During this interactive program, students will focus on the rights and limitations within the Bill of Rights and discuss why they, as middle school students, should care about the Bill of Rights. Students will examine historical documents from the holdings of the National Archives. Students will decide if they see an example of the Bill of Rights in action or in trouble. Students will practice primary source analysis skills as they decide which of the first ten amendments connects to the image or document on display. Historical examples highlighted in this program include the 1958 Youth March for Integrated Schools, the 1950s Senate investigation into comic books as a cause of juvenile delinquency, how new technology and the ruling of Katz v. the United States expanded our understanding of the Fourth Amendment, and Japanese internment during World War II.

*This event is by request. Please include several optional Dates & Times as stated on the registration form. Please plan your event 2-3 weeks out to ensure availability*

This program examines the relationship between Gold Jacket Gale Sayers and his teammate Brian Piccolo. Not only will students examine the historical implications of being one of the first black/white roommates in the NFL, but also the character traits each of these players displayed in order to overcome adversity both on and off the field. A segment from the TV movie Brian's Song will be shown to reinforce the topic. The 50-minute program, which is designed to be highly interactive, is supplemented by a lesson aligned with common core/national standards of education and is recommended for grades 5-12.

*This event is by request. Please include several optional Dates & Times as stated on the registration form. Please plan your event2-3 weeks out to ensure availability*

The lives of African American artists lend insight into the context of their works. Learn about the diverse body of artwork created by African American artists and the historical, social, and cultural events, as well as the life experiences, that inspired their work.

*This event is by request. Please include several optional Dates & Times as stated on the registration form. Please plan your event2-3 weeks out to ensure availability*

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Virtually tour the presidential memorials on the National Mall.  Choose from visits to the Washington Monument, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, or the new Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.  Hear stories of how these memorials came to be on the Mall and play a round of presidential memorial trivia.

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The Homestead Act of 1862 had far reaching impacts on the United States including western expansion, immigration, and technological innovation. The impacts of the Act also extended to those American Indians who already called the West home. The American bison or “buffalo” was sacred to many American Indian tribes. The animals played an integral part in all aspects of daily life. In this lesson a park ranger will use real parts of the buffalo to examine the different ways American Indian tribes utilized the sacred animal. 

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The North Carolina Zoo is committed to sustainability. We work hard to reduce our impact on the environment and raise awareness about green practices you can use at home too. Join us to learn ways to upcycle items others may deem as trash into animal enrichment and pollinator gardens. You must pre-register for this FREE program (30 minutes)

Join us for a free, live, interactive, virtual dairy tour with North Harbor Dairy! We have had a touch of spring weather here at North Harbor Dairy and Old McDonald’s Farm! Barn doors are opening up and cows and people alike are welcoming the warmer days. We are also enjoying a little baby boom here at our dairy as well!. See how we care for our herd and produce the milk that makes the dairy products that we all love so much!

‍Tours are offered to all ages Monday-Saturday, 9:00am-1:00pm and run approximately 40 minutes.

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Join us for a free, live, interactive, virtual dairy tour with North Harbor Dairy! We have had a touch of spring weather here at North Harbor Dairy and Old McDonald’s Farm! Barn doors are opening up and cows and people alike are welcoming the warmer days. We are also enjoying a little baby boom here at our dairy as well!. See how we care for our herd and produce the milk that makes the dairy products that we all love so much!

‍Tours are offered to all ages Monday-Saturday, 9:00am-1:00pm and run approximately 40 minutes.

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People across the global and throughout time have participated and continue to play sports and games. Using collection artifacts, participants will learn about Indigenous games from North, Central, and South America to understand more about the rules, significance, and modern connection to games still played today.

Is a turtle’s shell its home? Help us answer this age old question as we examine the lives of North Carolina’s land, freshwater, and sea turtles. Learn about turtle behavior, feeding habits, anatomy, and find out what you can do to help protect these fascinating reptiles. Program includes live terrestrial and freshwater turtles.

Explore life in ancient Greece by looking at objects that were used in daily life and portray images of daily life activities. Students will examine pottery and sculpture to see what these artworks reveal about work and play in ancient Greece.

Big museums require a big staff, from carpenters and conservators to writers, scientists and historians. Explore twenty-first century job skills and different career paths with staff at the Royal BC Museum. Time for Q&A included.

Take a tour of science! In this LIVE presentation, we’ll talk about various science concepts and bring large scale demonstrations right to your computer screen. Each week we cover a new science topic and do live demonstrations where attendees can interact with us in the chat feature. ECHO Live! takes place each WEDNESDAY at 2:30 PM Eastern Time.

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Meet the red wolf, the world's most endangered member of the dog family. Join us and learn about their story, their role in the ecosystem, and how we can help save them from extinction!

Step back to the 1890’s and see how different it was to attend a one-room school! Explore daily life from this time period through artifacts, stories and reciting real lessons students did in their classroom. Who will be the spelling bee champion or have the best penmanship? Find out in our virtual one-room schoolhouse!

Classically trained actor McLean Fletcher shares her experiences working with Shakespeare’s text and explains briefly why his plays and sonnets are so highly revered. Performing some of Shakespeare’s monologues, McLean will explain iambic pentameter and the rules and clues of approaching acting in verse. Discussion will explore the conspiracy theories over who Shakespeare really was and why his plays still matter in a modern world. The class is high energy and fast pace in order to remain engaging and fun for students.

Learn about the amazing cephalopods through a squid dissection and observation of our resident giant Pacific octopus. The Alaska SeaLife Center is a world-class marine science facility that combines a research mission with an animal rescue and rehabilitation program and public education.

A costumed interpreter makes a dramatic presentation on the life of this temple chantress. This peek at life in ancient Egypt also includes a “demonstration” of the mummification process!

Visit with an in-character peasant in his home in medieval England, and teach your students about how 90% of the medieval population lived. The peasant is prepared to discuss all facets of medieval life, such as the manor system, agriculture, religion, daily life, gender roles, crime & punishment, warfare, health, family life, social hierarchy, and entertainment.

The grieta escalonada, or stepped fret, is a symbol full of meaning, found in indigenous artwork in Arizona and as far away as Argentina and Peru. For several cultures like Aztecs, Mayans, Mixtecs, the grieta gscalonada represented the perfect harmony of the universe, the constant transformation of the matter into spirit, and the movement of life. As simple as it looks, it is one of the most important graphic symbols in Mesoamerica. Learn to draw your own version of a grieta gscalonada for use in your household decorations.

Ford’s Theatre, located in Washington, D.C., originally opened in August 1863 and is known for being the site of President Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865. Together with the Peterson House across the street, it is currently known as the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site and is administered by the National Park Service. Now 155 years later, join us as we Investigate the Lincoln Assassination with Detective McDevitt. This live program uses primary source images and interaction with historical characters.

Join the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra student ambassadors as we celebrate jazz! Students will learn the instruments that make up a small jazz combo, including the trumpet, saxophone, trombone, drums, bass, and piano, as well as explore musical concepts to grow their listening skills.

Are insects and birds able to pollinate the same plant? Why is pollination beneficial? For the answers to these and many other questions, join us as we investigate with the live specimens, study skins and models the cooperative relationship between pollinators and the plant kingdom.

Take a tour of science! In this LIVE presentation, we’ll talk about various science concepts and bring large scale demonstrations right to your computer screen. Each week we cover a new science topic and do live demonstrations where attendees can interact with us in the chat feature. ECHO Live! takes place each WEDNESDAY at 2:30 PM Eastern Time.

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Live from Australia: learn how objects really move! In this workshop, we’ll look in-depth at how push and pull forces act to move objects… especially toys! Also, explore what variables impact friction between two surfaces and how this impacts an object’s movement. Rotational forces are explored in a variety of objects and we spend time ensuring that the kids understand how inertia works. Newton would be happy here!

The National Park Service, established over 100 years ago, strives to protect various resources in over 400 sites across the country. These resources are represented in the National Park Service emblem, which is proudly displayed on the NPS uniform, in Rocky Mountain National Park, and all park sites.

Strategically located at the convergence of three major storm tracks, the summit of Mount Washington is battered year-round by some of the highest winds observed on Earth. In this program, we’ll learn where wind comes from and how weather observers at the historic Mount Washington Observatory measure this invisible force. As a bonus, we’ll watch the observers work and play in winds over one hundred miles per hour!

Steller sea lions are endangered. So what can we do to help them? Find out how scientists at the Alaska SeaLife Center help us to learn more about these amazing animals and how we can help them in the wild.

Have you ever dreamed of working at a zoo? Do you think it would be amazing to work around animals every day? Explore a variety of jobs that can be had within a zoo and learn what you need to do now to help set you on the path towards your dream career at a zoo!

The Night Life investigates the habits and adaptations of nocturnal animals. During this program, we will identify nocturnal animals, discuss nocturnal animal adaptations, and even have up-close encounters with some of our nocturnal education animal ambassadors.

In this program participants will explore the tools, techniques, and utilization of captive propagation of birds. Learn about artificial and natural incubation, the development of birds in the egg, and the rearing of chicks. Explore several case studies of the role of captive propagation in the conservation of avian species on the brink of extinction. Meet some of the chicks produced for educational use by the propagation program of the Center for Birds of Prey.

The Aztec people created beautiful pottery with detailed designs showing humans, animals, parts of nature, and geometric designs. Discover why archaeologists think that ceramic stamps may have been used by artists to decorate pottery, clothing, or bodies. Then draw along to create a geometric design found on an ancient Aztec stamp!

In this interactive presentation we'll explore the many shapes the Moon makes in the sky, then fly like astronauts to visit the Moon ourselves, all from the comfort of our own homes! *Registration for this event will close at 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.*

Uncover unique animal traits that reveal how important genetic diversity is in the wild! During this livestream program, we will investigate the Memphis Zoo giraffe herd to get a glimpse of their characteristics and examine some of our tall friends live and up close. We won’t miss a chance to identify which of our traits are dominant or recessive, too!

Ever wonder about the trash that just one Happy Meal creates? Dissect a real Happy Meal with us and find out! Discover how long common items take to decompose. Use sign language to sing a song about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Create a "Trash Troll" litter bag for your car!

Take a tour of science! In this LIVE presentation, we’ll talk about various science concepts and bring large scale demonstrations right to your computer screen. Each week we cover a new science topic and do live demonstrations where attendees can interact with us in the chat feature. ECHO Live! takes place each WEDNESDAY at 2:30 PM Eastern Time.

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Party for the Planet celebrates our wonderful Planet Earth! During this program, we will learn about the origin of Earth Day, ways the Greenville Zoo helps to conserve plants and animals in the wild, and even have up-close encounters with some of our education animal ambassadors.

Planet Earth is the only planet that supports a diverse system of life: plants, animals, and us! So, how do we humans take care of Earth just like it takes care of us?

*Registration will close at 3:00 PM ET on Thursday, April 15, 2021*

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How does a glovemaker’s son, with just a few years of formal schooling, become the most famous writer and poet in the world? In this one-man performance, William Shakespeare shares his life story, while providing insight into his greatest works and the world of Theater during the time of Queen Elizabeth. This engaging, interactive show features excerpts from A Midsummer Nights Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Henry V, and As You Like It, as well as Shakespeare’s sonnets. Professional actor and Shakespeare expert J.T. Turner brings the Bard to life and makes his works accessible for all.

Are you a 7-12 grader interested in a possible career in video producing? Join us for a virtual discussion with Eric Cleary of WPBS-TV as he shares his story on what led him to his chosen profession and the employment opportunities that exist within the video communications field.

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DNA has only been accepted by the courts as reliable evidence in the last 25-30 years. How can something so critical be so new? Find out how DNA is collected from a crime scene and what information can be obtained about a suspect and a victim from just a small sample.

Artists use familiar icons such as the Statue of Liberty, the bald eagle, and the American flag to communicate their ideas about American culture and encourage examination of our society.

We will showcase General William Tecumseh Sherman’s tactics of “Total War” and how the rules and customs of warfare changed after 1860? How much did that help the Union win? What was it like for the people in his path, and for the ones in his own army? Illustrated with artifacts.

Enjoy a funny rabbit story. Then explore how adaptations help rabbits survive! How do their ears, feet, and teeth help them escape? Valerie is the author of 13 storytelling books, a writing teacher, and storyteller.

Get your students’ pulse going with this live dissection experience. Your class will participate in interactive experiments, chat discussion, and polls as we observe the dissection of a real sheep heart.

A tapa cloth is a bark cloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Unlike its name, it isn’t made of textile at all, rather it is made through the process of softening the bark of shrubs and trees. Investigate the natural materials, symbols, and making process through close study of tapa cloths in our collection. Then plan your own design with drawings of animals, flowers, or patterns that you see in your own community.

This program will examine medical practices of the Civil War by highlighting the causes of disease, the organization of the hospital system, the treatment of wounded soldiers, and the contributions of medical personnel.

Walk aboard Captain Vancouver’s ship Discovery, see a Cornish Water Wheel and learn about BC’s gold rush before taking a trip to Old Town during this 30 minute tour of the Becoming BC gallery at the Royal BC Museum. Learn about some of the fascinating events and places in the history of vast, diverse and unique British Columbia.

Take a tour of science! In this LIVE presentation, we’ll talk about various science concepts and bring large scale demonstrations right to your computer screen. Each week we cover a new science topic and do live demonstrations where attendees can interact with us in the chat feature. ECHO Live! takes place each WEDNESDAY at 2:30 PM Eastern Time.

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Live from Nebraska City, Nebraska, we will be presenting from the home of J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day. During this lesson, the history and heritage of Arbor Day will be taught along with the importance of trees. We will also discuss ways to celebrate this holiday in your own community.

What was it like to go to school long ago? In this interactive program, students will learn about a typical school day for children in early New England through primary source images, memoirs, objects, and movement. Students will compare their own experiences in school to those of children in the past as they investigate who attended school and where schools were established and consider tools children used while being educated.

Explore animal adaptations, habitats, and classifications. Identify differences between mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds while interacting with COSI's animals.