Pre K
Animals, Animals, Everywhere! Young children will enjoy learning about the animals in the museum as they role play and learn interesting animal facts. (30 minutes/floor)
Plant a seed, watch it grow! Children will learn how plants grow from seeds through reading books, examining seeds and planting a seed to take home. (30 minutes)
Feathered Friends – By looking at eggs, feathers and nests, children will learn about these intriguing and unique creatures. The focus is on common birds that are familiar to many children. (30 minutes)
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade – recommended time 40 minutes/activity
Feathered Friends – By looking at eggs, feathers and nests, children will learn about these intriguing and unique creatures. The focus is on common birds that are familiar to many children.
Plant a seed, watch it grow! Children will learn how plants grow from seeds through reading books, examining seeds and planting a seed to take home.
WHOOOO lives here? – Become familiar with the owls that are native to Pennsylvania and learn about these nocturnal hunters. Children will learn the characteristics of each owl species as well as their call.
Skulls and Furs – Learn about common Pennsylvanian animals from their skulls and furs. Discover if an animal is a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore by looking at the skull of the animal. Furs show how an animal is protected from the climate and if it is camouflaged.
Prey/Predator – Children play a game to learn about what an animal needs to survive and how predators and prey interact with each other.
Hike – Take a walk through the woods and see what animals and plants live in the forest. Touch the smooth bark of a beech tree, listen for the call of the Red-tailed Hawk, and look for signs of animal life.
Grades 3 – 5
Skulls and Furs – Learn about common Pennsylvanian animals from their skulls and furs. Discover if an animal is a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore by looking at the skull of the animal. Furs show how an animal is protected from the climate and if it is camouflaged.
WHOOOO lives here? – Become familiar with the owls that are native to Pennsylvania and learn about these nocturnal hunters. Children will learn the characteristics of each owl species as well as their call.
Prey/Predator – Play a game to learn about what an animal needs to survive. Through the game, children will see how predators and prey interact with each other and what effect disease and man can have on an animal population.
Geology Rocks! - Students will see and touch specimens while they learn about the different types of rock. They will also learn how rocks are important in their everyday life.
Creek Study – Collect and study the organisms found in the Yellow Breeches Creek on campus. Learn about macro invertebrates, water quality and how we are all connected by our water systems. One option is for students to do the collecting themselves. They would need to come prepared with water shoes (old sneakers or sturdy sandals) to wear in the creek and an extra pair that can be worn for the rest of the day. Or Oakes Museum staff can collect the specimens and students can work on the bank of the creek identifying.
Lewis and Clark Day – An all-day event that takes your students back in time to meet Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea. Go on a hike with Lewis and learn of the importance of plants to the journey. Sacagawea tells of the animals that were encountered by the Corps. Learn how the expedition navigated and made accurate maps of their journey from Clark. Students should bring along journals to take their own scientific notes throughout the day.
Native American Life – Learn how Native Americans survived off of the land. Students will examine tools and artifacts as well as look at some of the common plants used by Native Americans for food and medicine.
Animal Tracking –Hike through the forest looking for animal tracks and scat. Learn how to identify an animal by their footprints and find out the best places to look for signs of animal life.
Bottle Biology – Each student will make their own bottle ecosystem complete with animal and plant life to take home. The water cycle and essential components of life will be reviewed.
Hike – Find out what animals and plants are found in the forest. Learn basic plant identification skills and discover the best places to look for animals.
Animals Adaptations – Take an in-depth tour of the museum looking at how animals are specifically adapted to their environment. (Recommended tour time 1 hour for each floor).
Grades 6 – 8 - Recommended time 1 hour/activity
What’s a Watershed? - Trace the flow of water across campus to the Yellow Breeches Creek. Discover why water flows where it does, visit a wetland and see how humans manipulate their water systems.
Creek Study - Collect and study the organisms found in the Yellow Breeches Creek on campus. Learn about macro invertebrates, water quality and how we are all connected by our water systems. One option is for students to do the collecting themselves. They would need to come prepared with water shoes (old sneakers or sturdy sandals) to wear in the creek and an extra pair that can be worn for the rest of the day. Or Oakes Museum staff can collect the specimens and students can work on the bank of the creek identifying.
Water Pollution and the Chesapeake Bay – How does one person’s poor choices affect another person’s water supply? Learn how people are connected to each other through water and some ways to help clean up our watershed.
Watershed Day – Come for the whole day and do the above 3 activities and take a tour of our North American Floor to learn about the animals living in our watershed.
Native American Life – Learn how Native Americans survived off of the land. Students will examine tools and artifacts as well as look at some of the common plants used by Native Americans for food and medicine.
Plant and Tree Identification – Hike into the forest and look at the leaf shape, bark type and growth patterns to identify common Pennsylvanian plants.
Grades 9 – 12
Class: Mammalia – Tour through the museum focusing on the classification of mammals. Highlights include members of the order Carnivora, Pinnepedia and Artiodactyla. (2 hours)
Dichotomous Key Construction – Students will collect plant specimens, learn plant identification skills and construct their own dichotomous key. (2 hours)
Global Climate Change – Tour through the museum learning the terminology connected with climate change and find out how habitats and species are being affected by changing temperatures. (2 hours) |
