School Year Kicks Off With Field Trips to Supreme Court
Educator-guide Jodi Hawk teaches students in the Mock Trial Room of the Visitor Education Center at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center, home of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Educator-guide Jodi Hawk teaches students in the Mock Trial Room of the Visitor Education Center at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center, home of the Ohio Supreme Court.
As school bells ring in a new school year across Ohio this week, students will again take field trips to the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center, home of the Ohio Supreme Court, as part of their civic education curriculum.
The first tour of the 2012-13 school year is scheduled for later this month, and the pace will continue to build through the fall, according to Jay Wuebbold, manager of the civic education programs at the Supreme Court.
The Civic Education Section conducted 314 tours for 14,126 visitors in 2011, setting a new one-year attendance record, Wuebbold said. The student count totaled 10,744, which represented 76 percent of the total attendance.
Wuebbold attributed the record-breaking year to $30,000 in grant money set aside by the Ohio Judicial Center Foundation for 100 grants to help schools defray the transportation costs of visiting the Moyer Judicial Center. Grants to fund more field trips this school year are under consideration by the foundation.
The Visitor Education Center continues to update its exhibits. Last week the center installed a cast football player on a bench as a new representation of a case that centered on Kentucky students asserting their right to play high school sports in Ohio.
The Visitor Education Center is a dynamic teaching tool offering students grades fourth and above an inside look at Ohio courts. There are interactive exhibits that portray the workings and history of the judicial system with hands-on materials and engaging exhibits and videos.
The Visitor Education Center is located on the Ground Floor of the Moyer Judicial Center in downtown Columbus. Visitors are welcome weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations for groups of eight or more are required and school tours typically last 90 minutes. Call 614.387.9223 or e-mail courttours@sc.ohio.gov to schedule a tour.