The traveling classroom program of The Children’s Museum travels all across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, bringing science to schools, libraries, scout meetings, and more. Looking to save on the cost, time, and effort of making a trip to us? Having outreach come to you is the answer.

With more than 20 programs for grades PK-8, our outreach covers a wide variety of topics that are sure to spark excitement for science. Our assembly programs can serve large audiences and are filled with spectacular demonstrations on chemistry, sound, electricity, flight, and more. Live animals from the Museum’s Wildlife Sanctuary can hit the road to visit you. We bring the night sky indoors with the STARLAB portable planetarium. Hands-on classroom programs let smaller groups get up close and personal with engineering, slime, insects, forensics, music, and other science subjects. In our science showcases, hands-on, museum-style exhibits explore electricity, magnets, lights, motion, and bubbles.

Schedule a traveling classroom program today! For questions or to schedule a program, contact our Registration Department or call (860) 726-4008.

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Course List

Live Animal Programs

Animal Adaptations & Habitats
Grades K-8
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Study some of our Wildlife Sanctuary animals and determine the unique ways they have adapted to meet their specific needs. Compare similarities and differences between mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.

Featuring Frogs
Grades K-2
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Learn about amphibians’ unique life cycles. Compare and contrast frogs from around the world as you discover what makes them so unique.

Animal Life Cycles
Grades 2-8
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Learn about the unique life cycles of amphibians and insects and their amazing adaptations that help them to survive.

Endangered Species
Grades K-8
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS2.C, LS4.B/C
Explore the reasons why some animals become extinct while others thrive.

Connecticut Wildlife
Grades K-8
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Get up close and personal with some native Connecticut animals and learn about the human activities that affect them.

Cold-Blooded Creatures
Grades K-8
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Encounter Reptiles and Amphibians from around the world and discover what it takes to live in their different habitats

From Rainforests to Deserts
Grades K-8:
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Some animals thrive in the humid rainforest, others in the dry desert. Examine the adaptations of these animals from such dramatically contrasting habitats.

Food Webs
Grades K-8:
NGSS: LS1.A/B, LS4.B/C
Meet a group of animals and discuss how they would fit together as a food web in their natural habitats.

Live S.T.E.A.M. Programs

Weather Wonders
Grades K-1
NGSS: ESS2.D
Get students excited about paying attention to the weather around them. Learn about the seasons and how they impact our day to day weather

Budding Botanists
Grades K-2
NGSS: LS2.A
Investigate plants from the inside out by dissecting flowers. Learn about their lifecycles and why plants are so important to humans.

Polymer Power
Grades K-6
NGSS: PS1.A/B
Students will conduct slimy experiments to learn about solids, liquids, and the strange chains called polymers.

Crime Lab
Grades 1- 4
NGSS:
Students become super sleuths as they decode fingerprints and analyze ink composition. They will be challenged to solve a crime using their new skills.

Inventing
Grades 1-8
NGSS: ETS1
Student teams use critical thinking skills to invent a new machine. What will your students create?

Can You Dig It?
Grade 2
NGSS: ESS2.A
Examine different types of soil and find out how they are formed. Students will conduct hands-on experiments with dirt.

Rock On
Grades 3 & 4
NGSS: LS4.A
Learn how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks form. Examine rocks and minerals for geologic clues.

Chem Tech
Grades 4-8
NGSS: PS1.A/B
This microchemistry program challenges students to analyze variables and discover the causes of more than 25 surprising chemical experiments.

Electricity and Magnetism
Grades 4-8:
NGSS: PS1.A
Students will tinker with electricity and magnets in stations as well as see some electrifying demonstrations.

Building Better Bridges
Grades 4-8:
NGSS: EST1
Discover shapes and designs that have helped bridges bear heavy loads for centuries.

Environmental Science
Grades K-8
NGSS: ESS2.C, ESS2.E, ESS3.A, ESS3.C
Study how human activities affect our environment, including air, water, and land. Determine ways to reduce human impact on the environment.

Paleontology
Grades K-8
NGSS: LS4.A, LS4.B
Learn how fossils tell us about life in the past, Compare modern and fossil forms (shark, squid, clam, brachiopod) to understand the similarities and differences over time as evolution shapes all life.

Assembly Program
Grades K – 8
Our Science Adventures allows you to choose three topics, each filled with spectacular and educational demonstrations. Choose three of the fun-filled topics below.

Animals

Two live animals from our sanctuary will travel to your school. Students will learn to compare and contrast animals’ adaptations

Chemistry
NGSS: PS1.A/B
The amazing reactions in this module will glow, ooze, change color, and explode!

Combustion
NGSS: PS1.A/B
Learn about heat, matter, and the fire triangle. Brace yourself for the flaming vortex and chemical cannon!

Electricity
NGSS: PS1.A
Your students will have a hair-raising experience as we compare static electricity to high-frequency alternating current.

Light
NGSS: PS4.B/C
Students will enjoy watching experiments with ultraviolet light and bending laser beams. The program ends with a high-powered musical finale. To be most effective, we must be able to work in a darkened room.

Liquid Nitrogen
NGSS: PS1.A/B
Witness a liquid that is 321 degrees below zero! Experience the astonishing results that liquid nitrogen can create. This module is a great companion to the combustion module.

Physics
NGSS: PS2.A/B
Your students will be amazed by Newton’s Laws of Motion and how they apply to everyday life. Watch a tablecloth disappear and see the world’s fastest pencil.

Weird Science
NGSS: EST1
You won’t believe your eyes as we present the screaming stick, the electric pickle, the flying French fries, and other very surprising demonstrations.

Sound
NGSS: PS4.A
Now hear this! Students will find out how vibrations make sound, see how it moves, and hear a sonic boom!

The Wizard’s Lab Science Showcase
Grades K-8
Students will engage in hands-on experiments exploring electricity, magnets, solar power, lasers, and more. Ask us about any special topics you might like to include during this program.
Program length:  60 Minutes
Maximum Audience Size: 30 – But can be set up for ongoing demonstrations at science fairs, back-to-school nights, or other larger groups.
PLEASE NOTE: The Wizard’s Lab requires a large room with long tables, access to electricity and water, 45 minutes for setup and clean up.

STARLAB: Traveling Planetarium

Have the museum bring the STARLAB to you. With a large all-purpose room, you can have the stars come to you, learn about stars, day and night, and stories of old used to describe what is in the night sky. Pricing and space requirements are unique, please see below.
Program length: 45 minutes
Maximum # of Children: 30
Room requirements: A large room with a clear space of at least 25’x25’ with at least 10’ ceilings, access to an electrical outlet, and 45 minutes for set-up and takedown.
Cost: $300 for the first presentation, discount available for multiple programs on the same day. (up to 3 additional presentations).

Starry Safari
Grades PreK-2
NGSS: ESS1.A/B, LS1.A/B
A special tour of creature constellations from around the world. Hear the amazing tales people told about how those animals got placed up in the night sky. Bring a constellation to life and meet a live animal from our wildlife sanctuary!

Junior Night Owls
Grades K-2
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
Introduces young astronomers to the night sky. Learn what causes day and night, and how to form the constellations.

Mighty Moon
Grades 2-6
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
A deeper look into our Earth’s next-door neighbor. Learn about moon phases, eclipses, the moon’s critical role in space exploration, and about the moons orbiting other planets of the solar system.

Out of this World
Grades 2-6
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
Travel the Solar System to meet your planetary neighbors as you journey to exotic worlds and strange moons.

Stories by Starlight
Grades 2-6
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
The folklore from Greece, Africa, Native American tribes, and other cultures comes alive. Learn how different cultures view the constellations and the science behind them.

Traveler’s Science Dome at the Gengras Planetarium

The planetarium is appropriate for all ages from preschool through high school and beyond. These programs are held on-site at the Museum. We can accommodate class sizes of 20 to 145. Ask us about combining planetarium shows, topic-related classes, and exhibits for an in-depth day of fun and discovery.

Immersive Planetarium Classes and Live Night Sky Presentations!

Space Shapes
Grades PreK-K
NGSS: ESS1.A
This friendly introduction to the planetarium environment explores the shapes of things in space. We leave Earth for a close-up view of the Moon and planets. A planetarium educator concludes this program with a tour of the night sky including an emphasis on the shapes of space objects.

Clockwork Skies
Grades 1-5
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
Explore the timely motions of the Sun, Moon, and Planets. This class is a live tour of the night sky, with emphasis on repeating sky patterns such as the phases of the moon and constellations of the seasons, as presented by a planetarium educator.

Sizing Up Space
Grades 3-5
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
This program explores distances and the scale of the solar system. A planetarium educator continues the journey by taking students on a live tour of the universe with an emphasis on celestial distances.

Stars of the Season: Live Sky Tour
Grades 3-8
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
In this live tour of the night sky, we see connections between day and night with Earth’s rotation. Seasonal changes in the path of the Sun and seasonal constellations connect with Earth’s revolution about the Sun. We examine the changing phases of the moon and view seasonal constellations and visible planets.

Sun, Earth, Moon:
Grades  4-8
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
We observe how Earth’s rotation creates our day and night, how the tilt of the Earth is responsible for the seasons, and how the orbit of the Moon produces its phases. This live program includes stories used by ancient peoples from all over the globe, such as Native American tribes and the ancient Egyptians, to explain these observations. A planetarium educator will answer questions at the end of the program.

Losing the Dark
Grades 4-8
NGSS: ESS3.A/C, LS1.B, ETS1.A/B
Explore issues regarding light pollution and its environmental effects on humans and animals. Engineers have designed strategies to help us preserve the night sky. Losing the Dark includes a live tour of the constellations and visible planets in the night sky with a planetarium educator.

The Sky Above Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Grades PreK-K
NGSS: ESS1.A, ESS2.A
A planetarium educator compares and contrasts the Sun and Moon. We then explore the stars, moon, and apparent motion of the Sun with characters from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Dancing with the Dinosaurs
Grades PreK-3:
NGSS: LS1.A, LS4.A, ESS2.B, ESS3.A
This presentation combines themes of adaptations and dinosaurs through story, graphic arts, and music. A planetarium educator shows students how to find a star pattern in the night sky that looks like a dinosaur.

Larry Cat in Space
Grades PreK-3
NGSS: PS2.A/B, ESS1.A
A planetarium educator compares and contrasts the surface of the Moon with other objects in our solar system. We then follow the animated story of a cat that travels to the Moon. Larry Cat learns how astronauts might adapt to working in reduced gravity and about the properties of the Moon’s surface.

Lars the Little Polar Bear
Grades PreK-3
NGSS: LS1.A, LS4.A/D, ESS2.B, ESS3.A/C
“The class starts with an animated presentation of the classic storybook, Lars the Little Polar Bear by Hans deBeer. After exploring the biodiversity and properties of living things on the arctic and seasonal weather conditions, the program transitions to a trip to follow polar bears in their natural habitat and how that habitat has recently been affected by climate change. A planetarium educator concludes the program with suggestions on how students can help conserve our home planet Earth.

Secret of the Cardboard Rocket Grades
PreK-3
NGSS: ESS1.A, ESS3.A, LS4.C/D
A planetarium educator introduces students to any visible planets that can be seen in the current night sky. The audience then takes an imaginary trip through the solar system in a magical cardboard rocket to explore the properties of solar system objects and compare the conditions of other planets.

In My Backyard
Grades K-3
NGSS: LS1.A, LS4.A, ESS1.A/B, ESS2.A, PS3.A
In this musical program (language arts), we explore living things that inhabit the Earth, weather conditions, the changing seasons, and look up and observe the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets in the nighttime sky. (In My Backyard was produced by the Calgary Science Centre and has been digitized and converted into a full-dome format by Ward Beecher Planetarium.)

Xtreme Weather
Grades 1-5
NGSS: PS3.A, ESS1.B, ESS2.A, ESS3.B
The class begins with a look at today’s weather map. A planetarium educator provides an introduction to weather symbols. The program transitions to see how extreme weather can be on Earth and other places in the solar system. This program includes variations in weather, properties of solids, liquids, and gases.

Amazing Stargazing
Grades 1-4
NGSS: ESS1.A/B
This planetarium program is done in the style of a radio talk show. Animated DJs take the audience on a tour of the busy night sky. Topics include motions of objects in space and identifying constellations, planets, and meteors. A planetarium educator concludes the program with a live “Just In” news report about a recent astronomy-related topic.

Astronaut
Grades 3-8
NGSS: PS2.A/B, ETS1.A/B
Explore how an astronaut’s body responds and adapts to environmental changes in gravity. Learn how astronauts use technology and engineering to overcome the limitations of the human body and allow people to live and work in the conditions of outer space. A planetarium educator concludes the program with an update on a recent space-related mission.

Molecularium
Grades 2-6
NGSS: PS1.A/B/C/D, PS3.A
Covering topics in astronomy and chemistry, we begin with a live presentation of how the universe is organized by backing away from Earth in successive distances past planets, through the solar system, and out of the Milky Way Galaxy and toward a cluster of neighboring galaxies. We return to Earth and shrink down to the atomic level to see how atoms form molecules and explore the concepts of solids, liquids, gases, molecules, and polymers.

Flight Adventures
Grades 3-5
NGSS: PS2.A/B, ETS1.A/B/C
A planetarium educator introduces the topic of flight. We then use the planetarium’s full-dome technology to follow the story of a young girl and her grandfather as they explore the history of flight through advances in engineering and design. See how NASA’s research has made space travel possible. Learn how birds, kites, and models fly and take an imaginary plane flight!

Oasis in Space
Grades 3-8
NGSS: ESS1.C, ESS2.B
We visit planets and moons in our solar system to learn about their atmospheres, compositions, and sources of possible water. This program includes weather phenomena on other planets, motions of planets, and connections between water and living things. A planetarium educator concludes the program with a brief tour of the night sky, including any visible planets.

Extreme Planets
Grades 3-8
NGSS: ESS1.C
Advances in technology have allowed scientists to use special instruments to discover hundreds of planets orbiting other stars. This program explores the properties of planets and what makes a planet “Earth-like.” A planetarium educator concludes the program with a brief tour of the night sky and how to find any visible planets in our solar system.

From the Blue Planet to the Red Planet
Grades 3-8
NGSS: ESS1.A/C, ESS2.A, ESS3.C, ETS1.A/B
A planetarium educator introduces this program with an update on NASA’s plans to send humans to the planet Mars. We then use the immersive environment of the planetarium to travel into the future to the year 2132 to compare properties of Earth, Mars, and the Moon. We see how advances in technology and future engineering possibilities may influence how humans will adapt to live and work on Earth, the Moon, and Mars.

Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope
Grades 3-8
NGSS: PS4.B/C, ESS1.A, ETS1.A/B/C/D
In this full-dome program, an astronomer invites two students to view the night sky through her telescope. As she describes the use of optical instruments and engineering advances in the telescope, we travel back in time to witness Galileo’s observations of the night sky and Newton’s discovery of the colors of the spectrum. A planetarium educator concludes the program with some of the latest views of the universe as captured by space telescopes.

Back  to  the  Moon  for  Good
Grades 4-8
NGSS: ETS1.A/B/C/D
A planetarium educator introduces the Apollo program where astronauts first stepped foot on the Moon. Today, students and engineers around the world are competing in the Google Lunar XPRIZE to build a spacecraft, land it on the Moon and relay images back to Earth. This program follows some of the teams that are building spacecraft and their engineering designs related to advances in technology, force, mass, and changes in motion. This program also includes a discussion of the properties of the lunar surface and the motion of the Moon and Earth.

Cosmic Colors
Grades 4-8
NGSS: PS3.B, PS4.A/B
A planetarium educator introduces the topic of color with an experiment. We then begin our exploration of the electromagnetic spectrum and observe that sound and light are forms of energy and discover the reason for color. This program provides examples of why perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms.

Preschool Classroom Programs

Preschool classroom programs serve children ages 3-5 and are aligned with the Connecticut Early and Development Standards (CT ELDS). Featuring cross-disciplinary connections, each program has a Literacy/Story component, a Language component with new vocabulary and conversations, and the Science and Social Studies connections listed below.

Animal Lessons
This popular investigation has many options, some of which are listed below but feel free to call and see if we offer different animals you wish to study. Animal lessons include visitors from the Wildlife Sanctuary. Learning Strands: unity and diversity of life, living things and their interactions with the environment and each other, observing similarities and differences, adaptations, extinction, life cycles, camouflage.

Meet the Animals
Learn the differences between a mammal, a reptile, an amphibian, and an insect.
Furry Friends
They may be furry, but what else makes an animal a mammal?

Something Froggy
Hop to it! Learn all about the metamorphosis from tadpoles to frogs.

Encountering Dragons
Leaping lizards! Don’t be afraid when you come face to face with living dragons and learn more about reptiles.

Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins
Have a visit from one of the most unique and longest living creatures on earth. They’ve been around since dinosaur times!

Insect Investigators
Some are creepy, others are crawly, but all are fascinating as we learn about these 6 legged friends.

Color Play
This class features hands-on science experiments. Explore and experiment with color using a variety of materials. Mix, match, and make discoveries.
Learning Strands: applying scientific practices, investigating cause and effect, using evidence to make connections

Construction Zone
Design your own structures and learn about some amazing man-made and creature-made structures in our world. Learning Strands: properties of matter; attributes and functions, problem-solving, cause and effect, adaptations

We Like to Move It!
Investigate Energy, Force, and Motion. Does it slide, roll or stay put? Use ramps to explore concepts of movement and how movement can be changed. Learning Strands: properties of matter, how speed and direction can be varied, making observations and predictions, experimenting with cause and effect

From Seed to Plants
Learn how those tricky seeds can travel and all about the plants around us. Experiment with the different parts of a plant or flower. Learning Strands: unity and diversity of life living things and their interactions with the environment and each other, observing similarities and differences, life cycles

Astronomy Adventures
Introducing astronomy to preschoolers, these classes can be added to an in-house planetarium program, or done independently through our Outreach STARLAB Traveling Planetarium. Learning strands: Making observations and predictions, investigating cause and effect, change over time, and the use of technology to help us understand the world around us, using evidence to make connections.

Moon’s  Mysteries
Learn all about the moon, why it seems to change and what we know about this mysterious thing we see in the sky.

Sun and Shadows
Learn all about the sun. Experiment with light and how it creates shadows around us.

Starry Safari STARLAB*
A special tour of creature constellations from around the world. Hear the amazing tales people told about how those animals got placed up in the night sky. Bring a constellation to life and meet a live animal from our wildlife sanctuary!

* For STARLAB details, see page 14