Docents work with students using observation and inquiry, and incorporate hands-on artifacts and specimens. Students participate in learning activities within the galleries.  Activities may include close observation, comparison and contrast, movement, and exhibit critiques. 

Teachers appreciate the following:

• Small Groups.  Larger groups are divided into groups of 10 or fewer students per docent.
• Enthusiastic, knowledgeable docents lead our tours.  Docents are University students extensively trained by Museum staff.
• Hands-on opportunities within each tour.
• Scheduled self-guided time is free when combined with a scheduled group tour.
• Tours meet MCF and GLCE content benchmarks.

Prehistoric Life

Grades 1-8

Grades 9 – adult by special request

Piece together the past in our most popular program! Children use hands-on inquiry to solve scientific problems, just like the research scientists here at U-M! Learn about fossilization, paleontology, and geologic time. Explore the world of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals by observing their many adaptations and what they tell us about their lifestyles. Get up close and personal with our incredible collection of skeletons, dioramas, and fossils!

Cost: $5 per person

Program duration: 60 minutes

Dancing with the Dinosaurs

PreK-K

Be a paleontologist and explore the dinosaur exhibits with our enthusiastic leaders. This program includes both hands-on exploration in our classroom and guided discovery in the exhibits. Songs, stories, and movement highlight your adventure!

Cost: $5 per person

Program duration: 60 minutes

Prehistoric Explorers

PreK-K

A short, guided exploration of our prehistoric life gallery designed especially for larger groups of young children or those on a short-day schedule. Leaders help small groups discover dinosaurs and more, using fossils, puzzles, and other props.

Cost: $3 per person

Program duration: 30 minutes

Behind the Scenes: Mammals and their Adaptations

Grades: 6-12

Are you teaching about animal diversity, variation, or evolution? Jump-start your curriculum with a museum presentation that explains the adaptations that have enabled mammals as a group to become so diverse and successful. Your class will also join a research scientist in the Museum of Zoology for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the mammal collections! The collections hold over 150,000 research specimens, providing examples of mammalian form and function, and illustrating how individuals vary within a species.

Cost: $5 per person

Program duration: 60 minutes

Explore Evolution

Grades 7-12

Students explore our NSF-funded evolution gallery, using the guiding concepts of variation, inheritance, selection, and time. Working in teams with a museum educator, students investigate and explain seven research projects on organisms ranging in size from a virus to a walking whale. Available January-June 2010.

Cost: $5 per person

Program duration: 120 minutes