EDUCATOR RESOURCES
Scroll through learning resources related to current and past exhibits
and borrow a discovery trunk for your classroom
All about Idaho
Click HERE to download the custom Field Guide for the Way Out West exhibit. Use this guide for students to dig a little deeper into the educational insights in the exhibit, as well as guiding the students through the exhibit. The guide is designed to be printed back-to-back - 1 page.
Click HERE for the Teacher Answer Key for the Field Guide. The Answer Key is designed to be printed back-to-back - 1 page
CLICK HERE to download the Way Out West Educator Guide
The Way Out West exhibit is the story of resources and resourcefulness, individualism and collectivism. Ultimately, it is the story of migration, transformation, and the adventure home. This exhibition unites the sciences and the humanities so that all who visit feel like they belong, can experience something familiar, and can open their minds to something new.
In this guide, you will find lessons on a variety of topics and geared towards a variety of age groups. Although there are suggestions for intended grade level, each lesson can be adapted to fit your specific group of students. Each lesson includes Before Your Visit, During Your Visit, and After Your Visit components as well as lesson extensions, essential questions, goals, key words, and curriculum connections. Most of these lessons do not require a visit to the Museum of Idaho, but our collection of objects and exhibits will serve to enhance student learning.
Explore early Idaho Falls through our digital 360 Eagle Rock exhibit! Click on each shop to experience the exhibit like never before and see what treasures you can find!
Anderson Bros. General Store & Bank
Click HERE to download the Eagle Rock Guided Tour.
Explore local books about local Idaho history that have been provided by archive.org
Click on resources below to view individually
- Beautiful Bonneville, county of contrasts
by Horton, Alice, ed; Jensen, Quincy M; Bitton, Afton; Grimes, Patti Sherlock; Ingram, Kay
Resources provided by Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Many resources in this section are from the INL ESER resources page, EarthLearningIdea, the Digital Atlas of Idaho, and the Idaho Geological Survey.
Click on resources below to view individually
- Banana Benders
- Bubblemania
- Flour Box Volcano
- Geologic Map of Idaho-click HERE and HERE to view
- GPS Activities
- GPS Games
- Hotspot Activity
- Identify Rocks
- Margarine Mountains
- Regional Metamorphism
- Rock Game
- Rock, Rattle and Roll
- Rocks of the Eastern Idaho Mountains
- See-how-they-run: Lava Activity
- Valley in 30 Seconds
- Yellowstone Hotspot
Add historical photos of Idaho Falls to your educational lessons. Open
Explore how Idaho Falls waded through the struggles of powering an expanding city. Click HERE to view
Learn about the great topics we cover in our local exhibits. Click HERE to view
Explore Idaho through its historical markers! Click HERE to view.
Animal Inside Out
Click HERE to download the custom Safari Guide for the Animal Inside Out exhibit. Use this guide for students to dig a little deeper into the educational insights in the exhibit, as well as guiding the students through the exhibit. The guide is designed to be printed back-to-back - 1 page.
Click HERE for the Teacher Answer Key for the Safari Guide. The Answer Key is designed to be printed back-to-back - 1 page
Click HERE for the Educator Overview of Animals Inside Out
"IT’S ALIVE! Your body, that is. Our bodies work continuously (every second of every day!) to keep us going. Grow and flex your kids’ knowledge of the human body with these printable activities — and have a little fun." -Tinybob blog
Past exhibits
CLICK HERE to access this lesson plan which helps students understand the physics behind the Archimedes Screw and make one of their very own!
CLICK HERE to access this lesson plan where students can apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate and refine three
different shaped paper structures (triangle, circle and square) that minimize the force on a large
scale object in order to discover which shape is the strongest.
CLICK HERE to access this lesson plan where students can discover the volume of a solid using the same method that Archimedes devised over 2,000 years ago: Eureka!
CLICK HERE to access this lesson plan about Galileo and Lunar Gravity.
CLICK HERE to access this lesson plan about triangles and inclined planes!
Build a robot with this simple lesson. Design it into a dinosaur robot for extra Dinosaurs in Motion fun! Click HERE to view.
Explore a few books that have inspired this imaginative exhibit!
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: FULL BOOK HERE [PDF] www.gutenberg.org
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: FULL BOOK HERE [PDF]
- The Time Machine: An Invention by H. G. Wells: FULL BOOK HERE [PDF] www.gutenberg.org
Click HERE to view this guide composed of sixteen activities including two design challenges that embody the ideals of STEAM and are aligned with the Idaho Science Performance Standards. These lessons and activities bridge the learning from the Exhibition to the classroom. Eight of the activities cover a variety of 3rd through 5th grade performance expectations, and eight of the activities cover a variety of 6th through 8th grade performance expectations, so teachers can choose which activities are best aligned with their curriculum and which are best to fit their students’ needs and interests.
Use your math skills to add color to these pages.
Discover how cameras work by creating your own camera obscuras. Fun activities for all ages. Just click HERE.
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley's novel.
Frankenstein is a modern myth: a 200-year-old story that explores themes of human creativity, societal responsibility, and scientific ethics. These themes continue to resonate today. As citizens with access to incredible tools for creation and transformation, we need to understand the fundamentals of science and technology and develop the skills to actively participate in civic and policy discussions.
Frankenstein200 takes on the challenge of supporting learning related to responsible innovation. The project uses themes from Frankenstein to examine emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, while promoting the development of 21st century skills related to creative collaboration and critical thinking. Frankenstein200 explores three important questions: What is life?, Why do we create?, and What are our responsibilities as creators, scientists, and engineers?
Learn more from the National Informal STEM Education (NISE) Network here. View the entire digital kit here.
Make an automaton, a moving mechanical device that imitates the movement of a human, animal, or other living thing. Click HERE to view.
Make a voltaic pile, the first kind of battery. Click HERE to view.
Make a creature out of conductive dough and use it to create an electrical circuit. Click HERE to view.
Make a “creature” by mixing and matching different parts of toys. Click HERE to view.
Make a mask with a special feature: an LED bulb that lights up. Click HERE to view.
Make a toy bot with a surprising ability: it scribbles on a sheet of paper. Click HERE to view.
Create a battery from two kinds of metal and your own body! Click HERE to view.
Help Dr. Frankenstein design and build a new laboratory. Click Frankenstein's Laboratory
Help Dr. Frankenstein create a healthy, new lung for his monster. Click Frankenstein's New Lung
Use this lesson to learn more about steam era inventors. Click HERE to access the lesson.
Learn about the ocean layers and build a model with this activity. Click Ocean Diving
STEM activity that explores engineering and physics. Lesson by eGFI
Sink into these Secondary activities that explore the deep blue. Resources by oceans.digitalexplorer.com
Click on the items below to view.
Use this lesson to learn about Steampunk authors. Click on the items below.
Use your math skills design a Steampunk themed table top. Click Steampunk Table Top
Tell time the steampunk way. Click Steampunk Time Sheets
Click HERE to view the 3-5 educator guide. You can find pre-visit, post-visit, and during your visit activities in this guide for younger students. Activities are easily adaptable for many learning abilities and are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.
You can find pre-visit, post-visit, and during your visit activities in this guide for older students. Activities are easily adaptable for many learning abilities and are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Click HERE to view.
Use this online game to design a dino, learn about adaptations, and more! Click HERE to view.
For a lesson plan to go along with this game, click HERE.
Mix art and paleontology with these printable dinosaur origami sheets! Click HERE to view.
Design a moving dinosaur with this lesson from LEGO education. Click HERE to view.
These resources are a great way to engage your kids during the holiday season.
Click on resources below to view individually
Darwin and Dinosaurs Eye Spy Gallery Guide
This guide asks younger elementary explorers to find the source of close up pictures in a game of Eye Spy that will guide them through the exhibition. It is designed to be printed back to back and folded in half (Key is provided as the third page of this file).
Darwin and Dinosaurs Eye Spy PLUS Gallery Guide
This guide asks older elementary explorers to find the source of close up pictures in a game of Eye Spy that will guide them through the exhibition. They are then asked to name the artifact, where they found it, and list an interesting fact about it. This should get them thinking a little deeper about what they can find in the exhibit as well as making sure that they touch on all the subject matter. It is designed to be printed back to back and folded in half (Key is provided as the third page of this file).
CLICK HERE to access the Educator Guide.
Included in the Educator Guide:
- Suggestions to Help Teachers Come Prepared for the Exhibition
- Introduction to the Exhibition
- Strategies for Teaching in the Exhibition
- Correlations to Standards
- Essential Questions for Student Inquiry
CLICK HERE to access the Hungry Birds lesson Plan.
CLICK HERE to access the activity sheet that goes with the lesson Plan.
This lesson is designed to help students explore the effects of natural selection on populations with trait
variation by use of a video game that they can experience in the Museum Exhibition. (Grades 3-6.)
CLICK HERE to access the different Fact Sheets on unique Galapagos animals, geology, and discoveries.
CLICK HERE to access the Great Fossil Find lesson plan.
A great resource for grade 7-10 science teachers. The focus is on a simulated dig to retrieve the fossil remains of a dinosaur. The hands-on activity is taught over a five-day period. Also provides good material to continue the discussion of the nature of science.
CLICK HERE to access a website which contains a number of articles related to birds as modern dinosaurs.
CLICK HERE to access an article from Scientific American that provides an overview of new research on the question of birds as modern dinosaurs.
Discovery Trunks
Pre-packed lessons for your classroom
Sanitation procedures will be included with each Discovery Trunk and all materials are disinfected again at the Museum before another checkout can occur (a week will be required to ensure that all materials are sanitized and ready for checkout).
- Space Kit 2017: Explore SPACE with hands-on materials and lessons from the 2017 NISE network's Explore Earth and Space Toolkit.
- Space Kit 2018: Explore SPACE with hands-on materials and lessons from the 2018 NISE network's Explore Earth and Space Toolkit.
- Earth and Space Kit 2020 A: Explore the Earth and Solar System with hands-on materials and lessons from the 2020 NISE network's Explore Earth and Space Toolkit. Can be checked out as a single trunk or in conjunction with the Earth and Space Kit 2020 B.
- Activities Included - Investigating Clouds; Asteroid Mining; Design, Build, Test; Mission to Space
- Earth and Space Kit 2020 B: Explore the Universe with hands-on materials and lessons from the 2020 NISE network's Explore Earth and Space Toolkit. Can be checked out as a single trunk or in conjunction with the Earth and Space Kit 2020 A.
- Activities Included - Nebula Spin Art; Orbiting Objects; Star Formation; Space Guess Quest
- Let's Do Chemistry: Bring Chemistry into any classroom with these exciting and easy hands-on activities from the NISE Network's Explore Science: Let's Do Chemistry Toolkit.
- Types of Fossils: Learn all about how fossils are formed and the different types of fossils through hands-on specimens and activities.
- Adaptations: Explore the ways that animals and plants adapt to Idaho's environment through hands-on games and lessons.
- Conservation: Explore the importance of animal, plant, and environmental conservation through hands-on materials.
- GPS & Compass: Explore GPS and Compass technology through hands-on lessons with our set of 10, easy to use Garmin etrex devices and our set of 10, Coghlan's Deluxe Map Compasses.
- Idaho Falls History: Explore Idaho Falls History through historic photographs, science experiments, and more!
- Code Invent! Computer Science in Your Classroom: This kit includes unplugged activities, 12 Makey Makeys, 12 Raspberry Pi kits, Turing Tumbles along with a multitude of lesson plans and modules to get your classroom inventing! This trunk provided by generous grants from Cross Charitable Trust and the Idaho STEM Action Center.
- DIY: The Museum of Idaho has a large collection of skulls, shells, and fossils for educational use. Set up an appointment with Chloe Doucette to design your own discovery trunk with these materials! Requires at least 2 weeks lead time to when the materials are needed in the classroom.
