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Department of State

New Jersey State Museum

The Hon. Tahesha Way, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State
Museum

Learn At The Museum

Virtual Field Trips

Bring the Museum to you! Choose from Virtual Field Trip Kits or Ask the Experts virtual science talks. This option is great for cutting travel costs in field trip planning or can also be used as a pre or post visit activity. There’s something here for everyone! To reserve your virtual field trip contact reservations.njsm@sos.nj.gov or 609-292-1382

Kits

Bring the State Museum to you, with 3 incredible kits for distance learning. Scaffolded for students in grades K-4 or 5-8, kits are compatible with Google Classroom and include:

  • Enhanced gallery tours (pre-recorded)
  • Set of 25 hands-on crafts + instructions
  • 3 printable activities to expand learning
Kit Pricing

$75 per kit of 25 projects

FREE in-person pick up at the Museum or direct shipping for $30/box (up to 50 projects in a box to minimize your shipping cost)

Digital links will be emailed and materials packaged after payment is received.

To reserve your virtual field trip contact reservations.njsm@sos.nj.gov or 609-292-1382

Kit Options:

Fantastic Fossils
Enhanced Gallery Tour (pre-recorded). Choose from:

  • “Into the Deep Freeze” Explore New Jersey in the Ice Age for K-4th grade or
  • “Dinosaurs and Deception” A paleontology feud of epic proportions for grades 5-8

Paint a Prehistoric Creature craft – 25 plaster molds, paints and brushes with instructions for a Paleozoic diorama.
Expansion Activities – Paleo Practice, Earth History Timeline and DIY Wooly Mammoths

Art and Inspiration
Enhanced Gallery Tours (pre-recorded):

  • “It’s Made of What?” For K-8 A close-up of artists and the materials they use in making sculpture.

New and Improved! Sculpture art project – a classroom kit with a variety of supplies for your students to choose which kind of sculpture they will create. Will it be kinetic? Nature inspired? Use recyclable materials? Students build on knowledge gained from the pre-recorded tour to create their own masterpiece.
Expansion Activities – The Artist’s Eye, Color Your World and Wilderness Artworks

Lenape Artistry
Enhanced Gallery Tours (pre-recorded). Choose from:

  • “Digging the Past” An introduction to archaeology and New Jersey’s First People for K-4th grade or
  • “A Resilient People” Lenape cultural changes in the face of colonization and hardship for grades 5-8.

Weave a Block-Stamped Basket craft – 25 basket frames, raffia or jute and beads with a copy of the book Rainbow Crow a Lenape tale and instructions for weaving your basket
Expansion Activities – Archaeology 101: Layers in the Earth, Lenape Games to make and play, Rainbow Crow coloring page

Ask the Experts Virtual

Our experts can join your virtual classroom, or we can provide a Zoom link. Contact information for the Museum expert and the session link will be supplied once payment is received. For better student participation, groups larger than 50 students may wish to split into multiple virtual sessions. Teachers will work directly with the expert to coordinate session times, dates and links.

Cost: $5 per student.

Scientist-led talks are 45 minutes with a Q+A session. Payment is due 2 weeks in advance.

To reserve your virtual field trip contact reservations.njsm@sos.nj.gov or 609-292-1382

Choose from:

People of the Past: Archaeology in NJ
How do artifacts help archaeologists understand the lives of prehistoric humans? Archaeologist Dr. Greg Lattanzi leads this exploration of the unique artifacts found here, and what they tell us about the lifestyle of New Jersey’s first people.

Fossil Hunters in New Jersey
New Jersey abounds with fossils! Paleontologist Dr. Dana Ehret shares exciting fossil discoveries from throughout the state, what fossils tell us about ancient ecosystems, and all of the challenges paleontologist face in this adventurous field.

Learning Resources

Here you will find videos and guides you can use in the classroom, at home or in the Museum. Explore History, Art and Science in a variety of ways.

 

Episode 1:
How Do You Know Where To Dig?

 

Episode 2:
How Do You Know Where The Fossils Are?

 

Episode 3:
How Do You Know If It Is A Fossil?

 

Episode 4:
How Do We Dig Up Fossils?

 

Episode 5:
How Do We Dig Up the Bones?

 

Episode 6:
How Do We Get the Bones Back Safely?

 

Episode 7:
What Is Fossil Preparation?

 

Episode 8:
Which Dinosaur and Part of the Body Does that Fossil Belong To?

 

Episode 9:
What Did the Dinosaurs Look Like?

 

Episode 10:
Why Do We Look For Dinosaurs In Montana & Wyoming?

 

 


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