Virtual Field Trips

The Wyoming State Museum delivers free distance learning programs to more than 6,000 students a year! These Virtual Field Trips utilize technology, human artifacts, and animal biofacts to create world-class educational programming for students of all ages.  


Additional Information:

The times below show how long is required for each Virtual Field Trip. Many of these field trips also include activities that can be done in class before or after the lesson with our museum.

As a general rule, field trips for PreK - 2nd Grade will normally be 30 minutes 45 minutes... while field trips for 3rd Grade and older will be 1 hour. However, each Virtual Field Trip can be shortened to fit time restraints that teachers may have.

The information below also shows the suggested age for each program. All programs can be aged up or down, depending on the students’ grade level, for any of the grades listed.

Virtual field trips are available, free of charge, to all schools and organizations located anywhere on the globe.

 

 

North American Bison Culture

Time: 60 Minutes

Grades: 2-12

Your students will journey back in time to learn about the unique relationship between Native Americans and the bison. They will learn how the native people of the Great Plains utilized the bison in their every day life. They will see preserved bison biofacts (including pelt, skull, bones, stomach, brain, and more) and the Native American artifacts that were made from the bison.

Learn more

Introduction to the Mountain Men

Time: 45-60 Minutes

Grades: 3-12

This virtual field trip teaches what happens when human history and conservation converge. Your students will learn about the life of mountain men, what it was like on the frontier, and how trapping impacted beaver populations. This program features mountain man artifacts from the 1800s, artifacts from the beaver hat industry, and beaver biofacts.

Learn more

Travel the Oregon Trail

Time: Two 60 Minute Sessions

Grades: 4-12

Students will learn what it was like to travel the Oregon Trail by playing an immersive game. They will pack their wagons, learn about major trail landmarks, frequent dangers, and other difficulties of the journey. Their wagons will determine whether they get to Oregon alive or not. Students will see many phenomenal human artifacts from the 1800s and various animal biofacts.

Learn more

What Makes an Animal

Time: 30-45 Minutes

Grades: PreK-3

In this field trip, specially designed for young students, we’ll learn about what animals all have in common! We’ll also learn about the different major taxon of animals, and how they are different. For example, all mammals have hair, are born alive, and drink milk! Your students will also see some amazing biofacts… including full animal mounts, giant feathers, pelts, and skulls!

Learn more

Animal Defenses

Time: 30-60 Minutes

Grades: PreK-6

Across the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, animals have some amazing special defenses! Your students will learn about the exciting, funny, and gross ways that animals (both large and small) keep themselves safe. They will also be able to see many animal biofacts, including insects specimens, mammal pelts, animal skulls, antlers, feathers, and full animal mounts!

Learn more

Animal Adaptations to Winter

Time: 30-45 Minutes

Grades: K-6

The animals of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains have amazing adaptations to survive the frigid, snowy winters! In this field trip, students will learn about some of these animals and their survival techniques to beat the cold. Students will learn about migration, hibernation, brumation, warm/cold blooded, and more.
 

Learn more

Wyoming Animals

Time: 30-45 Minutes

Grades: K-3

This program is designed to teach younger children about some of the animals that can be found in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains! We've picked some of the most interesting and fun animals for your students to learn about! We'll discuss what they eat, how they move, what noises they make, and other fun things! Your students will also see some amazing animal biofacts! 

Learn more

Mystery Skype

Time: 45-60 Minutes

Grades: 2-8

Welcome to Wyoming! In this class, your students will ask yes/no questions to guess where in the world the museum is located. Next, they will learn about the different habitats of Wyoming and some of the amazing animals that live here. We'll also see some pelts, skulls, and animal mounts! Finally, they will hear a Native American story about some of these same animals.  

Learn more

Habitats and Food Webs

Time: 45-60 Minutes

Grades: 3-12

The Habitats and Food Webs program allows your students to learn about one of the many ecosystems that can be found within Wyoming, chosen by you when booking the program! Your students will learn about what makes that habitat special, what animals live there, and learn about a unique food web within the habitat. They'll also see some amazing animal biofacts.

Learn more

Endangered Species

Time: 45-60 Minutes

Grades: 3-12

This engaging program teaches your students about different endangered species that can be found within Wyoming and around the World. We will look at what negative behaviors from humans impacted these species, what happened to them because of these behaviors, and how humans saved the species. Students will see skulls, pelts, feathers, and full animal mounts.

Learn more

Life of Wolves

Time: 60 Minutes

Grades: 3-12

In this exciting virtual field trip, your students will learn about what makes the wolf an apex predator. They will learn about the different habitats that wolves live in, their unique adaptations, and species in their food webs. We will learn about adaptations, predator/prey relationships, hunting techniques, and more. We will also see a real wolf pelt, wolf skull, and other biofacts.

Learn more

Life of Bears

Time: 45-60 Minutes

Grades: 3-12

This fun program focuses on the three bears species that you can find in North America – the American black bear, the brown bear, and the polar bear. Your students will learn all about these amazing animals, the habitats they live in, their food webs, and their adaptations for survival. We will look at pelts, skulls, and claws for all three of these species! 

Learn more

Life of Owls

Time: 60 Minutes  

Grades: 3-12

This engaging program is all about the ultimate nighttime hunter - owls. Your students will learn about the amazing adaptations that make owls phenomenal at surviving in their unique habitats and catching their prey. After learning about their adaptations, we'll examine the snowy owl, great-horned owl, and northern saw-whet owl... along with a ton of fun biofacts!

Learn more

The People of the Ice Age

Time: 60 Minutes

Grades: 6-12

In this field trip, your students will journey back to the end of the Pleistocene, or the last of the Ice Ages. You'll learn all about what it was like to live as a hunter-gatherer in North America during the last throws of the last Ice Age. Your students will deep dive into tools, weapons, hunting, gathering, and community life of the Paleo-Indians that lived throughout our continent during this time.  

Learn more

The Rock Cycle

Time: 60 Minutes

Grades: 6-8

Next Generation Science Standard: MS-ESS2-1 

 

As one of our new programs designed to meet the needs of middle school students, this program will deep dive into the process of the Rock Cycle! Learn all about the three types of rocks, where you can find them, how they're made, and how they change into each other!  

Learn more

What Fossils Tell Us

Time: 60 Minutes

Grades: 3-5

Next Generation Science Standard: 3-LS4-1 

How do paleontologists and paleoartists use the evidence that fossils provide to learn about dinosaurs and create paleoart? What clues can fossils tell us about animals and plants that lived long before humans? What can they tell us about Earth's habitats? During this interactive program, your students will use fossils, technology, and art to answer these questions. 

Learn more

Year in the Life of the Mountain Men

Time: 1 Hour 

Grades: 3-12

Students get to make their own mountain man, then go through a year as a new fur trapper. They'll experience good and bad events that happened to the mountain men, from trading for dogs, to drowning, to hunting, to so more! How well they made their mountain man (along with a little luck) will determine if their mountain survives. 

 

Learn more

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Museum’s Curator of Education:

 

Jeremy Thornbrugh

Curator of Education

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

307-286-8627