Want to visit the museum but don't have the time or resources? Our education and outreach coordinator can offer programs on archaeology, ecology, and geology to formal and informal groups at schools, libraries, museums, and other community organizations. This presentations can be supplemented with the use of items from our Discovery Trunks.
Our education and outreach coordinator makes presentations to schools, libraries, and other groups. Have an interest in Iowa history but can't make it to the museum? An educator can discuss various topics in Iowa's past with your students, using items from our Discovery Trunks to supplement the experience. Contact us to learn how we can come visit you.
Discovery Trunks are traveling teaching trunks, containing objects, artifacts, books, DVDs, activities, and lesson plans, and are ideal for educators who want hands-on materials and lessons that fit core teaching goals about Iowa's cultural and natural history. Trunks help develop student's scientific, cultural, and historical literacy. The trunk program has been developed by the Pentacrest Museums (Old Capitol Museum and Museum of Natural History), Office of the State Archaeologist, and Paleontology Repository.
Stanley Museum of Art Docents and instructors lead interactive presentations of original works of art from around the globe. With funding from the University of Iowa Museum of Art Education Partners, the Stanley Museum of Art education department purchased these works of art for use in K-12 classrooms. With funding from the Stanley Museum of Art Education Partners, the museum’s Education Department purchased artworks specifically for exemplary, object-based learning during art, social studies, and language arts classes. Students can examine closely—and even handle—many of the objects.
The Jacobson Institute teaches the entrepreneurial mindset to K-12 students through teacher education, innovative curricula, and outreach. BizInnovator competitions, youth entrepreneurship summer camps, conferences, trainings, and entrepreneurship curriculum are all offered by the Jacobson Institute and the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC).
Discovery Trunks are traveling teaching trunks, containing objects, artifacts, books, DVDs, activities, and lesson plans, and are ideal for educators who want hands-on materials and lessons that fit core teaching goals about Iowa's cultural and natural history. Trunks help develop student's scientific, cultural, and historical literacy. The trunk program has been developed by the Pentacrest Museums (Old Capitol Museum and Museum of Natural History), Office of the State Archaeologist, and Paleontology Repository. We continue to expand the trunk program to meet the needs of Iowa's educators.
We provide resources to formal and informal educators seeking to use archaeology for learners of all ages, including yearly pre-service and in-service teacher workshops. Our archaeology Discovery Trunks are loaned for free to educators statewide. The trunks cover all periods of human occupation in Iowa, from the Paleoindians to historic dairy farming, and include standards-based lessons developed and adapted by experienced curricula writers on staff.
The Dare to Discover website is a gateway to the programs through which our museums, centers, and programs engage with the public both here on campus and in communities across Iowa. Find out how to bring a speaker to your school, library or community group, or borrow a traveling Discovery Trunk full of hands-on activities for students. Connect with resources for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Learn about UI's technical and consulting services for Iowans, including public health, environmental monitoring, archaeological investigations, and fossil identification.
The Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) education staff visits classrooms statewide to deliver lessons and activities that are interdisciplinary, inquiry-based, hands-on, and customizable for all grade levels based on current classroom content and teacher needs. All activities are place-based and emphasize what is special about the archaeological, cultural, and environmental history of Iowa and the school’s own community. This program received one of the Governor's inaugural five STEM Advisory Council Seal of Approvals in March 2015.
Discovery Trunks are traveling teaching trunks, containing objects, artifacts, books, DVDs, activities, and lesson plans, and are ideal for educators who want hands-on materials and lessons that fit core teaching goals about Iowa's cultural and natural history. Trunks help develop student's scientific, cultural, and historical literacy. The trunk program has been developed by the Pentacrest Museums (Old Capitol Museum and Museum of Natural History), Office of the State Archaeologist, and Paleontology Repository. We continue to expand the trunk program to meet the needs of Iowa's educators.
