Museum-Based Programs for School and After-School Groups

Programs feature

• inquiry-based learning
• hands-on activities with Museum objects
• connections to school curricula
• interdisciplinary connections
• attention to varied learning styles

Programs promote

• critical thinking
• visual literacy
• oral expression

To learn how to schedule a visit, click here.

For more information about Museum-Based Programs please contact Diane Clifford, Manager of School and Tour Services, dclifford@brucemuseum.org or (203) 869-6786, ext. 324.

Click to view by:

Grades Pre-K, K
Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Middle School and High School

Programs

• All programs are one hour in length, unless otherwise noted.

To view more information on the following Museum-Based Programs please see our Activities and Lesson Plans.There you will find background information, curriculum connections, classroom activities, and further resources for each of these programs.

Grades Pre-K, K

All programs are 45 minutes.

Temporary Exhibition-Related Programs

• Through November 30, 2008
  Phenomenal Weather
  
  Students will explore the science behind wind, rain, snow and extreme events like hurricanes. Touch a tornado and listen to the sounds it makes. Learn to be a sky watcher, forecasting the weather from cloud observations and scanning the skies for rainbows, halos and glories. Enjoy freaky weather factoids and examine the history of weather observations across cultures through artifacts and historical scientific instruments. This program is available in conjunction with Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming and Double Exposure: Aerial Photographs of Glaciers Then and Now (open through 10/26/08). Double Exposure consists of paired large-format photographs of mountains and glaciers, recorded in the early to mid-1900s and again from 2005 to 2007, that document the story of our warming planet.

• Through November 9, 2008
  Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming
  This exhibition explores our planet’s history of climate shifts, explains some of the causes, and highlights the challenges and responses to current global warming. While records from weather instruments provide good data for the last 100 years of climate on Earth, scientists use a variety of methods to reconstruct climate from earlier ages. Students will learn about these changing climates and explore the causes and consequences of today’s warming climate. This program is available in conjunction with Phenomenal Weather and Double Exposure: Aerial Photographs of Glaciers Then and Now (open through 10/26/08). Double Exposure consists of paired large-format photographs of mountains and glaciers, recorded in the early to mid-1900s and again from 2005 to 2007, that document the story of our warming planet.

• September 27, 2008 - January 4, 2009
  Paris Portraits: Artists, Friends, and Lovers
  At no other time and place was portraiture as rich in possibility as in early-20th-century Paris. A fascinating glimpse into the world of the Parisian avant-garde is revealed through paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Among the artists represented at the Bruce are Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Picabia, Marie Laurencin, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Beckmann; and the celebrities portrayed include Jean Cocteau, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, Ambroise Vollard, and Kiki de Montparnasse. Students will learn about the complex relationships that existed between these Parisian artists and how they were greatly influenced by one another’s ideas, thoughts, styles, and artworks.

• November 1, 2008 - February 1, 2009
  That Liberty Shall Not Perish: World War I Posters
  Nearly twenty patriotic and compelling war bond posters offer a fascinating window into the American experience in the early 20th century. The posters use bold graphics and concise wording to urge Americans to contribute to the war effort by supporting the troops, contributing to the Red Cross and buying bonds to finance America’s participation in the war.

Art Programs

• Student art programs are based on current museum exhibitions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills through observation and interpretation of artworks. Programs can be adapted to focus on aesthetics, art history, history, sociology literature, writing etc. Let us know the objectives for your class when making a reservation.

Science Programs

• Woodland Indian Life
  By listening to storytelling in the wigwam and handling Native American artifacts and reproductions, children can recreate the life of a Woodland Indian family before colonial contact. Games and a craft activity are included.
  

• Animal Adaptations
  Different body coverings, colors and physical structures help vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles and fish) adapt to their environment, find food and escape from predators. Children learn these concepts and develop their observation and communication skills while handling fur pelts and animal mounts and through activities in our woodland gallery.
  

• Crusty Crabs (May - November)
  An introduction to marine life using basic observation, counting and classification skills. Is it alive? How can you tell it’s a crab, seastar, seasnail, etc.? How do different sea creatures grow? Participants will learn to safely handle small live sea creatures and create a hermit crab craft.
  

• Butterflies
  Explores symmetry in nature while learning about the structure and patterns of butterflies. The life cycle is also introduced. The program ends with a symmetry game and project.

Temporary Exhibition-Related Programs

• March 8, 2008 – November 30, 2008
  Phenomenal Weather
  Students will explore the science behind wind, rain, snow and extreme events like hurricanes. Touch a tornado and listen to the sounds it makes. Learn to be a sky watcher, forecasting the weather from cloud observations and scanning the skies for rainbows, halos and glories. Enjoy freaky weather factoids and examine the history of weather observations across cultures through artifacts and historical scientific instruments. This program is available in conjunction with Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming and Double Exposure: Aerial Photographs of Glaciers Then and Now (open through 10/26/08). Double Exposure consists of paired large-format photographs of mountains and glaciers, recorded in the early to mid-1900s and again from 2005 to 2007, that document the story of our warming planet.

• June 28, 2008-November 9, 2008
  Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming
  This exhibition explores our planet’s history of climate shifts, explains some of the causes, and highlights the challenges and responses to current global warming. While records from weather instruments provide good data for the last 100 years of climate on Earth, scientists use a variety of methods to reconstruct climate from earlier ages. Students will learn about these changing climates and explore the causes and consequences of today’s warming climate. This program is available in conjunction with Phenomenal Weather and Double Exposure: Aerial Photographs of Glaciers Then and Now (open through 10/26/08). Double Exposure This exhibition consists of paired large-format photographs of mountains and glaciers, recorded in the early to mid-1900s and again from 2005 to 2007, that document the story of our warming planet.

• September 27, 2008 - January 4, 2009
  Paris Portraits: Artists, Friends, and Lovers
  At no other time and place was portraiture as rich in possibility as in early-20th-century Paris. A fascinating glimpse into the world of the Parisian avant-garde is revealed through paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Among the artists represented at the Bruce are Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Picabia, Marie Laurencin, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Beckmann; and the celebrities portrayed include Jean Cocteau, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, Ambroise Vollard, and Kiki de Montparnasse. Students will learn about the complex relationships that existed between these Parisian artists and how they were greatly influenced by one another’s ideas, thoughts, styles, and artworks.

• November 1, 2008 - February 1, 2009
  That Liberty Shall Not Perish: World War I Posters
  Nearly twenty patriotic and compelling war bond posters offer a fascinating window into the American experience in the early 20th century. The posters use bold graphics and concise wording to urge Americans to contribute to the war effort by supporting the troops, contributing to the Red Cross and buying bonds to finance America’s participation in the war.

Art Programs

• Student art programs are based on current museum exhibitions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills through observation and interpretation of artworks. Programs can be adapted to focus on aesthetics, art history, history, sociology literature, writing etc. Let us know the objectives for your class when making a reservation.

Science Programs

• Woodland Indian Life
  A full-size reconstruction of a Woodland Indian wigwam and artifacts from local archaeological sites help recreate the life of coastal Native Americans of our area. Students use critical thinking skills as they become history detectives and take part in an artifact interpretation activity.
  

• I Am an Archaeologist (Grades 3,4 & 5)
  How do archaeologists work? What kinds of artifacts do they collect and why? How do they interpret artifacts? Students make observations at a late Woodland Indian site exhibition and use critical thinking and communication skills as they work in teams, recording and interpreting artifacts in reconstructed test pits in our workshop. This program complements “Native Americans Along the Sound.”
  A discount is offered when both are requested for the same school group.
  

• Coastal Ecology (May - November)
  A program about connections and adaptations in the marine ecosystem. Students learn how to handle live invertebrates and plants in our marine tank and observe their structure and adaptations to the marine environment. They also participate in an intertidal food chain activity. A craft project is included.
  

• Mineral Marvels (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
  What is a rock made of? How can you tell the difference between various rocks and minerals. Students will observe the Museum’s mineral collection, learn to classify minerals based on their many properties, and then use these skills to identify the minerals in everyday objects such as pencils, makeup, and baby powder. Primary science skills (observing, recording and hypothesizing) are used as they handle and examine specimens.
  

  The Bruce Museum’s environmental galleries are excellent for lessons on conservation, the watershed, ecology, and the formation of Long Island Sound. Please inquire as to how we can develop a program to fit your needs.

Temporary Exhibition-Related Programs

Student programs are based on current museum exhibitions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills through observation and interpretation of artworks. Art programs can be adapted to focus on aesthetics, art history, history, sociology.
• March 8, 2008 – November 30, 2008
  Phenomenal Weather
  Students will explore the science behind wind, rain, snow and extreme events like hurricanes. Touch a tornado and listen to the sounds it makes. Learn to be a sky watcher, forecasting the weather from cloud observations and scanning the skies for rainbows, halos and glories. Enjoy freaky weather factoids and examine the history of weather observations across cultures through artifacts and historical scientific instruments. This program is available in conjunction with Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming and Double Exposure: Aerial Photographs of Glaciers Then and Now (open through 10/26/08). Double Exposure consists of paired large-format photographs of mountains and glaciers, recorded in the early to mid-1900s and again from 2005 to 2007, that document the story of our warming planet.

• June 28, 2008-November 9, 2008
  Climate Change: From Snowball Earth to Global Warming
  This exhibition explores our planet’s history of climate shifts, explains some of the causes, and highlights the challenges and responses to current global warming. While records from weather instruments provide good data for the last 100 years of climate on Earth, scientists use a variety of methods to reconstruct climate from earlier ages. Students will learn about these changing climates and explore the causes and consequences of today’s warming climate. This program is available in conjunction with Phenomenal Weather and Double Exposure: Aerial Photographs of Glaciers Then and Now (open through 10/26/08). Double Exposure consists of paired large-format photographs of mountains and glaciers, recorded in the early to mid-1900s and again from 2005 to 2007, that document the story of our warming planet.

• September 27, 2008 - January 4, 2009
  Paris Portraits: Artists, Friends, and Lovers
  At no other time and place was portraiture as rich in possibility as in early-20th-century Paris. A fascinating glimpse into the world of the Parisian avant-garde is revealed through paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Among the artists represented at the Bruce are Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Picabia, Marie Laurencin, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Beckmann; and the celebrities portrayed include Jean Cocteau, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, Ambroise Vollard, and Kiki de Montparnasse. Students will learn about the complex relationships that existed between these Parisian artists and how they were greatly influenced by one another’s ideas, thoughts, styles, and artworks.

• November 1, 2008 - February 1, 2009
  That Liberty Shall Not Perish: World War I Posters
  Nearly twenty patriotic and compelling war bond posters offer a fascinating window into the American experience in the early 20th century. The posters use bold graphics and concise wording to urge Americans to contribute to the war effort by supporting the troops, contributing to the Red Cross and buying bonds to finance America’s participation in the war.