boys will be boys

Google's Expeditions AR Pioneer Program visited my middle school campus this week. Most of these kids were familiar with the virtual reality experiences Expeditions offers, so they didn't know quite what to expect. Once they got past the "fancy" phones and selfie sticks, they were pretty enamored with the technology. I mean, not too many people can say they've seen DNA inside Chromosomes, or stood next to  World World II soldier, or held a Category 5 hurricane. These kids can, and they loved it. 

The best part about today was seeing how different students reacted and interacted with the augmented content they were seeing. 7th grade Texas History students who have been learning about World War II got to "see" the following in real life: a Higgins Boat, soldier, Jeep, GermanU-Boat, Tank, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and USS Arizona. 
What made me smile was seeing this young man at the end of the day. As soon as he saw that Thunderbolt for the first time he was instantly transported to flying through the air (lying on the ground) and warding off enemy combatants (cue the sound effects). 
It was a simple reminder that we should be mindful about giving kids opportunities to just be kids. Yes, the learning was our first priority, but the day was pretty fun too!