School Programs

During takeoff from Reagan National Airport, a plane collided with a flock of birds and was forced to make an emergency landing. During this staff-led program, students will follow in the footsteps of Smithsonian scientists to determine the species of bird that brought down the airplane by examining bird fragments and feathers collected from the affected aircraft, and simulating processing DNA. Students will learn how bird strike data is used by airport managers to alter airfield habitats, and debate proposed methods of discouraging bird congregation around airports.

Related Video: Forensic Ornithologist Carla Dove
(15 to 35 students)

Have you ever wondered what the world looked like when the dinosaurs were alive? We invite students to join our paleontologists here at the National Museum of Natural History in reconstructing past ecosystems by studying and working with real 66-million-year-old microfossils. In addition to observing, classifying, and identifying microfossils, students will also investigate microscopic fossil pollen to identify plants from ecosystems of the past. Students will work together using reasoning skills and evidence from their investigations to hypothesize the effects of climate change and evolution on this ecosystem over time.

Related Video: What Tiny Fossils Explain about Big Dinosaur Ecosystems

How do geologists know what lies beneath the Earth’s surface? During this staff-led program, students will collaborate and compete with their classmates to identify the most efficient way to find iron ore by learning to read the stories of rocks. Students will develop skills used by Smithsonian scientists to identify geologic features in rocks, interpret geologic maps, piece together drill cores, and model how tectonic forces deform rocks. After honing their geologic skills, they will compete in groups to see who can most accurately find the extent of the natural resource.

(15 to 35 students)

A group of hikers stumbled across what looks like human remains. Have they found a crime scene or could there be another explanation? During this staff-led program, students will examine real human bones, objects and artifacts using the forensic tools and techniques of Smithsonian scientists to determine age, sex, time since death, and maybe even cause of death.
Related Video: Anthropologist Kari Bruwelheide
(15 to 35 students)

Erosion along a creek bed produces a startling discovery – a human skeleton! Before the clues are washed away forever, students will get the chance to examine the evidence collected by the archaeologist during this staff-led program. Using the forensic tools and techniques of Smithsonian scientists, they will study the human bones and artifacts found with the skeleton to determine who this person was, when they lived, and what their life might have been like. Uncover the mystery of a person whose burial could turn out to be over 200 years old!
Related Video: Anthropologist Kari Bruwelheide
(15 to 35 students)

The Q?rius Collections Zone includes 6,000 natural history objects, all accessible for student exploration in this staff-led program. Working in teams, students will receive a Collections Challenge Card, which assigns them to work in one of the Museum’s departments: Anthropology, Botany, Entomology, Invertebrate Zoology, Paleobiology, Mineral Sciences, or Vertebrate Zoology. Like scientists and collections managers at the Museum, students will follow protocols for handling valuable and sometimes delicate objects, and agree upon a strategy to curate and interpret a collection of their own while engaging in the scientific method.

(15 to 35 students)

During this staff-led program, students explore how Smithsonian scientists measure the biodiversity of coral reefs using nondestructive methods. They will model the same scientific processes used by our scientists by observing and analyzing images of plates with the actual organisms that live in the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) to better understand human impact on coral reefs. Based upon their observations students will develop, test, and refine explanations and potential recommendations for protecting and preserving coral reefs.
Related Video: Marine Biologist Chris Meyer
(15 to 35 students)

Explore dinosaurs through fossil remains: in this staff-led program, students will observe, handle, compare, and contrast dinosaur fossils, describe dinosaur characteristics, and predict why dinosaurs have different kinds of teeth and claws. Pair with a visit to the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time or Last American Dinosaurs.

Discover how animals adapt to their environment by handling specimens from the Museum’s collections and analyzing observations, in this staff-led program. Pair this program with a visit to the Hall of Mammals.

Challenge young budding zoologists to observe, describe, compare, and contrast, and sort a variety of shells to sharpen their classification skills and strategies in this staff-led program. Pair this program with a visit to the Sant Ocean Hall.

Classify a variety of minerals by testing their luster, streak, hardness, color, and magnetism, in this staff-led program. Pair this program with a visit to the Geology, Gems, and Minerals Hall.

Search for patterns in survival strategies of insects and practice the skills of entomology. Students will identify survival techniques such as camouflage, mimicry, biting, stinging and flying. Pair this program with a visit to the Insect Zoo or Butterfly Pavilion.

Identify objects from your own Egyptian dig site in this staff-led program. Craft hypotheses as budding anthropologists about why certain objects were found at the burial site and what they can tell us about  Ancient Egyptian society. Pair this program with a visit to the Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt exhibition.

Spark students’ curiosity about the diversity of interactions that occur in the natural world. In this staff-led program students explore how living and non-living parts of an ecosystem depend on each other. Pair this program with a visit to the Hall of Mammals or Butterfly Pavilion.