Offerings

Select one of the following experiences by registering online. Have questions? Visit our FAQ page or contact our Education Department Assistant fieldtrips@anchoragemuseum.org or (907) 929-9280.

CoLab - Invention and Innovation

Explore and test your inventive creativity through a variety of interactive activities that challenge students to work through the process of invention. Activities are designed to appeal to varied learning styles, ages, and abilities; allowing students to practice 21st century skills and incorporate a variety of disciplines. Spark!Lab staff is present to help facilitate the experience in the space through inquiry-based learning techniques, which help students to identify a problem to solve or activity to explore, answer and ask questions, and provide minimal assistance when needed.

A half-hour in CoLab may be added to experiences without scheduled time, or to any teacher-guided visit free of charge. CoLab time for your group must be scheduled to ensure availability of the space.

Teacher-Guided Exploration

Lead your students on an exploration of our galleries and exhibitions. Explore resources available for planning a visit. Teacher-guided groups must register in advance and attend a mandatory museum orientation at the start of the field trip, regardless of group size. You may select to guide your students' visit, or add a half hour of teacher-guided experience to your visit. Teacher-guided visits or additional time must be scheduled.

Questions? Visit our FAQ page!

A few simple ideas for fostering students’ imagination and critical thinking as you guide them through the galleries.

- - - Look closely. Take time to observe the objects and notice together what is visually evident. Lots can be learned just from what you see.
    - Encourage drawing. Provide materials for students to sketch objects or installations. Lead conversation about what was observed through drawing.
    - Invite story-telling. Welcome students to discuss how objects and ideas might connect to their own lives and experiences.
    - Inspire creativity. The museum is a great place to experiment with dynamic approaches to looking and learning. Observe objects from different angles, draw comics, enliven a science concept, write poems inspired by examining a contemporary artwork.
    - Want more ideas? Contact our Education and School Groups Coordinator email fieldtrips@anchoragemuseum.org or call (907) 929-9280.

Facilitated Programming

Pre K-1st Grade

2nd-8th Grade

9th-12th Grade

Climate Change

Examine our changing climate. Students will learn about the impacts of climate change in Alaska and consider how humans and animals may adapt to the new challenges presented by global warming. Through hands-on activities and interactive science-based inquiry, students will build problem solving skills and develop approaches to scientific thinking.

Learn how a changing climate affects water and fisheries. Follow the water cycle with a planetarium program and follow salmon from streams to sea and back again with an interactive activity. Join an educator-led tour of the Art of the North galleries to learn about fishing technologies and practices across time.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center, H2O Cycle planetarium program, salmon cycle activity, and museum educator-led gallery experience at Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center and time for lunch

Activities support NGSS: 2-LS4-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-2, 4-LS1-1, 4-LS1-2

Learn about the engineering challenges presented by building on permafrost. In CoLab, invent a structure that stands as permafrost melts. In the Alaska exhibition, discover the innovations necessary for construction of the Alaska pipeline. Explore hydroponics and learn about growing plants, without soil which can provide food resources in the northern environment year-round.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, museum educator-led gallery experience in Alaska exhibition, a guided experience in CoLab, an interactive activity, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Activities support NGSS: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3, 5-ESS2-1, 5-ESS3-1, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4, MS-LS1-6, MS-LS2-5, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4

Learn about how humans and animals are coping with the disappearance of sea ice. In the planetarium film, Wonders of the Arctic, delve into current science about the impacts of melting sea ice. Students build scientific thinking skills through designing a research project in an interactive activity. Explore the ice-bound lives of the walrus and polar bear in a guided Art of the North galleries experience.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, Wonders of the Arctic planetarium film with a participatory activity, educator-led exploration of the Art of the North galleries, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Activities support NGSS: HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-7, HS-LS2-8, HS-LS4-6, HS-ESS2-2, HS-ESS2-5, HS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS3-5, HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-6

Inventive Engineering

Invent, imagine, and build engineering skills. Think like a creative inventor through immersive planetarium shows paired with hands-on activities. Students will build critical and creative thinking skills and develop approaches to problem solving through design challenges.

Meet a live reptile and learn about animals and their basic needs. In CoLab, students will create an object or experience to enhance enrichment to the lives of the museum's animals.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, museum educator-led activities in Art Lab and CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center, and time for lunch

Reptile Life and Inventing activity supports NGSS: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

Students learn about the history and forces behind flight through the planetarium film Flight Adventures. In CoLab, students will experience the engineering process as they prototype their own flying crafts.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, Flight Adventures planetarium film and museum educator-led activity in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center, and time for lunch

Flight Adventures planetarium film and activity supports NGSS: 3-PS2-1, 3-PS2-2, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3 , MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4, MS-PS2-2

Investigate the ways humans have traveled across Alaska's diverse landscapes with an educator-led tour of the Alaska Exhibition. In CoLab, students will experience the engineering process as they prototype their own travel method.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, museum educator-led tour of the Alaska Exhibition and activity in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

CoLab activity supports NGSS: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-2

Learn about how NASA utilizes planets to aid in space craft exploration through the planetarium program, Gravity Assist. In CoLab, students explore the conservation of energy and momentum as they construct chain reactions.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, Gravity Assist planetarium program and museum educator-led activity in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Gravity Assist planetarium show and Spark!Lab activity supports NGSS: HS-PS2-2, HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-2, HS-PS3-3, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3

Northern Waters

Investigate Alaska’s streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans without getting wet. Students will examine cultural materials to develop an understanding of how Alaska’s waters shape lifestyles and will build scientific thinking skills through hands-on activities and experiments.

Through a guided gallery experience in the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, students look closely at primary sources showcasing innovative technologies Alaska Native peoples create to navigate Alaska’s waters. Learn how water on Earth is connected in the Water Cycle planetarium film followed by an interactive activity where students learn about tidepools and meet live aquatic animals.

Duration: 3.5 Hours

Orientation, museum educator-led gallery experience, Water Cycle planetarium film and museum educator-led activity with animal encounter in Alaska Marine Life, time in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Northern Waters gallery experience supports Alaska Content Standards: AH.PPE 1, AH.PPE 2, GEOG.B1, HIST.A 8, Arts.A 1, Arts.C 5

Water Cycle planetarium film and Alaska Marine Life supports NGSS: K-ESS3-1, 2-LS4-1, 2-ESS2-3, 3-LS3-2

Through a guided Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center experience, students look closely at primary sources showcasing innovative technologies Alaska Native peoples create to navigate the waters of Alaska. Students learn about Alaska tidepool habitats and meet live aquatic animals with an educator or watch the River of Bears planetarium program and participate in an interactive activity to learn about food webs in Alaska's rivers. .

Duration: 3.5 Hours

Orientation, museum educator-led gallery experience, museum educator-led activity with animal encounter in Alaska Marine Life or River of Bears planetarium program with participatory activity, time in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Northern Waters gallery experience supports Alaska Content Standards: AH.PPE 1, AH.PPE 2, GEOG.B1, HIST.A 8, Arts.A 1, Arts.C 5

Alaska Marine Life supports NGSS: 4-LS1-1, 5-LS1-2, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2

River of Bears planetarium film and activity supports NGSS: 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 5-PS3-1, 5-LS2-1, MS-LS2-1

Through a guided gallery experience in the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, students look closely at primary sources showcasing innovative technologies Alaska Native peoples create to navigate Alaska’s waters. Students meet live aquatic animals to learn about the adaptations of Alaska tidepool creatures and how climate change is impacting these ecosystems.

Duration: 3.5 Hours

Includes: Orientation, museum educator-led gallery experience, museum educator-led activity with animal encounter in Alaska Marine Life, time in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch.

Northern Waters gallery experience supports Alaska Content Standards: AH.PPE 1, AH.PPE 2, GEOG.B1, HIST.A 8, Arts.A 1, Arts.C 5

Alaska Marine Life experience (7-8) supports NGSS: MS-LS1-4, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4

Soundscapes

Listen up and discover the exciting new field of soundscape ecology. Engage in an interactive experience that uses sound to learn about the environment. Students will deepen their understanding of soundscapes and build creative and innovative thinking skills through hands-on activities.

Learn about sounds and soundscapes using different instruments. Students create their own soundscapes in an educator-led activity..

Duration: 2.75 Hours

Includes: Orientation, museum educator-led activity, time in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Soundscapes supports NGSS: K-ESS3-1, 1-PS4-1, 2-LS4-1

Students are introduced to the field of soundscape ecology with a live planetarium program. Students build understanding of scientific approaches through a sound-based interactive activity.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, Global Soundscapes live planetarium program, museum educator-led activity, time in CoLab, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Live Global Soundscapes planetarium program and activity supports NGSS: 3-LS4-4, 4-PS4-1, MS-PS4-1, MS-LS2-2

Students are introduced to the field of soundscape ecology with a live planetarium program. Students learn about current soundscape ecology research and develop their own soundscape ecology research questions and hypotheses, building approaches to scientific thinking.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, Global Soundscapes live planetarium program, museum educator-led activity, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Live Global Soundscapes planetarium program and activity support NGSS: HS-PS4-1, HS-LS2-6

Space and Place

Learn about our place in the universe with a STEM-based Planetarium experience and hands-on activity. Investigate our place in the world by examining primary source materials and discovering the stories these sources tell about Alaska’s history.

Learn about the interactions between the earth, moon and sun through a live planetarium program and discover why we have days, nights and seasons with a participatory activity. Students examine and engage with historic maps of Anchorage to build an understanding of map reading and geography.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, live planetarium program and participatory activity, museum educator-led mapping activity, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Live planetarium program and activity supports NGSS: 1-PS4-2, 1-ESS1-1, 1-ESS1-2, 2-ESS2-3

Map Activity supports Alaska Social Studies Standards: GEOG.A 1, GEOG.A 2, GEOG.A 3, GEOG.B 8, HIST.C 2

Tour the solar system in a live planetarium program and model the positions of the planets in a participatory activity. Students examine and engage with historic maps of Alaska from the museum's collection, building an understanding of map reading and geography.

Duration: 3 Hours

Includes: Orientation, live planetarium program and participatory activity, museum educator-led mapping activity, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch/p>

Live planetarium program and interactive activity supports NGSS: 5-PS2-1, 5-ESS1-1

Map Activity supports Alaska Social Studies Standards: GEOG.A1, GEOG.A3, GEOG.B8, HIST.C2

Explore the scale of the solar system in a live planetarium program and make a pocket-size solar system in a participatory activity. Through a guided gallery experience in the Alaska exhibition, students look closely at primary sources and examine their relationships to Alaska’s resources, lifestyles and languages.

Duration: 3.5 Hours

Includes: Orientation, live planetarium program and participatory activity, museum educator-led Alaska exhibition experience, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Exhibition gallery experience, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center, and time for lunch

Live planetarium program and participatory activity supports NGSS: MS-PS2-4, MS-ESS1-1, MS-ESS1-2, MS-ESS1-3

Place gallery experience supports Alaska Content Standards: AH.PPE1, AH.PPE2, AH.ICGP2, ARTS.C5

Explore exoplanets in a live planetarium program, followed by a participatory activity where students discover different ways scientists search for exoplanets. Through a guided gallery experience in the Alaska exhibition, students look closely at primary sources and examine their relationships to resources, lifestyles and languages of Alaska.

Duration: 3.5 Hours

Includes: Orientation, live planetarium program and participatory activity related to the search for exoplanets, museum educator-led Alaska exhibition experience, teacher-led exploration in the Discovery Center and time for lunch

Live planetarium program and participatory activity supports NGSS: HS-ESS1-1, HS-ESS1-4, HS-ESS2-7

Place gallery experience supports Alaska Content Standards: AH.PPE1, AH.PPE2, AH.ICGP2, ARTS.C5