Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Make Your Own Paper

For Students 6th - 12th
Paper, paper everywhere. Paper is so prolific that few think about where the idea for it originated and how it is made. Introduce young readers to the paper-making process with an activity that lets them create their own.
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Piecing It All Together

For Students 6th - 12th
Archaeology digs are much like giant jigsaw puzzles. The artifacts found are often in pieces and scientists must reconstruct them. A hands-on activity lets young archaeologists experience this facet of the job as they create, smash, and...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Map Your Own World

For Students 4th - 8th
Young archaeologists practice their mapping skills by creating a detailed site map of their room or another room in their home. After indicating walls, windows, doors, and closets, they add furniture and objects, labeling each item.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Mythic Creatures Challenge

For Students 6th - 12th
Mythic creatures and where to find them is the subject of an engaging interactive resource. Young anthropologists click on a bright red X on a world map to see an image of and learn the stories of 15 legendary creatures.
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Making a Field Journal

For Students 6th - 12th
Trowels and brushes are certainly important tools for an archaeologist working on a dig. Perhaps more important, however, is the archaeologist's field journal. Christina Elson, an archaeologist working with the American Museum of Natural...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

Being an Archeologist: Chuck Spencer

For Students 6th - 12th
Meet Chuck Spencer, an archeologist who studies the Zapotec people who lived in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico over 2000 years ago. Spencer shares in print his response to questions posed by kids.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Sounds of the Silk Road

For Students 6th - 12th
Young explorers may not be able to travel the Silk Road but they can listen to music that was played on instruments of the time and create their own songs with the help of an interesting interactive resource. 
Website
American Museum of Natural History

Up Close With a Zapotec Urn

For Students 6th - 9th
If a Zapotec urn, buried for over a thousand years in a temple in the lost city of Xoxocotlan in the Valley of Oaxaca in the mountains of southern Mexico could talk image the stories it could tell. That's the set up in a clever resource...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

Being a Zoologist: Sandra Olsen

For Students 6th - 12th
Are your students wild about horses? Then introduce them Sandra Olsen, a  zooarchaeologist, who has been studying horses and the people who herd them. Ms Olsen responds to 15 interview questions and details how she goes about her...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

What is Anthropology

For Students 6th - 12th
A colorful resource introduces learners to the four major fields of anthropology: cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology. Explanations are provided for what each field studies, the kinds...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Inca Investigation

For Students 6th - 12th
A fascinating interactive resource lets young archaeologists dig through the history of Huanuco Pampa. The Inca city, located high in the Andes mountains of Peru, was once a thriving community. Craig Morris has spent years researching...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

A Walk Through the Ruins of Petra

For Students 6th - 12th
Walking through the ancient Nabataean city of Petra can be a challenge. A tour begins with a 20-minute walk down a rocky slope through the narrow Siq to get to the famous Treasury known to Indiana Jones fans. But that is...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

The Ancient City of Petra

For Students 6th - 12th
Anyone who has seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade will recognize the entrance to the Nabataean city of Petra. Young archaeologists don't need horses or camels to travel through the Sig and tour this fascinating city, however. With...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

If Trash Could Talk

For Students 6th - 12th
Trash can talk! Young archaeologists dig through their trash to see what it reveals about their lives. After they examine their midden, links permit users to test their knowledge of archaeology with a 10-questions quiz, learn how...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Dress Up a Horse

For Students 3rd - 7th
Walk, trot, gallop! Young equestrians have an opportunity to learn all about horses with an engaging resource that lets them select tack to dress up a horse, create flip books that illustrate the various gates, have questions answered by...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Being An Anthropologist: Laurel Kendall

For Students 6th - 12th
Imagine studying Korean culture, especially the role of women, as well as marriage and religious rituals from home! Anthropologist Laurel Kendall shares what she has learned from her many trips to this fascinating country half a world away.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Tools of the Trade

For Students 6th - 12th
Archaeologist David Hurst Thomas details his search for a lost Spanish Mission on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. A great way to introduce youngsters to the life of and the tools used by archaeologists.
Website
American Museum of Natural History

What's the Big Idea About Archeology

For Students 4th - 8th
The American Museum of Natural History offers a website sure to engage young anthropologists. Learners can dig into a site that offers an explanation of the field of archaeology, the kinds of questions archaeologists ask that launch...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Create Your Own Time Capsule

For Students 4th - 12th
The corona virus pandemic is indeed a historic event. A time capsule activity permits young historians to document these days of social distancing, remote learning, and quarantine by collecting artifacts that capture what their lives are...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Calculating a Biodiversity Index

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Biodiversity refers to the variety of animal and plant species in a specific habitat. With a collaborative activity, the habitat becomes a page from the white pages, and the species are the surnames in the book. Learners calculate the...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

A Closer Look at Mars

For Students 6th - 12th
A website looks at how we know so much about Mars—telescopes, robots, and spacecraft—and the search for martian life. Following the informational text are three questions that quiz pupils about possible life on Mars. 
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Cosmic Wallpapers

For Students 6th - 12th
Decorate your screen with a cosmic wallpaper featuring the Orion Nebula, Helix Nebula, or Supernova.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Dress up a T. Rex

For Students 6th - 12th
Scholars play with an image's color and brightness to predict how tyrannosaurus rex's skin, feathers, and eyes would have appeared. Information and real-world pictures shed light on what evidence guides our assumption of how a...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

Nobody's Perfect

For Students 6th - 12th
Even Einstein made mistakes, you know. A remote learning resource explains how scientists are sometimes unsuccessful. Pupils learn about Einstein's failed quest to find a unified field theory that explained the entire universe.