessed:

(1) You are allowed to wear shoes in the water/ball-pit but everyone took off their shoes before going into the 'water'.

(2) A Dad in the 'water' picked up his young daughter and tossed her freely into the balls.

(3) Grandparents shouted "Don't go too far out! Stay where it's shallow!" 

(4) Friends splashed each other with the 'water'.

(5) People left books and water bottles on deckchairs to keep their spots.

(6) Some people floated, some swam and some paddled.

Despite that fact that we were in "an enclosure and built out of construction materials such as scaffolding, wooden panels, and perforated mesh, all clad in stark white", and the 'ocean' was "nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls" people acted exactly like they would at a beach. It was fascinating!

I marveled at how easily all these strangers knew how to act in this familiar yet completely new and different context. Transfer is totally possible (in fact we do it all the time) - perhaps The BEACH just had one of the magic ingredient for transfer to happen easily - fun!

Great Day Out: The BEACH at the National Building Museum

All summer there's been an invitation to play from one of DC's finest museums:

 "The National Building Museum presents a one-of-a-kind destination for visitors, an interactive architectural installation that brings the quintessential summer experience of going to the beach to downtown Washington, D.C. Spanning across the Museum’s Great Hall, the BEACH, created in partnership with Snarkitecture, will cover 10,000 square feet and include an “ocean” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls."


I spent the morning at The BEACH with a dear friend and honestly, it was awesome!! It's worth the $16 entry as it's such a clever, simple, fear and laughter producing experience.

When you first get into the 'water' ballpit you sink like quicksand - you don't expect it and it takes a moment to get your sea legs. After falling around for a while you work out how to float and wade in the water and you start to relax.

We played in the water for a while then went a got refreshments at the Union Kitchen Snack Bar. A wee paddle and people watching was then in order, and if we'd known there would be deck chairs we would have chilled out with a good book!

You can see a few strollers in this picture -  I'd heard from Mums with kids the same age as Miss O that they'd found their Little Ones visit there a little unnerving .. ok one said terrifying! Whilst the Little One's can't 'drown' as such the balls do suck you in and watching your baby disappear under the translucent water would be freaky. There were lots of little people there having a great time but I'm glad I went sans enfant - I'd a much better time not having to worry about her!

We had a fantastic morning - I'll share some more reflections on the installation tomorrow. Suffice to say it closes Labor Day - September 7th - don't miss it!