Facilitated Workshops

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Facilitated Workshop

During a facilitated workshop, your group will experience an in-depth guided visit to one specific exhibit in conjunction with a hands-on workshop led by a museum educator. It’s a great way to kick off or culminate a themed unit in your classroom! All of our facilitated workshops are aligned with Illinois State Learning Standards.

Registration Information

Fees: Workshops with museum exploration: : Capacity:

$5.50 per student Minimum group size: 15 students Maximum group size: 35 students (K-5th); 20 students (pre-K)

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Art About Me Age 3-Kindergarten
This interactive workshop, based on the book The Skin You Live In, helps teachers deal with complex topics, such as diversity, prejudice, self-esteem, and acceptance. It features an age-appropriate puppet show and an opportunity for students to create puppets that represent their own unique characteristics.
Illinois Early Learning Goals: 1, 4, 5, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32

Arts in Action Age 3-Kindergarten
Explore the squiggly, straight, long and short world of lines in our Artabounds Studio! This workshop uses visual art, creative movement and literacy to help children recognize that lines of many kinds are everywhere. Students will create lines in tactile, fun and wacky ways with unique art materials and with their own bodies.
Illinois Early Learning Goals:  4, 5, 19, 25, 26,

Be A Bee Age 3- Kindergarten 
Just how busy are bees? Dramatic play, creative movement and science combine to help students learn more about the life of this insect. Students will buzz around the BIG Backyard, as they hunt for nectar, build a honeycomb, and more!
Illinois Early Learning Goals: 1, 4, 5, 11, 12, 19, 21

Dinosaur Tales  Age 3-Kindergarten
What would it be like to roar and roam like the dinosaur buried in our Dinosaur Expedition exhibit once did? Through dramatic play and storytelling, students will create a dino-persona that explores the life of these giant creatures, and answer their most important question: what’s for dinner?
Illinois Early Learning Goals: 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 17

Story Forest  Age 3-Kindergarten
What’s up in those trees? It’s the ABCs! Uncover, collect, sort, and even fish for letters in our Tree House Trails exhibit. Pre-school and kindergarten students will experience the excitement of alphabet discovery while practicing letter recognition.
Illinois Early Learning Goals: 1, 3, 4, 5, 19, 21

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School Age Workshops
Dinosaur Expedition  Kindergarten – Grade 5
Students will expand their knowledge of paleontology through hands-on discovery in this re-creation of the 1997 Saharan expedition that uncovered Suchomimus, a never-before-seen species of dinosaur. "Junior paleontologists" will dig for bones at the excavation site, examine their findings in the lab, and explore the life of this unique dinosaur.
Illinois State Learning Goals: 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 17A

Forts  Grades 1- 4
Can students build forts and literacy skills at the same time? In our new Forts workshop they can! Students will build and play in forts that transform into story settings. Students will engage in a creative writing experience that will showcase how imaginative they really are.
Illinois State Goals: 2A, 3, 4, 19, 21

Insect Investigators   Grades 1- 2
How do butterflies help flowers to grow and why do plants love for ladybugs to land on them? Students will learn about the important work that insects do by taking on the role of an insect.  They will draw on both science and literacy skills as they solve rhyming riddles about insects and create an oversized collaborative book.   
Illinois State Learning Goals: 1, 4, 5, 11, 12, 19, 21

Inventing Lab!  Grades 2 – 5
This dynamic inventing laboratory invites students to solve problems using science inquiry skills. They will invent a unique alarm clock and create a flying machine to launch from a 55-foot tower. Students also will team up in our classic Golf Ball Challenge to devise their own Rube Goldberg-style invention.
Illinois State Learning Goals 4, 5, 11, 12

Secrets of Painting  Grades 1 – 5
Unlock the secrets of painting with a visit to our working art studio.  This workshop gives students a first-hand understanding of artist tools, techniques and concepts through a series of investigative activities about basic art elements.  Students will apply these newfound discoveries as they create unique works of art to take home.
Illinois State Learning Goals: 4, 5, 18A, 25, 26

Simple Machines  Grades 2 – 5
Simple machines are simply exciting in this workshop designed to build students’ knowledge of how simple machines, force and motion are at play in the world around them. Together, students will use simple machines to manipulate water in our Waterways exhibit. Then, they will undertake the Golf Ball Challenge, relying on simple machines to create a working conveyor contraption.
Illinois State Goals: 4, 11, 9, 11, 12D, 13B, 21

Skyline  Grades 1-5
Build your own skyscraper!  Students will learn how tall buildings stand up by using science, engineering, and math skills.  Teamwork is a top priority while collaborating to create unique structures.  Innovative technology will help students document and reflect on the building process, both during the workshop and, later, on the Internet.
Illinois State Learning Goals: 4, 5, 11, 12, 9, 16A

WaterWays  Grades 1 – 5
This “splashy” exhibit allows students to pump, squirt and manipulate water while learning about the multi-functional uses of this life-sustaining substance.  By designing and building an aqueduct system, students will gain first-hand knowledge of how water is moved from one place to another and how its power is used to accomplish many functions.
Illinois State Learning Goals: 4, 5, 11, 12, 17A