(Formerly Distance Learning)
Want to visit the Museum without a long bus trip? Experience a live, interactive Museum “field trip” over the internet.
Your students will interact with a Museum educator/scientist and actively participate throughout the program. When applicable, instructional materials and natural history specimens from the Museum will be sent to your site prior to the session.
Programs are free to North Carolina Schools, with the exception of the return shipping on teaching materials used in the class. Out-of-state schools pay a $65 fee per program plus return shipping charges on materials.
Schools must have some form of video conferencing equipment to participate. A test with your site is required prior to scheduling.
The Museum offers several different types of interactive video conferences for you to choose from.
Live from the Museum (Elementary and Middle School)
Butterflies and Moths [2]
Students will learn how to identify common butterflies and moths of North Carolina and explore their lifecycles and their amazing adaptations for survival.
Animal Tracks and Signs [3]
Examine evidence of feeding activity, tracks and scat as you learn to identify animals by their signs.
Coastal Carolina [4]
Explore the habitats and inhabitants of North Carolina’s Coastal Region.
Discovering Dinosaurs [5]
What is a fossil? What dinosaur fossils have we found? How do we use these fossils to develop an understanding of dinosaurs and how they lived?
Buds, Bark and Berries: A Tree Program [6]
Explore the parts of a tree, their function and a variety of adaptations trees exhibit. Photosynthesis, seed dispersal, and germination will be reviewed.
Citizen Science Programs (coming soon)
Questions? Contact M.T. Fore, coordinator of student outreach and distance learning, at 919.707.9906 or mary.tyler.fore@naturalsciences.org [8].
Virtual Labs (Middle and High School)
Coming soon!
Wouldn’t you like to have a complete lab-in-a-box mailed to you from the Museum? Virtual Labs, also known as V-Labs, are a wonderful opportunity for you to conduct experiments with a museum educator without leaving your school! If you sign up for a V-Lab, your class will be mailed a complete lab, tools and instruments included, and they will be able to interact with a museum educator as they simultaneously conduct experiments via live teleconferencing!
These programs are one hour long and are free for schools in North Carolina with the exception of the return postage. Out-of-state schools pay a $65 fee per program plus return shipping charges on materials. Schools must have some form of video conferencing equipment to participate. A test with your site is required prior to scheduling.
Jurassic Pork! Dinosaurs: The Other White Meat
High School Essential Standards: 8.L.4.1, 8.L.4.2, Bio 1.1.1, Bio 1.1.3, Bio 3.1.1, Bio 3.1.2, Bio 3.3.1, Bio 3.4.1, Bio 3.5.2.
Ever wonder what dinosaurs would taste like? In this program, students will learn how to extract DNA, analyze DNA results, and compare morphologies to determine the T. rex’s closest relative!
Registration coming soon!
Questions? Contact Tamara Poles, coordinator of distance learning, at 919.707.9277 or tamara.poles@naturalsciences.org [9].
SMARTS Program (Middle and High School)
(Scientists Making Answers Relevant for Teachers and Students.)
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is pleased to announce the SMARTS Program, which allows students to interact with scientists and learn about their cutting-edge research. Individual programs are 30 minutes long and support the North Carolina curriculum. Programs must be scheduled at least 6 weeks ahead of time!
Earth Observation & Biodiversity Research Lab programs
Offered every Monday between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Rodent Robbers: How Thieving Rodents Help Forest Trees Regenerate
Grade Level: 3-8
Meet Dr. Roland Kays, and learn about his research on rodents. Rodents, like squirrels and agoutis, can cause harm to trees by eating their seeds, but they can also help by burying seeds in scattered caches. New research has shown that these seeds don't always stay put. Surveillance cameras in the forest and small tracking devices on the seeds implicate robbing rodents in a process that actually helps the regeneration of new forests.
Activity: In this program, we will send your class materials so you can observe the behavior of the wildlife at your school. Students will then describe to the scientists their observations.
Field Biology is an Adventure
Grade Level: 8-12
Dr. Roland Kays is a leading expert on kinkajous. Come learn how Kays went from being a rug-rat running around in the woods to a scientist climbing rainforest trees and filming for National Geographic, and what he discovered about one of the world's cutest animals in the process.
Arthropods of Our Homes and Schools
Grade Level: 6-12
Meet Dr. Michelle Trautwein and learn about her research in entomology. Biodiversity is all around us — even inside our house or classroom! A team of entomologists are exploring the diversity of arthropods in homes — learn about their discoveries regarding the many, many species that live with us.
Activity: Students can explore their homes, school yards or even the corners and windowsills of their classrooms to observe the diversity of arthropods that live with them. Students will also have the opportunity to explore their classrooms to find our six-legged friends and identify them using the materials from our scientists. The students can then send up to three pictures to the scientists to see if their identification was correct!
Flies!
Grade Level: All
Flies are some of the most incredible and under-appreciated animals on the planet. Did you know we wouldn't have chocolate without flies? Learn more wonderful and fascinating facts about flies.
Activity: Students can explore their homes, school yards or even the corners and windowsills of their classrooms to observe the diversity of flies all around us. Students will also have the opportunity to explore their classrooms to find our winged friends and identify them. The students can then send up to three pictures to the scientists to see if their identification was correct!
Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab programs
Offered every Wednesday between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Armpit and Belly Button Biodiversity
Grade Level: 3-8
Meet Dr. Julie Horvath or Dr. Julie Urban and learn about their research with belly buttons and armpits. What wildlife lives on our bodies? Fungi? Bacteria? Swab your teacher’s or principal’s armpit and belly button and see what is living inside! Send us the swabs and we will culture them on bacterial plates and the students can see some of the microbial critters that call their teacher or principal “home.” Students will learn about the diversity of wildlife that lives on us, as well as how scientists identify and study these species. This program will require the swabs to be returned to the Museum at least a week prior to the date of the program to allow time for cultures to be grown and photographed.
Explore Armpit and Belly Button Microbes with DNA Sequencing
Grade Level: 9-10
Meet Dr. Julie Horvath or Dr. Julie Urban and learn how they use DNA sequencing to identify the wildlife that lives on our bodies. Swab your teacher’s or principal’s armpit and belly button and we will grow these bacteria in the lab and students can see some of the microbial critters that call their teacher or principal “home.” In addition to learning about the great diversity of microbes that live in association with humans, the program will address the question of “How do scientists know what these microbes are?” Students will learn how scientists traditionally answered this question by microbial culturing, but also, how and why we are currently using DNA sequencing for explorations of bacterial diversity. This program will require the swabs to be returned to the Museum at least a week prior to the date of the program to allow time for cultures to be grown and photographed.
Registration coming soon!
Questions? Contact Tamara Poles, coordinator of distance learning, at 919.707.9277 or tamara.poles@naturalsciences.org [9].