Kindergarten Days

Grade K
April 12-23

Through special virtual activities designed using Indiana Academic Standards, students are introduced to our permanent exhibits. This year’s Kindergarten Days integrates digital and hands-on components. An interactive website allows students to explore content, as well as photos and videos of our exhibits. A physical kit provides materials for hands-on activities that students can complete in either a classroom or a distance-learning environment.

Insect Mania

Grades K–2
April 26-30
30 minutes
$50 per class (30 students)
Member Schools are free

Experience a variety of virtual insect content, including online activities and videos with experts! This year’s Insect Mania integrates digital and hands-on components. An interactive website allows students to explore content, as well as photos and videos of Insects. A physical kit provides materials for hands-on activities that students can complete in either a classroom or a distance-learning environment.

Presented by Corteva Agriscience

Dale Chihuly Art

Grades K–2
35 minutes
Dale Chihuly is a world-renowned glass sculptor who created the permanent artwork Fireworks of Glass that rises through the core of the museum, as well as the accompanying Pergola Ceiling. Enjoy a virtual visit with this work of art and experience how Chihuly designed these pieces. Create a Chihuly-inspired piece of art in your classroom. (Kit Provided)

Collections Chat

Grades 3-5
30 minutes
Explore history and science through the museum’s collection! Students will examine images of an object from the collection using See, Think, Wonder, a guided thinking strategy. During the program, students will make observations, identify why they think the object is important, and ask questions. A museum curator will share stories of the object, and will help students understand how the objects help us understand history or science.

Choose an object to examine.

• Votes for Women – Students will examine a flag used in women’s suffrage rallies. They will learn how women used their voice to earn the right to vote in national elections.
• Susan B. Anthony – Students will examine the signature of Susan B Anthony. They will learn how she fought for women to have the right to vote.

Secrets of the Artifact

Grades 3-5
35 minutes
Join the team and virtually examine a mysterious artifact. How can artifacts and archaeology teach us about the past? Students learn new thinking strategies as they use context clues and inquiry skills to identify a mystery artifact and discover more about the past.

Found Voices

Grades 6-8
35 minutes
By engaging with stories and artifacts, students explore the circumstances that forced Anne Frank into hiding. They then connect with her writing by using passages from her diary to create found poems. By looking closely at Anne’s work, students magnify her voice—and find their own. (Kit Provided)

Hop, Swim, and Fly

Grades K–2
20 minutes
Students will explore the ScienceWorks pond up-close and personal with the use of special cameras that mimic the movements of various animals. They will record observations in a visual organizer and try to determine which animals move in which ways.

Light, Camera, Action!

Grades K–2
20 minutes
Students will learn about the basic behavior of light by watching how it affects the view from the Children's Museum's cameras. They will use a visual organizer to record observations about how different items or changes to the environment affect what they can see, and brainstorm how those items might be used.

Plants Alive!

Grades K–2
40 minutes
Take part in a virtual visit to our rooftop garden led by museum staff. Create a garden in a glove and watch seeds grow. (Kit Provided)

Presented by Corteva Agriscience

Dino Traits

Grades K-2
30 minutes
Explore dinosaurs’ bodies straight from the dino’s mouth: our teenage T-rex, Bucky! Watch an interview with Bucky about how his different traits helped him survive and then examine replicas of Jurassic dinosaur parts. Your observations will help you determine how those dinosaurs lived and how scientists organize dinos into different groups. (Kit Provided)

Geology Tour

Grades 3-5
45 minutes
Throw on your virtual headlamps for a personal tour of our mine and cave within the Corteva Agriscience ScienceWorks for a look inside the world of geology! Together we will discuss the properties that make up different types of rocks and minerals and then lead you through a guided rock identification activity in your classroom using rocks from your students’ own collections. (Kit Provided)

Secrets of the Paleo Lab

Grades 3-5
45 minutes
Start your virtual visit with a behind the scenes look into a real working paleontology lab to learn about the preparation and study of dinosaur bones! Once you’ve been inspired by learning about the exciting work they do, join a STEMLab facilitator to learn more about fossils to prepare you for an investigation in your classroom! With real fossils and tools, work together to clean and observe to see what you can learn from prehistoric remains. (Kit Provided)

Fairy Tale Forensics

Grades 4-6
30 minutes
Students will practice their science process skills by examining a crime scene: breaking and entering at a house owned by a family of three bears. They will learn basic forensic investigation principles as they gather and examine various types of evidence.

Planet or Planot

Grades 6-8
40 minutes
Students will discuss the classification of solar system objects and learn how astronomers view the many bodies orbiting the sun by observing their properties.

Behind the Genes

Grades 6-9
45 minutes

Students will learn about genetics in agriculture using soybeans. They will perform a basic DNA extraction from soybeans and a protein test to determine if a soybean is conventional or genetically modified. (Kit Provided).

Presented by Indiana Soybean Alliance.