Grades: K-2
This phenomenal trunk focuses on how the People of the Great Plains used the bison in their everyday lives, from the arrival of the horse through the decimation of the great bison herds. It includes an array of activities that can be incorporated into your classroom, and pairs with 2nd grade social studies standards.
Bison Culture Education Trunk:
Our education trunks are provided for free of charge to all schools, and shipping is available. Details of shipping can be found at the bottom of this page. This trunk is also available as a Virtual Education Trunk. The virtual trunk has 360-degree photos of every item.
This trunk was created to help tell one small piece of the story of the Indigenous People of North America. Native Americans have been living in North America for more than 14,000 years; their history is vast and diverse. This trunk focuses on how the People of the Great Plains used the bison during a two-hundred-year period. The time period the trunk examines begins with the arrival of the horse on the great plains in the mid 1600s and ends with the near extinction of the bison during the mid 1800s.
This trunk includes bison items like tanned leather, rawhide, pelt, tongue, stomach, brains, horns, hooves, and more. It also includes replicas of period appropriate Native American items, made out of bison. This includes a shield, spoon, drum, arrow, parfleche, awl, bowl, and more. All of these items were made by artists using historically accurate techniques, and are great representations of what these items would have looked like during this time period.
We have also created an engaging and educational set of activities to go along with this education trunk. These activities were designed to meet Wyoming State Social Studies Standards for K-2 (usually taught in 2nd grade), however the similar requirements can be found in most states' standards. If your school uses Wit and Wisdom, you'll find these activities fit perfectly with that curriculum. Like the education trunk, they are offered free of charge to all teachers, schools, and other organizations; you can find them below.
Note: These activities are currently being reviewed by Native American Cultural Centers and should be available for download by the end of November.
Details on Trunk Shipping vs. Trunk Pick Up at the Museum.
- Pick up and drop off at the museum is free to every school! If you drive here, you can borrow the trunk!
- If your school is within Wyoming, but more than an hour and a half from the museum, the museum can pay to ship the trunk to you. But you must cover the cost of shipping back to the museum. The museum has a yearly budget allocated to shipping trunks; once that budget is depleted, shipping costs have to be covered by the school.
- The Museum does not ship trunks to schools within an hour and a half of the museum. However, pick up at the museum is always available.
- If your school is outside of Wyoming, you must cover the cost of shipping both ways. Additionally, we are limited to locations that North Park Transportation can deliver to. This usually includes Northern Colorado, Denver, and some other regional states. Check with the museum to learn more.
- If you want to know more about our Bison Culture Education Trunk, fill out a program request or give us a call.
