Membership Trails Exhibits Volunteer Education History FAQs

Outreach Programs

• interactive • interdisciplinary • hands-on nature


History-related, environmental and science programs are offered at your location for youth, families, homeschoolers, adults, and senior citizens.

Digging into Dinosaurs – ages 5 – 11 or adult/seniors.  Put a dinosaur “skeleton”  together, draw a dinosaur’s habitat, explore new dinosaur  discoveries; handle real dinosaur bones.  Using overhead transparencies and modern-day bones, become a paleontologist and learn what a dinosaur had for lunch.
 
Fossil Fun – ages 5 and up; adults/seniors.  Make a plaster cast of a fossil; do some fossil rubbings, handle a variety of fossil types; look for fossils in sand; examine “mystery fossils.”
 
Minerals and Mineral Collecting – ages 6 and up; adults/seniors.  Identify minerals using a homemade kit; see and handle a wide variety of common minerals; take home a mineral.
 
Discover Rocks – ages 5 and up: adults/seniors.  See and handle a wide variety of the three types of rocks; label a take-home rock; look at granite and types of NH rocks; make a sand collection.
 
How to Do A Scientific Research Project – ages 8 through middle school.  Hands-on activities which illustrate how a scientist conducts research.  Do research on a common household product during the program. 
 
Nature Explorers – ages 4 – 10 or adults/seniors.  Program is tailor-made to your group and to the seasons.  Entire program is hands-on activities inside and/or outside.
 

 
Winter Wildlife – ages 5 – adult/seniors.  Hands-on, interactive winter wildlife activities outside and/or inside which focus on how wildlife survives a NH winter.  Make track prints; look for wildlife signs, handle animal furs. 
 
Seashore and Shells – ages 5 – adults/seniors.  Hands-on activities which focus on exploring the shapes, patterns, similarities/differences among seashells.  Make a seashore plaque, seashell prints, or play seashore bingo.  Emphasis is on NH sea life.  
 
Bugs, Beetles, and Butterflies – ages 5 – adults/seniors.  Hands-on, interactive activities inside/outside focusing on life cycles, varieties, numbers, and value of insects, butterflies, and insect “pests.”
 
Creepy, Crawly, Critters – Ages 5 – adults/seniors.  Examine live and preserved animals with undeserving reputations.  Best time of year:  spring, summer, or fall. 
 
Reptiles and Amphibians – ages 5 – adults/ seniors.  Hear, touch, and/or see some of these misunderstood animals indoors and/or outdoors (if there’s woods, stream or pond nearby). Best season for this program is spring. 
 
Animals That Hunt – ages 6 – adults/seniors.  Explore the predator/prey relationship with a story, game, and creative activities.  Dissect an owl pellet to see what an owl had for lunch.  Emphasis on NH predators.  
 

Nature’s Surprise Packages – Ages 5-adults/seniors.  Interdisciplinary activities outside and/or inside using seeds including:  dissection, art, experiments, math, and gardening.  Recommended for fall or spring. 
 
How to Make a Terrarium:  Fifteen or less, ages 5 – adults/seniors.  Construct a woodland terrarium to take home; very young children should have adult help.  Ideal to have the group take a nearby woodland walk to see plant habitat.  You must provide terrarium containers; plant materials are provided.  Offered only during late summer & early/mid fall.  Science Curriculum strands:  1a, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 4b, 4c.
 
Soil is Super – ages 5 – adult/seniors. A variety of activities, experiments, and demonstrations inside and outside when the ground isn’t frozen including soil types, what’s in soil, soil absorption, and soil importance. 
 
What’s That Tree?  Ages 8 – adult/seniors.  Enjoy an outdoor walk in your area to identify native trees.  Combine your walk with a variety of tree activities inside and outside. 
 
The Human Body in Action – ages 6 – middle school; small groups only.   Activities, demonstrations, and experiments exploring the senses, digestion, respiration, and/or circulation.  Make a working model of a human lung. Some activities not appropriate for certain age groups. 
 
Creating Naturally (a nature craft program) – ages 5 – adult/senior.  Be creative with shells, sand, leaves, cones, seeds, and other natural materials.  Try leaf printing, a seed mosaic, beeswax candles, plaster casting, and other techniques to create beauty and utility.  Additional cost for some materials. 
 

 
Worms and Vermicomposting – ages 8 – adults/seniors.  Make a class or individual worm bin and learn about worms and composting through activities and harmless experiments using live red worms.  Extra charge for worm bin containers. 
 
Beaks, Feet, and Feathers – ages 4 – 10.  Handle feathers, bones, and feet to learn about bird adaptations.  Explore how feathers were used in the past; do some simple experiments.  
 
Nature Walks – ages 4 – adults/seniors.  Enjoy a walk through your woodland.  We’ll focus on the plants, trees, wildlife, and their interrelationship.  One or more activities which develop observation skills will be included.  Discussion about what we observed following the walk. 
 
Combined Programs/Other Topics:  Components of one program can be combined with those from another.  Additional topics plus slide programs of wildflowers, wildlife, National Parks, and desert plants are available.  If a topic or program that you’d like is not listed, please call or e-mail for more information.
 
Family Treasures:  ages 10 – adult/seniors. (especially appropriate for seniors).  Using objects from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, along with overhead transparencies, explore early school days and fashions of the period.   Standards in Historical Thinking from 1996 National Standards for History:  Standard 1, 3, 5; K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Framework, NH, 1995 (History)

FREE program: “The Little Nature Museum…the Beginning of a Dream” – a program for high school, adults, seniors, using overhead transparencies to show what the Museum is, it’s history, services, and unique features. A sampler of hands on museum artifacts included.

If you are interested in more information about any of these programs, e-mail Sandra Martin, teacher, at [email protected].

Outreach Program Fees for Groups  (effective 01/01/08; subject to change).Programs are presented by experienced science teacher and museum director, Sandra W. Martin

.5 hr
$50.00*
1 hr.
$65.00*
1.5 hrs.
$90.00*
2 hrs.
$105.00*
3 hrs.
$145.00*

*plus $.50  per mile round trip from Hopkinton.

 
Fees include all materials (unless otherwise noted), instruction by Sandra Martin, and supplemental activity and/or outline sheets.  Programs are for 30 individuals or less and are tailor-made to your needs.  You will be billed the day of the program (including mileage); payment is expected within 30 days.
 
Special Rates for Small Groups (Effective 01/01/08; subject to change)
 
The program fees listed above are for groups of approximately 30 individuals.  Because we would like to encourage small groups to enjoy the Museum’s programs, we also offer a per person rate.  A minimum enrollment of seven individuals is required with a maximum of twelve. 

1 hr. program
$8.00/person; museum members $7.00*
1.5 hr. program

$10.00/person; museum members $9.00*

2 hrs. program
$12.00/person; museum members $11.00*   

 
* plus $.50 per mile round trip from Hopkinton

**  Limited to certain programs  .
 

Important Notes About Children’s Programs:
 
Children’s groups of 20 or less are recommended.  Children will have more individual attention and more hands-on activities can be offered.


In addition to the teacher, Sandra Martin, there must be one or more adults present during the program to assist with activities.


It is important to provide as much background information as possible when you schedule a program including age of group, purpose of program, and what classroom experiences the children have had relating to the topic.

Small Group programs for up to 8 children can be held in the Museum during weekdays. Outdoor programs, including interpretive walks, can accommodate larger classes.  The fees are the same as above without the mileage expense.  A free museum tour is included.

Special arrangements can be made for your Museum visit or trail walk to relate to classroom or home studies, Scout badgework, or similar goals.

Membership Trails Exhibits Volunteer Education History FAQs

[email protected]