Are you looking for a way to show your students a real-world application of what you’re teaching? Virtual field trips and video conferences are a great way to interact with professionals across the world and gain a deeper understanding of the content. Check out one of the FREE programs that are being offered in the near future.
Science Rocks! Date: May 23rd at 1:00 pm Target Audience: Grades K-8 Description: What is sound? Why do things make different sounds? Or why you beat a drum but pluck a guitar? Join us for Science Rocks to learn all that and more.
Video conferences that can be scheduled at the requester’s convenience
Programs offered through Discovery ED include: The Science Behind Turf Management, Dig into Mining The Story of Copper, Decoding Cancer, etc.
Weather in the Desert Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Kindergarten and 1st Grade Description: Students are introduced to Zion National Park through pictures and videos, and get to learn about the desert from rangers located in Zion. The program introduces the desert with a singalong song and short story and then discusses the various animals that live there. Students are invited to sing with rangers as they meet various animals around Zion, and then get to “create a rainstorm” and discuss the monsoon season in the southwest.
Native American Life Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades K-5 Description: Explore the life of the Plains Indians tribes. Enter the Durham Museum tepee and earth lodge to interact with Native American artifacts and meet Scout, our resident buffalo. Learn how the Native Americans used the resources around them throughout the centuries, before showing off your own buffalo artifact creation!
Pro Football Hall of Fame Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades K-12 Description: Enjoy topics such as “Movement and Motion”, “The History of the NFL Scoring System”, “African American Trailblazers”, and more!
Longwood Gardens Virtual Field Trips
Date: Programs are offered Tuesday through Friday at a time selected by the school from September through June. Target Audience: K-12 Description: Our Educators deliver lessons directly into your classroom, during which they engage your students in discussion and problem-solving activities as they explore a variety of topics through video, images, and hands-on activities.
A School Day in 1872 Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades K-5 Description: In this lesson Park Rangers will examine the requirements to claim land under the Homestead Act of 1862 and the differences in a school day today and in 1872.
Midwest Archeological Center: Excavation and Tools Date: Must be requested at least one week in advance Target Audience: Grades 1-5 Description: This is a five-part series (Intro to Archeology, Archeological Sites, Excavation and Tools, Mapping, Analysis, and Curation) – however, all five programs can stand as individual programs. You may request all five parts or any individual program.
Midwest Archeological Center: Exploring History with Artifacts Date: Must be requested at least one week in advance Target Audience: Grades 1-12 Description: The Midwest Archeological Center takes care of archeological collections from National Parks. Take a tour of these collections to see how artifacts tell the human story throughout the past! Available for all ages!
George Washington Carver: Struggle for Education Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades 2-4 Description: This lesson focuses on numerous obstacles George Washington Carver faced and
overcame in order to earn his education and how he became a role model of
perseverance and success.
Homestead Act of 1862 Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades 3-5 Description: The Homestead Act had a huge impact on the United States. In this lesson, Park Rangers will examine how the United States acquired all this land, how the Civil War impacted this significant piece of legislation, and what the requirements were to claim land under the Homestead Act of 1862.
Smithsonian American Art Museum- Found Object Artworks
Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades 3-12 Description: From beads to bottle caps, tinfoil to toys, artists have used many non-traditional materials to express themselves and create art. This videoconference covers how artists use everyday materials, vision and imagination, storytelling, and a sense of place.
Smithsonian American Art Museum- Contemporary Craft Works Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades 3-12 Description: Craft artists push beyond traditions by testing the limits of materials and techniques. Whether using clay, metal, glass, or fiber, these artists create works that blur the lines between art and craft and encourage us to see everyday objects in new ways.
George Washington and the French and Indian War
Date: Dependent on requester
Target Audience: Grades 4-8 Description: The Fort Necessity park ranger will interact with the students and use George Washington’s writings to show them how Washington’s ambition, hard work, and experiences in the French and Indian War helped him mature into the famous man we all know today. Students will have an opportunity to ask the park ranger questions.
Smithsonian American Art Museum- Young America Date: You must register at least 4 weeks prior to your selected date Target Audience: Grades 4-12 Description: The transition from colonial rule to national independence was a pivotal time in American history. Students will explore colonial and early federal art that tells the story of growing national ambitions, territorial expansion, and the beginning of the industry.
African American Artists Date: Must be requested at least four weeks in advance Target Audience: Grades 4-12 Description: The lives of African American artists lend insight into the context of their works. Learn about the diverse body of artwork created by African American artists and the historical, social, and cultural events, as well as the life experiences, that inspired their work.
Lure of the West Date: Must be requested at least four weeks in advance Target Audience: Grades 4-12 Description: Part geography and part mythology, the American West retains a powerful allure in popular culture. Explore depictions of the people, lifestyles, and landscapes of the 19th century West to better understand this dynamic period of history.
Kenai Fjords National Park- Listening to the Ice Date: Available Monday- Friday between 10:30am-3pm EST
Target Audience: Grades 5-8 Description: What are global warming and climate change? How are they caused, and how they are impacting our planet? A National Park Ranger will use Kenai Fjords National Park as a looking glass through which to observe our planet’s health. The ranger will engage students with questioning, video content, and other techniques in order to broaden their local and global understanding of climate change and leave them with a hopeful attitude about the future of our natural environment.
A House Divided: Civil War
Date: Dependent on the requester Target Audience: Grades 5-12 Description: The Civil War tested and consumed the country for more than four years. Explore how this great conflict and subsequent Reconstruction period are depicted through the traditional mediums of painting and sculpture, as well as the then-new medium of photography. Hosted by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Careers in an Art Museum Date: First Friday of Every Month Target Audience: Grades 6-12 Description: Travel behind the scenes to hear from Head of Registration and Collections Marci Driggers and Curator Maggie Adler to learn about their exciting jobs, and discover how these museum professionals work together to accomplish goals within the museum.
The Bill of Rights in Real Life Date: Programs are available by request Tuesday-Thursday and must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance Target Audience: Grades 6-8 Description: During this interactive program, students will focus on the rights and limitations within the Bill of Rights and discuss why they, as middle school students, should care about the Bill of Rights. Students will examine historical documents from the holdings of the National Archives and practice primary source analysis skills as they decide which of the first ten amendments connects to the image or document on display.