Professional Learning Opportunities

IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

This two-day session is designed for teachers who are looking to use sketching and visual art strategies to engage students in observing, thinking, and questioning. Participants will use various art materials for museum exploration to heighten their awareness of the role of color and patterns in nature. Whether you are a novice or expert at using sketching strategies with students, this workshop will deepen your understanding of how to use the Museum’s dioramas and exhibits, to effectively support student science learning. Participants will build background knowledge on the cognitive research on drawing and learning, as well as build art skills for observing and sketching.This workshop is open to K-12 teachers and is guided by Next Generation Science Standards and NYS Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. Materials will be provided.

Museum Facilitator: Cristina Trowbridge 

Teacher Facilitators: Laura Nash (P.S. 205 Clarion) and Tali Herman (Ramaz Upper School)

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

In this four-hour in-person session, participants will investigate the Urban Heat Island phenomenon. AMNH is situated within a city park and next to one. It, however, is made of many hard, non-living surfaces. How does a city balance its needs to grow, house people, house industry, with making it a place that is comfortable to do so? How can we build sustainable cities that comfort our inhabitants instead of heat islands that constrict them? By exploring Museum resources, climate data and projections, and exploring our surroundings outside of the museum, participants will gain an understanding of the phenomenon, its effects, and mitigation strategies that cities and people can adopt.

Museum Facilitators: Candyce Johnson and Lauren Tecosky

**THIS SESSION HAS BEEN CANCELED**

IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

In this session, field trip support staff will guide participants in designing a field trip that is accessible, engaging, and fun. We will explore the Museums's iconic animal diorama Halls using open-ended and flexible resources, providing an opportunity for collaborative planning.

Museum Facilitators: Rebecca Taylor and Ben Taylor

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ONLINE

During this webinar, participants will explore the usage of picture books in an elementary science classroom and beyond. This session will focus on learning engaging literacy strategies to help incorporate and support science and engineering practices in the classroom. We will see how picture books can provide opportunities for obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information and engaging in arguments from evidence. We will share online resources from the museum that can be used alongside picture books.

Museum Facilitator: Bridget Murray

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

Natural sciences often involve journeys into new places or new perspectives. We will go on a few journeys together, inside and outside the Museum, and some through 300-year-old books. Our journeys will be to the amazingly diverse world of insects. We will use our own eyes to explore our neighborhood today, then we will travel back in time with Maria Sibylla Merian in Suriname in the late 1600s, Mary Treat in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in the 1870s, and back to today to insect study inside the Museum.
Through this process we will reflect on the Nature of Science and Science Practices of NGSS as we navigate the worlds of growth and development of organisms (LS1.B), adaptation and interdependent relationships in ecosystems (LS2.A).

Museum Facilitator: Jay Holmes

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ONLINE

During this webinar, we will learn how picture books can provide opportunities and support for asking questions and defining problems. We will learn about why we ask questions, how we ask questions, and who asks the questions all through the lenses of science, picture books, and the museum. You will walk away with the tools and resources to continue thinking about how to incorporate this work into your practice.

Museum Facilitator: Bridget Murray

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

During this session, we will explore different artistic forms that have helped scientists convey their findings throughout time. We will visit the museum exhibits, view examples of scientific art, and learn about activities and resources that you can bring back to your classroom.

Museum Facilitator: Bridget Murray

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

Bees, Elephants, Cacti, Sea Otters, Wolves, and others play a critical role in the health and balance of their respective ecosystems. In this workshop, we will explore a variety of ways to engage students in the work and ideology of conservation via the stories of keystone species. Utilizing the museum’s new exhibit, The Secret World of Elephants, as well as the permanent halls, participants will unpack why some species have a greater impact than others.

Museum Facilitator: Jake Sienko and Margaret Hoffman

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ONLINE

Videos have always been a significant part of multimodal learning in schools and in museums. Science videos assist learners in understanding science concepts and phenomena. Using science videos produced by the American Museum of Natural History, participants will learn strategies to effectively incorporate not only watching, but also actively engaging with videos with students in their classrooms. Participants will also discuss ways they can properly vet and assess different web-based educational videos as well as assess how video-based projects can engage students in creative thinking processes.

Museum Facilitator: John Sapida

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

Research indicates that on average, museum visitors spend 30 seconds in front of an exhibit. In this session, teachers will participate in an immersive experience in the new Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation focused on helping learners slow down on Museum field trips as a means of building descriptive language, practicing empathy, and connecting with themselves and their peers.

Museum Facilitator: Colleen Owen

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

Visual and material culture are so present in our lives that we often forget to slow down and carefully examine how they shape the world around us. Come to the Museum and explore different science and cultural halls to find examples of visual culture (videos, artwork, photographs, interactives, and etc.) and examples of material culture (physical objects like tools, clothing, toys, and more). Participants will also be introduced to helpful teaching strategies that museum educators employ to engage learners in the careful study of visual and material culture at the Museum. Participants will also practice some of these strategies with each other and discuss how they might be able to use these strategies in their own classrooms and when they go on field trips at the museum. Strategies we may cover include: visual thinking strategies, inquiry-based learning, artifact study, diorama study, talk strategies, and more!

Museum Facilitator: John Sapida

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

During this five-day institute we will spend time exploring some of the fundamentals of the climate system and refine our thinking about climate change. We will start by building an understanding of how energy is transported around the Earth so that we can think about how human activities affect this system. Then we will look at some of the implications of these activities and examine possible solutions. Throughout the institute we will consider ideas our students may have about climate change and explore ways of teaching this difficult subject in ways that are empowering.

Museum Facilitators: David Randle and Adriana Aquino

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

During this session, Museum staff will guide participants through an exploration of the Insectarium and select topics such as pollinators, ant/bee colonies, and insect communication. We will also cover ideas and strategies for teaching with insects both in the classroom and on field trips in the Insectarium.

Museum Facilitators: Bridget Murray and Conor Odell

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