Cubing Exercise

1. Generalizing: consider what you have learned from the event or experience that will be the occasion for your reflections. What ideas does it suggest to you? What does it suggest about people in general or about the society in which you live?
From visiting the museum, I learned that there are a lot of things I don't know about. Some creatures were found so long ago in history, millions of years ago. A lot of the skeletons I observed were found in Nebraska. I didn't know that we had such archeological digs in our state, and unless people visit the museum, I don't think they would know any of that information. I think what I will reflect most on is the elephant gallery because it had the most impact on me because most of those creatures are extinct, where as the camels and fish we still have today.

2. Giving examples: illustrate your ideas with specific examples. What examples would best help your readers understand your ideas?
My main focus is going to be the elephants because outside of the hall is a statue of an elephant. I want to describe in vivid details what the skeletal structures of these creatures look like because it is fascinating and beyond my understand how a creature can become that big. I want people to grasp the size of these animals and understand that they aren't here anymore.

3. Comparing & contrasting: think of a subject that could be compared with yours & explore the similarities & the differences.
I think I could compare the mammoths to the elephants because they are different, even though people mistake them for being the same. I could focus on the details of the mammoth and then focus on the details of an elephant. Mammoths are larger in size, have bigger tusks, and also the teeth are not the same. Mammoths are extinct completely, but two species of elephants still exist.

4. Extending: take your subject to its logical limits & speculate about its implications. Where does it lead?
The elephants gallery is part of the museum, and the museum is made up of several galleries. Each gallery has a significance in the development of life and our history. The Museum showcases what used to inhabit Nebraska before any civilization ever reached this land. The Museum expresses the wild life and a deeper meaning to Nebraska, and something we could ultimately be proud of.

5. Analyzing: take apart your subject. What is it made of? How are the parts related to one another? Are they all of equal importance?
The elephants structure is made of bones, crafted together to reform the body. The elphant was dug up, and each bone had to be put together in the right spot. After being buried for thousands or millions of years, these bones can be brittle. Its important to realize that the museum showcases all of these creatures, animals that were once alive, but their body's and bones have been preserved so that everyone can see them. Maybe not the real animal itself, but with bones as evidence, we can prove that these creatures actually existed at one point in time.

6. Applying: think about your subject in practical terms. How can you use it or act on it? What difference would it make to you & to others?
Its hard to exactly act on the museum, but what could be done is informing people that this museum does exist. It is vital that we have something like this in Nebraska to showcase our true self. People just think of Nebraska as corn and football, but that is not it. We have history, lots of it. We have skeletons of dinosaurs dating to prehistoric times, skeletons of humans and dogs.