Classroom Programs and Discovery Room Sessions

The education department offers classroom programs and Discovery Room sessions for school groups. Each programs is grade appropriate, natural history based and developed to meet Oklahoma state PASS Objectives. All programs require reservations at least two weeks in advance. Please contact the education department at (405) 325-1008 or education@snomnh.ou.edu to schedule an education program for your group. If your group would like a program on a topic that is not listed here, please call us to discuss customizing a program to meet your needs. For general information about scheduling your field trip, please check the Field Trip Information Page.

The museum's brochure, "Resources for Schools," includes descriptions of all educational programs.  It is available upon request from the museum education department, or you can click here to view our Educator's Guide.

Ages 4 through Kindergarten

Educational Programs
These programs last 25 minutes and involve hands-on activities with scientific specimens. Programs are limited to a maximum of 25 students per class.

Program Fee: $35 per class + museum admission

Dinosaur Eggs and Babies
What challenges does a baby dinosaur face while it is developing inside the egg? What adventures might it have once it hatches? Students will listen to a story about young dinosaurs found in Oklahoma and participate in engaging activities and experiments.
FREE Teacher Guide for Dinosaur Eggs and Babies (pdf)

Creature Features
Fur, feathers, scales and slime! Students will meet some interesting Oklahoma animals and learn what features make them similar and different.
FREE Teacher Guide for Creature Features (pdf)

Discovery Room Session
Our Discovery Room is an exhibit gallery designed for students to explore museum objects in a stimulating, interactive environment. Students participate in science centers, reading centers and dramatic play centers that focus on understanding natural history. These sessions last 25 minutes and are limited to a maximum of 25 students per session.

Discovery Room Session Fee: $25 per
session + museum admission

 

Grades 1 through 3

Educational Programs
These programs last 50 minutes and include activities using artifacts or scientific specimens. Some programs also include investigations, demonstrations or data collection and analysis. Programs are limited to a maximum of 25 students per class.

Program Fee: $35 per class + museum admission

Meet the Dinosaurs
What kinds of dinosaurs once roamed Oklahoma? Were they meat eaters or plant eaters? Did they have large horns, sharp claws or special adaptations that helped them survive? Students will discover answers to these and other questions as they examine fossils and participate in Cretaceous role-playing.
FREE Teacher Guide for Meet the Dinosaurs (pdf)

Cycles of Life
How does a seed become a flower? How does a caterpillar change into a butterfly? Students will compare and classify the life cycles of a variety of plants and animals, from ferns to frogs using specimens and movement activities.
FREE Teacher Guide for Cycles of Life (pdf)

Prairie Connections
If you were a prairie dog, where would you live? Where would you nest if you were a bobwhite quail? What would you eat if you were a horned lizard? Meet Oklahoma animals and explore the challenges they face living on the prairie.
FREE Teacher Guide for Prairie Connections (pdf)

Discovery Room Session
Our Discovery Room is an exhibit gallery designed for students to explore museum objects in a stimulating, interactive environment. Students will participate in activities, observations and games that focus on understanding natural history, archaeology, fossils, geology and Oklahoma’s natural resources. Discovery Room Guides facilitate activities and exhibits. These sessions last 25 minutes and are limited to a maximum of 25 students per session.

Discovery Room Session Fee: $25 per session + museum admission

Grades 4 through 5

Educational Programs
These programs last 50 minutes and include activities using artifacts or scientific specimens. Some programs also include investigations, demonstrations or data collection and analysis. Programs are limited to a maximum of 25 students per class.

Program Fee: $35 per class + museum admission

Dinosaur Feasts
How did dinosaurs eat? Students will compare dinosaur fossils and modern animal skulls, jaws and teeth from both carnivores and herbivores to discover how dinosaurs crunched and munched their food.
FREE Teacher Guide for Dinosaur Feasts (pdf)

Web of Life
How is a tree connected to a coyote? From plants to animals to fungus, students will use museum specimens to create a community, learn about inter-workings of ecosystems and communities, collect and graph class data, and discover how all organisms in an ecosystem are connected.
FREE Teacher Guide for Web of Life (pdf)

Wild and Rare
Why are some animals rapidly becoming rare or even extinct? What kinds of animals are more vulnerable to extinction? Students will use museum specimens and hands-on materials to gather information and predict the futures of a variety of animals.
FREE Teacher Guide for Wild and Rare (pdf)

The Bison Hunters: Native Americans of the Plains
How did the Native Americans use the natural resources on the Great Plains to meet their needs? Student teams will analyze and measure tools, clothing and other artifacts from Plains Indian cultures to discover the relationship between these peoples and their natural environment.
FREE Teacher Guide for Bison Hunters (pdf)

Discovery Room Session
Our Discovery Room is an exhibit gallery designed for students to explore museum objects in a stimulating, interactive environment. Students will participate in activities, observations and games that focus on understanding natural history, archaeology, fossils, geology and Oklahoma’s natural resources. Discovery Room Guides will facilitate activities and exhibits.These sessions last 25 minutes and are limited to a maximum of 25 students per session.

Discovery Room Session Fee: $25 per session + museum admission

 

 

 

Grades 6 through 8

Educational Programs
These programs last 50 minutes and include activities using artifacts or scientific specimens. Some programs also include investigations, demonstrations or data collection and analysis. Programs are limited to a maximum of 25 students per class.

Program Fee: $35 per class + museum admission

Clues to the Past
Did you know that southeastern Oklahoma was once a swamp at the edge of the sea? Students in this class will identify marine, wetland and terrestrial fossils, map their locations, then create a giant representation of an Oklahoma ecosystem as it existed 300 million years ago.
FREE Teacher Guide for Clues to the Past (pdf)

Ecosystem Interactions
How do ecosystems work? Student groups will build food chains using museum specimens, collect and graph data, and discover how all organisms in a community are connected to each other and the abiotic components of the ecosystem.
FREE Teacher Guide for Ecosystem Interactions (pdf)

Scientific I.D.
How does a scientist identify organisms and study differences among species? Students will observe, measure, identify and describe several different groups of museum specimens, from turtles to trilobites.
FREE Teacher Guide for Scientific I.D. (pdf)

Laboratory Programs
Laboratory programs last two hours and include experiments and active investigation by students. Laboratories are limited to a maximum of 25 students.

Laboratory Program Fee: $70 per class + museum admission.

Geology Laboratory
Students will learn about the rock cycle through hands-on activities that include “making” sedimentary, volcanic and metamorphic rocks; recording characteristics of rocks and minerals; and exploring weathering and soil formation.
FREE Teacher Guide for Geology Laboratory (pdf)

Archaeology Laboratory
Students will experience the process of scientific archaeology from excavation through data
collection, artifact identification, interpretation and reporting. The “sites” excavated represent five cultures from Oklahoma’s past, ranging from the dramatic mammoth-hunting cultures of 11,000 years ago to the historic Wichita.
FREE Teacher Guide for Archaeology Laboratory (pdf)

Grades 9 through 12

Educational Programs
These educational programs last 50 minutes and include investigations, demonstrations, data collection and analysis using artifacts or scientific specimens. In addition to the programs described below, the Education department will work with you to design a class in life science, paleontology or anthropology specifically for your group. Most programs are limited to a maximum of 25 students per class.

Program Fee: $35 + museum admission

It’s Classified!
Scientists classify species into taxonomic
groups based on characteristics such as tooth structure, skull shape, color pattern or body type. Students will identify and group a variety of museum specimens based on quantitative and qualitative characteristics.
FREE Teacher Guide for It's Classified! (pdf)

Extinction
Extinction events can be observed in the fossil record as dramatic changes in life forms. Scientists use these changes in the fossil record to define time periods. Students will identify and organize fossil specimens from different time periods to determine the factors that influence extinction, with an emphasis on two mass extinction events.
FREE Teacher Guide for Extinction (pdf)

Laboratory Program
Laboratory programs last two hours and include experiments and active investigation by students. Program is limited to a maximum of 25 students.

Laboratory Program Fee: $70 per class + museum admission.

CSI Red River
Students canoeing on the Red River have found a huge number of fish swimming erratically and dying. What happened? Were pesticides released into the water? Have toxic plants affected the fish? Students will investigate water quality at a fish kill site through chemical tests, recorded interviews, maps and weather reports to determine the cause of the death of fish and other aquatic life.
FREE Teacher Guide for CSI Red River (pdf) - Coming soon!