Natural history museums Teacher Resources

Behind the closed doors of natural history museums lies a hidden world of scientific research and discovery that goes unseen for visitors. Follow along as this short video explores different scientific mysteries that have been solved...

Students explore U.S. history by participating in a class field trip. In this museum lesson plan, students attend a field trip to the Natural History Museum and identify cultural stories and art pieces they enjoy. Students collaborate in...

The second instructional activity in the series begins with a starter activity discussing wild versus domesticated animals. Then, scholars play a card game, with optional variations, to emphasize artificial selection. Next, they attend a...

Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...

Students explore the visual information a diorama artist provides by thinking of all the details for the background of a location described by their teacher. They investigate diorama artists and their importance in creating the illusion...

Why are there old dinosaur bones in the museum? Because they can't afford new ones! The chapter contains seven hands-on activities at four different levels covering geological eras, dinosaurs, timelines, and statigraphy. 

Geologists are gneiss, tuff, and a little bit wacke. The fifth chapter of seven includes ten activities at four different levels. The hands-on activities cover fossils including how they are formed, vertebrates, invertebrates,...

Young scholars get up close and personal with invertebrates. In this mini-beasts lesson plan, students may visit the Natural History Museum, the Bramley Frith Education Centre, the Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World online or in-person...

Ever wonder how to create museum dioramas? Examine the newly created striped hyena exhibit through the eyes of a scientist using a video from a larger playlist on mammals. Content includes the origins of the hyenas in the display, why...

Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects. Scholars return to...

Cleopatra lived closer to the first moon landing than the building of the pyramids at Giza. If your pupils are struggling to understand the timeline of the 4.6-billion-year history of the Earth, a lesson about the Geologic Time Scale is...

Take a walk on the wild side with a project about animal habitats. After kids observe a chosen animal in its home, they describe the animal's food and water sources, shelter, and how it raises its young. They then write a short fictional...

What can teeth tell us about an animal's diet? Learners examine animal skulls to determine what their canines, incisros, premolars, and molars reveal. 

Every bug is an insect, but not all insects are bugs. A presentation lists the characteristics of insects, describes their body parts, and explains metamorphosis. It also details every order and includes photographs and multiple facts...

Students discover details about dinosaurs in Great Britain. In this dinosaur lesson, students visit selected museums and learning centers online and in person to examine and study dinosaur exhibits.

High schoolers create a binomial system of nomenclature for classifying organisms they encounter in a field trip to a natural history museum or from pictures in library books. They work in small groups to create accurate drawings and...

The evidence for natural selection is presented as a random variation of a characteristic allowing a particular strain of organism to survive with a higher probability of successful reproduction. Population change over a short period of...

Some artists carve into gemstones as their artistic medium. As part of the Brain Scoop Fossils and Geology playlist, the Field Museum opens the vault to share amazing gems, including some that people carved. From a solid gold purse to a...

How do museums keep up with all of the tiny creatures they collect? Go behind the scenes through a video from a larger playlist covering mammals. The narrator shows how skeletal parts are numbered, then examines the museum's collection...

Octopi transfer sperm by a modified arm tip. Other interesting and weird facts about octopus sex in included in an intriguing video. Brain Scoop presents the seventh part of a series on an adventure at the Field Museum as part of its...

Learners discuss African childhood, explore family traditions, customs, and beliefs, examine African recipes, discuss differences or similarities in food preparation between the U.S. and Africa, and prepare a dish with adult supervision.

Students explore ancient tradition and craft of mask making, examine role or function of masks in African culture, create instruments, and participate in class projects.

Students investigate the economic and daily activities in a typical African community. They design and construct a small scale house, play an African board game, create African money, discuss vocabulary, and write an essay.