Mobile Field Investigations @ Your School

Alive or Not Alive?  That is the Question.

Grades K-1

90-minute Investigation

Students will solve an interactive mystery concerning the difference between living and non-living things utilizing a live animal, a living plant, and non-living natural items from the museum’s collections. Each student will also have the opportunity to sort items into either a living or non-living sorting basket. They will also discover that living things have certain basic needs through investigation and learning a Basic Needs rhyme. Touch time with the live animal included.

TEKS

K1A, K4B, K9A, K9B

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.9A, 1.9B

Aquatic Studies in my Classroom?

Grades 3-5

90-minute Investigation 

Students learn about living aquatic organisms using the scientific inquiry method of investigation. A Heard Educator will guide students in discovering how organisms survive in their environments through inherited physical characteristics and learned behaviors. The aquatic creatures will also be models for learning about life cycles.

TEKS

3.1A, 3.1B, 3.2A-3.2F, 3.4A, 3.9C, 3.10A-3.10C

4.1A, 4.1B, 4.2A-4.2F, 4.4A, 4.10C

5.1A, 5.1B, 5.2A-5.2G, 5.4A, 5.10C

Dolphins

Grades 4-5

90-minute Investigation

Explore the amazing world of Dolphins. This investigation allows student to learn about inherited traits versus learned characteristics. A Heard Educator will share information about the Bottle Nosed Dolphin’s specific inherited traits and adaptations, along with how the structure of physical characteristics corresponds with their functions. For comparison, students will also learn about a different species: the Pink River Dolphin. They will discover that these dolphins have several different adaptations from the Bottle Nosed Dolphins. Through comparison, student will discover how a difference in form corresponds with a difference in function and play a game that reinforces the different concepts examined.

TEKS

4.1A, 4.1B, 4.10A, 4.10B

5.1A, 5.10A, 5.10B

Form Fits Function

Grades 1-3

90-minute Investigation

The direct observation of animals and exploration of plant parts is the focus of this investigation. Students will discover that every organism’s physical characteristics (form) help them perform certain functions that meet their basic needs. Students will “build” a plant while learning about each part and its function. Examining museum specimens such as porcupine quills, a turtle shell, snake skins, etc. will facilitate understanding how the concept of “form fits function” applies to animals. Students will have the opportunity to design their own animal with special features that allow it to provide for its basic needs. A visit with a live museum education animal will reinforce the idea of inherited characteristics versus learned behaviors.

TEKS

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.3C, 1.10A-1.10C

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.9A, 2.9C, 2.10A, 2.10B

3.1A, 3.1B, 3.10A-3.10C

Insect-igation

Grades 1-2

90-minute Investigation –subject to seasonal availability

This fun “insect-igation” explores the exciting science of entomology. Using water from the Heard wetlands, students will work in groups to discover and identify aquatic creatures and observe them under a microscope. They will learn about insects’ body characteristics and how insects change through stages of their life cycle.

TEKS

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.2A, 1.10A, 1.10C

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.3C, 2.10A, 2.10C

It’Snow Cool!

Grades 2-6

90-minute Investigation - subject to seasonal availability

In this “cool” investigation, students will create a model of the Earth’s atmosphere and grow their own snow crystals.  Through this model and another experiment, students will learn about the states and properties of mater and the water cycle. Sixth graders will also learn about thermal energy, elements, and compounds in relation to snow crystal formation.

TEKS

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.5B, 2.6A, 2.8B, 2.8C

3.1A, 3.1B, 3.3A, 3.3D, 3.5B, 3.5C, 3.8B

4.1A, 4.5A, 4.5B

5.1A, 5.5A, 5.5B

Mineral Madness

Grade 6

90-minute Investigation

Students become geologists as they work in cooperative learning groups to discover the kind of minerals found in an imaginary quarry by exploring the hardness, color, luster, transparency, streak, and magnetism of their specimens. Each group will record their data and present their findings to the class.

TEKS

6.1A, 6.1B, 6.4A, 6.6C

Natural Resources

Grades 3-5

90-minute Investigation

Students will learn about the two types of natural resources: Renewable and Non-renewable resources. Through a match-up activity, they will discover how both renewable and nonrenewable resources are used in many everyday products. Students will observe several real fossils and investigate them as evidence of past living organisms. Additionally, students will learn how fossil fuels are created over a long period of time and why conservation of energy is important.  At the conclusion of this investigation, students will come up with alternative energy solutions for conservation of our non-renewable resources.

TEKS

3.1A, 3.1B, 3.7D

4.1A, 4.1B, 4.7C

5.1A, 5.1B, 5.7C, 5.7D

Not in My Backyard

Grades K-2

90-minute Investigation

Did you know that about 1/3 of all household waste in the US is paper? In this investigation, Students will explore conservation and its 4 Rs: Reducing, Reusing, Recycling, and Rethinking. The investigation begins with discussing natural resources and reading Inky the Sperm Whale, a true story about a whale that became sick because of pollution in the ocean. The students will discover more about garbage and waste, how long it takes garbage to decompose in a landfill, and come up with his/her own alternative solution to throwing away an individual garbage item. They will also have the chance to learn about the benefits of and see the results of composting.

TEKS

K1A, K1B, K1C, K3A

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.1C, 1.3A, 1.3B

2.1A-2.1C, 2.3A-2.3C

Rock n’ Soil

Grades K-2

90-minute Investigation

Students will have the opportunity to explore, sort, and classify a variety of rock samples and match common items and products to minerals that the items are made from. The layers of the earth and the rock cycle will also be investigated. Provided microscopes allow students the opportunity to observe and record observations of different soil types. Emphasis will be placed on conservation of these precious natural resources.

TEKS

K1A, K1B, K4A, K4B, K5A, K7A, K7C

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.3C, 1.4A, 1.5A, 1.7A, 1.7C

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.3C, 2.4A, 2.5A, 2.7A, 2.7C

Rocks and Plates

Grade 6

90-minute Investigation

Tectonic plates and the geological events they cause will be explored in this investigation. Students will participate in an activity that models how metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks are formed and reformed; will have observation time with different rock specimens; and do some of their own rock identification.

TEKS

6.1A, 6.10B-6.10C

The Scoop on Soil

Grades 3-4

90-minute Investigation

Students engage in a scientific inquiry about one of our natural resources – soil. This hands-on investigation will allow students to learn about, observe, and explore the properties of different types of soil. Additionally, a Heard Educator will guide students through a soil experiment that asks the question “What type of soil retains the most amount of water?” The investigation also includes a discovery activity that demonstrates how weathering causes rocks to turn into soil. A classroom composting kit will be provided if desired.

TEKS

3.1A, 3.1B, 3.2A-3.2F, 3.4A, 3.7A, 3.7D

4.1A, 4.1B, 4.7A-4.7C

TSI: Tree Scene Investigation

Grade 2

90-minute Investigation

Your students will be transformed into “Tree Scene Investigators.” Working in cooperative learning groups, their job will be to investigate tree cookies (cross-sections of trees) in order to discover how the environment has affected the tree throughout its life. The students will first go through TSI training to develop skills in scientific inquiry and tree cookie reading. Each group will collect, record, and communicate data about their tree cookie. Students better understand the life history of their tree through direct observations and investigations.

TEKS

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.2A-2.2F, 2.3C, 2.9C

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Grades K-2

90-minute Investigation

A Heard Educator will help students learn all about water. A hands-on demonstration will facilitate learning about the physical properties of water and to help them understand how water becomes polluted. Additionally, students will learn about natural sources of water, including lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans through a map activity, and engage in an experiment to explore the properties of salt water versus fresh water. 

TEKS

K1A, K1B, K4A, K4B, K7B- K7C

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.3C, 1.4A, 1.7B, 1.7C

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.3C, 2.4A, 2.5A, 2.7B, 2.7C

Webs, Webs, and More Webs

Grades 1-3

90-minute Investigation

Everything in the “web” of the natural world is interconnected. A live tarantula will provide a springboard for learning about several concepts: basic needs of living things, food webs, interdependence of organisms and their environment, and environmental factors that affect the growth and behavior of living things.

TEKS

1.1A, 1.1B, 1.9A- 1.9C, 1.10A

2.1A, 2.1B, 2.9A-2.9C

3.1A, 3.1B, 3.9A-3.9C