FIELD TRIP OPPORTUNITIES
Guided Programs and Hands-on Workshops
Guided programs are designed as interactive and hands-on learning experiences based on museum exhibits, where students use objects, inquiry, and critical thinking skills to discover, wonder, and reflect. Hands-on workshops are designed as sit-down, hands-on, in-depth learning experiences offered in conjunction with guided programs. A guided program or hands-on workshop is a content-rich, stand-alone experience; Pairing a guided program and hands-on workshop together provides a wonderful, two hour in-depth, enjoyable educational experience for students.
Guided Programs:
Discover Native Americans (recommended for preK – 2nd grades)
Discover the prehistoric Native Americans of Southwest Colorado through observing, matching, comparing, and sorting. This program includes time to explore the Museum's Discovery Corner.Discover Fossils (recommended for preK – 2nd grades)
Discover different types of fossils and prehistoric plants and animals through observing, identifying, and comparing. This program includes time to explore the Museum's Discovery Corner.Insect Explorers (recommended for 2nd – 3rd grades)
Explore the structure and life cycle of insects, focusing on beetles, grasshoppers, and bees. This program is part guided exploration of the exhibits and part hands-on workshop.Early Native Peoples of Colorado (recommended for 3rd – 5th grades)
Discover and explore the diverse and unique life ways, landscape, and objects of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples (Anasazi) of southwest Colorado and the Four Corners area in this hands-on, station-based guided program.Fossils: Evidence of Past Life (recommended for 3rd – 5th grades)
What can we learn from fossils? What do they tell us about past life? Learn how fossil plants and animals reveal clues to the past and explore how life has changed over time in this hands-on, station-based guided program.Adaptation and Variation: Colorado Animals and Plants (recommended for 3rd – 5th grades) How do different animals adapt to their environment? What are ways we classify plants and animals? Explore the structure and function, interaction and interdependence of life all around us in this hands-on, station-based guided program.
Stories from the Collection (recommended for 6th – 12th grades, and adults)
The CU Museum has the largest natural history collection in the Rocky Mountain region with more than four million objects. Learn the stories behind some of the highlights of the collection in this hands-on, interactive exploration of the Museum.
Hands-on Workshops
Pottery of the Prehistoric Southwest Workshop (recommended for 3rd – 5th grades) Learn the steps of ancient pottery making and examine prehistoric pottery designs and shapes as students create their own pot to take home.
Fossils: Clues to the Past Workshop (recommended for 3nd – 5th grades)
Discover different types of fossils and investigate how plants and animals become fossilized. Students use paleontology tools to excavate their own fossil to take home.Animal Adaptation Workshop (recommended for 3rd – 5th grades)
Explore skulls, scat, and tracks to learn about the characteristics, adaptations, and variation of Colorado animals. Students make their own plaster animal track to take home.Kinesthetic Connections Workshop (recommended for 6th – 12th grades, and adults) Discover, explore, and reflect on museum objects from the perspectives of time, space and energy in a movement workshop specifically designed to complement the Stories from the Collection guided program.
Self-Guided Visits
Reservations are required for self-guided visits to ensure a positive experience for your group and to avoid overcrowding in the Museum. When you make your reservation, please inquire about self-guided materials to enhance your visit. There is no charge for self-guided visits, but donations are welcome.
