Bring the Discovery Museum to your classroom! Retired Hancock College Biology instructor, Jim Morrow, brings diverse, hands-on museum learning experiences to life at your school.
Chumash Culture: 3rd & 4th Grades
Emphasis is on Chumash use of natural materials – plants and animals, in the environment during their pre-mission history. Students will explore Chumash rock art, medicinal use of plants, food sources, games and hunting. Presentation is structured for hands-on student participation. Students are introduced to Chumash language via selection of an animal or natural phenomenon personal helper. Students can sample plant and animal food sources and fashion tools from local wood samples. A wide choice of materials will be left for student projects, to be determined by teacher. Example: rock art designed on beach rocks with Sharpie pens. Teacher resource guide available for loan provides ideas for additional student projects.
Birds: 1st-6th Grades
Presentation provides information on flight feather structure and introduces feeding habits and other characteristic features of birds. Emphasis is on birds of prey. Taxidermy mounts, posters, Audubon bird prints, bones and a variety of feathers from both local and exotic birds will be shared with students. Student participation is emphasized as students compare their outstretched arm span to that of hawks, eagles and owls. Feathers, magnifying glasses and posters are just some of the materials which can be left with the class for up to a week or two.
Tar Pits: 3rd-6th Grades
This presentation focuses on the natural history of the La Brea Tar Pits area in Los Angeles during the Ice Ages. Twenty fossil replicas of Ice Age mammals are used to demonstrate the relationships between predators, prey and environment. Students will learn how animals became trapped and what fossils tell us about animal behavior. Student participation revolves around problem solving exercises, such as answering why the saber tooth cats had so few broken teeth. Comparisons to modern local animals will be made through comparative anatomy in skull structure. Locally collected fossils and materials may be left in the classroom for a time.
Marine Life: 1st-6th Grades
Materials from the marine habitat are used to demonstrate interdependence among plant and animal marine life form. Shells, bones, dried animals and marine seaweed are examples of some of the materials used. Student participation in demonstrations is emphasized. Local marine mammals are included in the overall presentation. Bones form whales, sea lions and sea otters will be available for examination and study. Specimens may be left in the classroom for a week or two following the presentation.
Museum in Motion Fees:
1 Presentation: $50.00
2 Presentations in one day: $75.00
3 Presentations in one day: $100.00
4 Presentations in one day: $125.00
Multiple presentations in one day must be the same presentation.