|
Programs Offered for 6th Grade
Read course information carefully for size limits and which programs are available at MNS or at your school. For pricing, please visit the Pricing and Reservations page.
2010-2011 Programs at a Glance 
Adapt to Survive | TEKS
6th Grade: 1b, 2ae, 12ef
Students will learn about physical and behavioral adaptations that enable animals to live in many diverse Texas ecosystems. Students will explore which animals live in their neighborhood and understand the adaptations that allow those animals to survive in their urban backyard! Various taxidermy specimens, skulls, shells, and other objects will be used to engage students in a lively discussion for this program.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-60 students at MNS, 15-30 students at your school
Available at MNS or your school.
CSI: Diamond Heist | TEKS
6th Grade: 1ab, 2abcd, 3ad, 4ab, 8bc, 12c
A diamond necklace was stolen! Who had the motive and opportunity? Your students will become forensic scientists and use fingerprints, footprint identification, fragment analysis and other critical deductive reasoning skills to solve the crime.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
CSI: Endangered Wildlife | TEKS 6th Grade: 1a, 2abce, 3a, 4ab, 12cd
Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents, acting on a tip, have located a site along the Trinity River where animals appear to have been processed. They suspect that some of the evidence collected may have come from an endangered species. Some of the evidence has been forwarded to the Museum to be analyzed; our task is to determine if any of the evidence comes from an endangered species. Your students will use DNA testing as the primary mechanism to help the Museum determine the classification of the unknown animal and solve this mystery.
Duration: Premium 90-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
CSI: Mystery Dot | TEKS
6th grade: 1a, 2abe, 3a, 4a, 5d
Mrs. Parker, the 6th grade English teacher, knows someone looked at her grade book while she was out of the room. There was a small black smudge that she knew wasn’t there before – and she needs to know who left it there! Students will learn about matter and mixtures while using paper chromatography to solve the mystery and determine exactly who looked in Mrs. Parker’s book. Was it Laura, Stacey, Derek or Paul? Only you will know!
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class size: 15 – 30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Diagnosis: The Body in Question | TEKS 6th Grade: 1a, 2ace, 3a, 12a
We are the sum of all our parts. Take a tour of some human body systems and learn how they interact. This program is taught from the perspective of a patient brought into a hospital emergency room to provide your students with a real-world experience unlike any other.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Electric Theater | TEKS
6th Grade: 2abe, 3a, 4a, 9ac
Explore the world of electricity and magnetism through this exciting (and “shockingly” cool) demonstration led by one of our educators. Student volunteers will join our presenter on stage to demonstrate the workings of Van der Graff generators, electromagnets, step-down transformers, Tesla coils and more!
Duration: 50 minutes
Class Size: 15-175 students at MNS, 30–250 at your school
Available at MNS or your school.
Exploring the Past: The Archaeology of Texas | TEKS
6th Grade: 2a, 3ad
Imagine a world with no supermarkets, restaurants or electricity! Discover how the first naturalists survived in Texas thousands of years ago using their extensive knowledge of our natural resources. Realistic replicas of American Indian artifacts including clothing, tools, food sources and instruments will be shown and discussed in this hands-on interactive program.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Farming for Fuel | TEKS
6th Grade: 1ab, 2ab, 3abc, 4ab, 7ab
In this hands-on, center based program, students will conduct experiments to understand the carbon cycle as well as how biofuels made from non-food plants are appropriate for transportation. Students will use these inquiry-based activities to understand the balance of energy on our planet and ways to improve and maintain that balance through the use and production of biofuels. This program is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the BioEnergy Science Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Duration: Standard 50-minute classroom program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Fire and Ice | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 2ab, 3a, 4ab, 5d, 9a
This explosively entertaining program teaches about the states of matter in a unique way. Student volunteers help the presenter explore how temperature affects matter. Both physical and chemical changes are demonstrated using fire and liquid nitrogen.
Duration: 50 minutes
Class Size: 15-175 students at MNS, 30–250 at your school
Available at MNS or at your school.
Look Out: The Eye | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 2a, 3a, 4ab
Discover the inner workings of the eye and vision. By dissecting a cow eye, students will see how an eye works. Comparing cow and human eyes will provide ”insight” into differences and similarities among species. This program is customized for each grade level and is adapted to meet your class needs.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Measure Up to the Mavs | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 2de, 3b, 4ab, 8ab
How do basketball players launch three-pointers? Are there machines and physics on the basketball court? In this program, students will build wooden catapults and shoot miniature basketballs at a goal…all in the name of helping them understand energy, mechanics and the three classes of levers. By analyzing their distance data and using what they learn from these simple machines, they’ll be able to compare catapults to the structure of a human arm to find out just what makes the Mavs so great!
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-25 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Mineral Mystery | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 2abe, 3a, 4a
It’s the case of the imposter mineral – or is it? Students will become detectives and solve this Mineral Mystery by delving into a locked box, tricky riddles and clever codes, and precious metals and gems to uncover the truth about precious metals and gems. Once they have broken the code they will identify minerals by the properties of hardness, streak, color and fluorescence to determine if the treasure is real or fake.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS only.
Moments in Time: An Archaeological Investigation | TEKS
6th Grade: 2a, 3ad, 4a
Students will work as archaeological “lab techs” to interpret the history and meaning of artifacts covering 12, 000 years of human life from a site near Texas A&M University. The hands-on analysis of the artifacts will allow them to explore human technological advances through time.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Pump Up: The Heart | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 2a, 3a, 4ab
Explore the fascinating world of the heart through this hands-on guided dissection of a pig heart! Students will have an up-close encounter with real hearts as they learn about heart structure and function as well as the need to stay healthy. If you want students to learn about their heart, this program can’t be “beat”! This program is customized for each grade level and is adapted to meet your class needs.
Duration: Premium 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS or your school.
Rockin’ Through Texas | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 2abe, 3abcd, 10bcd
Discover the earth through its geologic past. In this program the rock cycle is taught and the students will have hands on experience identifying the different types of rocks: metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary. Students will have the opportunity to examine the differences between rocks and minerals. This program also includes a close look at the geology of Texas with its many land formations and the effect on the flora and fauna of the state and fossil fuel resources.
Duration: Standard 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS only.
Roller Coaster Physics | TEKS
6th Grade: 2ab, 3a, 4a, 8abcde
Have you ever wondered why you lose your stomach, don’t fall out of your seat on loops and get stuck against the side of a roller coaster car while riding your favorite ride? Join us in building your own mini coaster to find out why you don’t really need to wear a seat belt on roller coasters! Using Vernier data logging sensors, find out how much force it really takes to have some fun!
Duration: Premium 2-hour Classroom Program
Class size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS only.
StarLab | TEKS
6th Grade: 1a, 3abcd, 11abc
We will bring the stars to you with our state-of-the-art digital portable planetarium. Students will be guided through their discovery of constellations to the immense size of the universe. They will explore star movement, color and brightness, and learn how to locate stars and constellations. This program is well suited for both cultural and scientific studies.
Duration: 50 minutes
Attendance: 10-30 students (depending on students’ age)
Requirements: large air-conditioned indoor room with dimensions of at least 25 ft. X 25 ft and 13 ft. overhead clearance; 110 V electric outlet
Available at your school only.
Urban Nature Walk | TEKS
6th Grade: 1b, 2a, 3a, 12ef
Join one of the Museum Naturalist for a guided walk in our own backyard! With the aid of field guides and binoculars, students will identify and learn about urban wildlife, explore various habitats and learn about the diversity of life within the confines of the Metroplex. This program can be adapted for all grades and helps to reinforce food webs, pond ecology, adaptations and biodiversity. The nature walk is available any season, please dress accordingly.
Duration: Standard 50-minute outdoor program
Attendance: up to 25 students
Available at MNS only.
Water Cycle: Basics of Life | TEKS
6th Grade: 1ab, 2ae, 3a, 4a
Explore the water cycle like never before!! Your students will become citizen scientists and collect real data used in monitoring the water quality of the Trinity River watershed and learn how to become better stewards of our most precious resource by discussing how humans affect the urban water cycle in our own backyards. Hands on experiments will include measuring water transparency, dissolved oxygen, pH and water temperature.
Duration: Premium 50-minute Classroom Program
Class Size: 15-30 students
Available at MNS only.
|
|
