Opportunities through 3 area Museums~
Three museums on Mt Desert Island, The Abbe Museum, The Dorr Museum of Natural History at College of the Atlantic and the Whale Museum are collaborating to provide thematic educational programming for school age children. Each museum will continue to provide stand-alone programs. In addition, teachers will have the option of choosing from all three programs over the course of a day. Pre-visit guides will be sent to teachers upon registration for a session. The first of these interconnected programs is on the theme of adaptation and will be available for registration beginning January 4. Contact information for each museum is included with the program descriptions.
The Abbe Museum~
Cultural Adaptations
Description: Students will learn about the environment of Maine and how
the Wabanaki lived and thrived as hunters and gatherers and the
adaptations needed to make life in Maine successful. Students will then
compare this to the environment in the American Southwest and how Native
people there live as farmers and herders and the different adaptations
required to make life there successful.
In this program, participants will:
1. Investigate objects from Maine and the Southwest to compare
adaptations in basketry, pottery, jewelry, housing, and objects unique
to the Wabanaki, Navajo, and Pueblo tribes.
2. Explore exhibits at the Abbe to uncover more cultural differences
between Native American tribes.
3. Examine the changes in Wabanaki baskets over time and the
contemporary use of baskets as economic and cultural drivers.
Sample connections to the Maine Learning Results:
Ø Use artifacts and documents to gather information about geography and
Native Americans
Ø Formulate historical questions based on examination of primary and
secondary sources including artifacts, real or simulated historical
sites, charts, diagrams and written text
Ø Make observations, participate in brainstorming activities and
discover relationships and patterns
Ø Describe the effects of historical changes on daily life. Human
Ø Interaction with Environments.
Ø Students will understand and analyze the relationships among people and their physical environment
Programs at the Abbe Museum generally run two hours, are geared for all
age levels, and include a Teacher's Guide with pre and post visit
activities. For full program descriptions please visit our website at
www.abbemuseum.org. Programs cost $3.00/student, chaperone's are free.
For more information, or to schedule a program, call Raney Bench at
288-3519 or e-mail at educator@abbemuseum.org
The Whale Museum~
Marine Adaptations: What it takes to live in the sea
The marine world is vastly different from the terrestrial world in almost every aspect. From environmental qualities such as light penetration, fluid density, and temperature, to physical skills and traits for avoiding predators, finding a mate and locating food, everything about living in the marine world requires different adaptations and skills than those necessary to exist on land. The Marine Adaptations program leads students to examine what it takes to live in the sea and why environmental differences call for such physical differences. Students will examine the evolution that shaped what now exists and the plastic qualities of life that continues to shape it. Through interactive activities such as exploring how shapes move through water to designing your own marine critter, we bring students into understanding how characteristics such as body form and senses evolve according to the physical environmental pressures they are exposed to.
This program is learner centered and inquiry based, and shows students not all questions have answers and not all questions have been asked.
Program sections:
The Qualities of Water: Students explore how light, density and temperature affect senses, body form and body temperature, and they look at efficient vs. inefficient body designs in fluid environments.
The Senses: Students examine what senses are more or less important to different organisms and what senses are better matched to specific environments.
Adaptation on Demand – The Fascinating Story of the Whelk: Students examine how some organisms can adapt to immediate pressures and then change back and look at how habitat can and human interference can precipitate that change.
From Gator Jaws to Fins and Paws: Looking at differences between reptiles, marine mammals and land mammals, students will explore differences from spine flexibility to similarities in limb design and structure and analyze phylogenetic relationships.
Build-a-Body: By exploring the qualities that make a body more or less effective, given its specific environmental conditions, students examine comparative skeletal anatomy and design their perfect body.
PEI associations/connections
A1 Systems (3-5, 9-D)
A2 Models (K-2)
A3 Constancy and Change (6-8)
B1 Skills and Traits of Scientific Inquiry (K-D)
D4 Force and Motion (K-5)
E2 Ecosystems (K-D)
E5 Evolution (K-D)
The Bar Harbor Whale Museum's interactive and informative exhibits excite and engage visitors about marine life in the Gulf of Maine. Programs at the Whale Museum are geared for all age levels. Program costs: $3.00/student for one hour program (maximum 20 students) $2.50/student for two hour program (maximum of 20 students). To accommodate larger groups please contact us. Teachers and chaperone's are free. All exhibits are designed and produced by students and staff at College of the Atlantic. For more information, or to schedule a program, call Toby Stephenson 288-0288 or e-mail tstephenson@coa.edu.
The George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History~
WHAT'S SO COOL ABOUT WINTER?
Amazing adaptations for survival in the ice and snow!
Do you ever wonder what happens to ants, butterflies, turtles, beavers and other Maine creatures once the temperature drops and the snow starts to fall? Survival in the cold presents plants and animals with some unique challenges. In order to make it to the spring, northern organisms have developed some amazing physical and behavioral adaptations.
Through activities and looking closely at dioramas, study skins and other artifacts, students investigate adaptations for living in freezing temperatures. Students will first experience a discussion with demonstrations to review some basic concepts: the physics of water in the cold, cell structure and the definition of an adaptation. They will review the basic needs for plant and animal survival and learn how the availability of food, water and shelter change in the winter. They will be asked to hypothesize about potential general adaptations, from the cellular to the behavioral level, that would allow plants and animals to survive in the cold and snow.
Museum staff will then take the students through the gallery, using dioramas and props to relate the various and fascinating strategies used by different species of insects, reptiles, mammals, birds and trees in order to make it through the harsh Maine winter.
This program includes (but is not limited to) focus on the following Parameters of Essential Instruction:
A3 Constancy and Change (K-8): Students will learn about seasonal changes in the environment and how they drive changes in plants and animals.
E2 Ecosystems (K-D): Students will compare the adaptations of different Maine plants and animals and learn how they interact with each other.
B1 Skills and Traits of Scientific Inquiry (K-8): Students will be encouraged to approach the problems of winter survival from a scientific perspective. They will make hypotheses, discuss experimental design and learn about past scientific studies relevant to winter adaptations.
The George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History investigates, interprets and displays the natural world of Maine. All exhibits are designed and produced by students at College of the Atlantic. Programs are $75 per group (maximum 30 students), can run from ½ to 2 hours and are suitable for all ages. Museum visits (without programs) are $2 per student. For more information, call Carrie Graham at (207)581-5395 or e-mailcgraham@coa.edu