Traveling Educational Programs
The next best thing to taking your class on a field trip to the EcoTarium is bringing the EcoTarium to your classroom. In our new Traveling Educational Programs, an EcoTarium museum educator will come to your classroom with all of the materials required for a 45 minute program full of hands-on discovery. Traveling Programs are available September through March.
Where Do Turtles Go in Winter?
Students learn the different strategies animals use to cope with winter, including migration, hibernation, or remaining active. This program includes a story, hands-on activity, and a visit with a live turtle from the EcoTarium.
Frameworks: PK-K: Mathematics, Measurement and Data MA PK.MD.3, K.MD.2, K.MD.3. PreK-2: Earth Science 5 Life Science 1,3,6,7,8, English Language Arts, Reading Informational Texts RI.PK.MA.1, RI.PK.MA.10, RI.K 1, Speaking and Listening SL.PK.MA.2, SL.PK.MA.6, SL.K.2, SL.K.6.
The Massachusetts Shore
Hear a story by an EcoTarium museum educator, examine beach sand and other items you might find on the beach, learn to sort which materials came from living things and which did not, and then meet some live tide pool animals.
Frameworks: PK-K: Mathematics, Measurement and Data MA. PK.MD. 3, K.MD.1, K.MD.2, K.MD.3. PreK-2: Earth Science 1,5 Life Science 1,2,3,6,8, Physical Science (Chemistry) 1, English Language Arts, Reading Informational Texts, RI.PK.MA.1, RI.PK.MA.10, RI.K.1, RI.K.10, Speaking and Listening SL.PK.MA.2, SL.PK.MA.6, SL.K.2, SL.K.6.
Underground Expeditions
Students analyze and describe soil samples in this program that uses the real world methods of soil scientists, including building a table to compare samples. Along the way, students learn about the structure of soil and the organisms that make up soil.
Frameworks: K: Mathematics, Measurement and Data K.MD.1, K.MD.2, K.MD.3, K.MD.4. PreK-2: Earth Science 1, Life Science 1,2,8, Physical Science (Chemistry) 1.
Sun Angle and the Seasons
Why do we have seasons? How do the relative positions of the sun and Earth change over the course of the day and the course of the year? How can we measure these changes? Students answer these questions and more with hands-on activities and the help of a museum educator in their own classrooms. (The perfect culmination of this subject is a visit to the EcoTarium, including the Astronomy program the Earth, the Moon and the Sun.)
Frameworks: Gr. 3-5: Earth Science 13,14,15. Gr 4: Mathematics Geometry 4.G.5a. Gr. 6-8: Earth Science 8, 9, 10,11.
Designing for Wind
Students gain insight about a real world engineering career, working in groups to learn about the process of converting wind energy into electricity. They experiment with windmill blade placement and measure its effect on performance. The program examines the balance of research and development costs versus profits.
Frameworks: Gr. 3-4: Mathematics Numbers and Operations in Base Ten 3.NBT.2, Measurement and Data 4.MD.2, Geometry 4.G.5b, Physical Science 4,5,6, Tech/Engineering 2.1,2.2. Gr. 6-8: Physical Science 11, Tech/Engineering 2.1,2.5.
Cost
The cost for EcoTarium Traveling Educational Programs is $300 for the first session (up to 20 students in grade PreK, up to 30 students in grades K-8), $100 for each additional session (same program/back to back times) at the same location. Travel fees apply for sites more than 30 miles from the museum. Each program is 45 minutes in length and links to curriculum frameworks.
Reservations
To book a Traveling Educational Program for your classroom, please call 508-929-2703, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or email reservations [at] ecotarium [dot] org (subject: Reserving%20a%20Traveling%20Educational%20Program) . A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the program cost is due within one week of booking. The final, non-refundable payment is due two weeks before the visit.
(Please note that some of the programs include a live animal. The EcoTarium has a no-touch policy for program animals.)
