Museum Programs (K-12)
Primary /Secondary Programs (K-12) offer interesting and innovative workshops connecting exhibitions and library resources to classroom curriculum for grades K-12. Teachers are invited to schedule their classes to participate in the following types of programs:
Self-Guided Visits allow you and your class to visit NHM on your own. Activity Guides are available upon request.
All programs are taught by trained museum staff. Museum Programs and Outreach are designed for classes of up to 30 students. One adult per ten students is required.
All programs require advance registration. Please see Scheduling Programs for more information.
The programs listed below are available at NHM, Tuesdays – Fridays, throughout the school year. Advance reservations are required. All programs are created to connect with Connecticut curriculum standards and all content is designed for specific grade levels.
Museum Programs
Who Were the Quinnipiacs? (Grades 1 – 3)
Through hands-on activities and storytelling, students will better understand the people who inhabited the New Haven area before the Puritans. Students will have the opportunity to investigate historical artifacts, illustrations, and maps and make their own connections about Quinnipiac life.
19th-Century Schoolhouse (Grades 1 – 3)
What was school like in the 1800s? Did students have computers and crayons, or access to a library of books? What games did children play during recess? This program allows students to compare and contrast life for students during the 19th century with their own experiences through hands-on activities and role-playing.
From Quinnetukut to Connecticut (Grades 3 – 5)
Who lived in New Haven before the first European settlers of New Haven? Why did European settlers come to the New Haven area? How were these two cultures different and how were they similar?
By examining reproduction objects, students will explore what life was like in early New Haven for the Quinnipiacs and European settlers.
Colonial New Haven (Grades 3 – 6)
What was life like for Colonial children and adults in the 1700s? Students will explore the founding of New Haven during the colonial period by examining reproduction objects and select artifacts in the New Haven Illustrated gallery. They will compare and contrast colonial jobs and chores with those we do today and play colonial games.
Explore New Haven Green (Grades 1 – 12)
Students will explore the history of the New Haven Green through maps, artifacts, and art! This program provides students with an opportunity to understand the “heart” of the city of New Haven.
The program includes a tour around the Green that introduces students to themes of architecture, commerce and a changing landscape.
Heroes of New Haven (Grades 4 – 8)
What is a hero? How can you be a community hero? This program will allow for students to discover what makes a hero, consider how heroes have shaped history, and to think about their own future role in society. Students will explore the New Haven Illustrated gallery to identify heroes throughout New Haven’s history, then discuss how they can be a hero in their own community.
Revolutionary New Haven (Grades 4 – 8)
The American Revolution was fought throughout the colonies, including in New Haven! Students will explore what was going on in New Haven during the Revolution, investigate artifacts from a soldier’s haversack, and learn about the Revolution through the words of New Haven residents who experienced it.
Invention & Industry in New Haven (Grades 4 – 8)
Delve into the world of inventions, gadgets, and businesses and discover New Haven’s history of commerce. Find out which New Haven resident invented carriage hinges and what it was like to work at The New Haven Clock Company. By exploring documents and objects, students will explore what it was like to make and sell things in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Amistad (Grades 5 – 8)
Who were the Amistad captives and why does their story matter? Drawing upon primary source documents and images, students will engage in multiple dimensions of the Social Studies Inquiry cycle to explore questions about the meaning of justice and freedom. This program includes a tour of the Amistad gallery.
Coming to New Haven (4 – 12)
Students will explore the different experiences of coming to New Haven through documents and objects related to migration and immigration. Students will discuss the different risk factors families have faced and consider how the city’s culture and neighborhoods have evolved throughout history.
Enslaved Voices in New Haven (Grades 5 – 12)
For over one hundred years, slavery was legal in New Haven. Through primary sources and a gallery tour, students will examine the lives of the people who were enslaved in New Haven before the
Civil War. This program also provides students the opportunity to better understand the role New Haven played in the slave industry, and consider questions about complicity.
Additional Programs Available:
• New Haven & the Sea
• New Haven Firefighters
• Dig New Haven
