 Teacher
& Group Resources
Programs, workshops, group tours and curriculum guides
MNA offers exciting resources for your group:
Workshops
Programs
Puppet Shows
Program & Activity Matrix
Your quick guide to how
these resources compare, group sizes and approximate time allotment.
Curriculum guides for
teachers are listed with the description of each offering.
Workshops, programs, puppet
shows and special exhibit tours may be scheduled to start from 9 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. daily.
For questions or more
information contact MNA at 928-774-5211 x275
WORKSHOPS
Prehistoric Foods
(4th – 6th grade) Approximately 3 hours
Students learn about
prehistoric people through available food sources and cooking methods
utilized during each time period. Children work with Museum docents to
prepare foods made of corn, squash, native grains, etc. Students learn about
life styles and technology during different periods and discuss the
nutritional value of prehistoric food compared to modern foods.
Prehistoric Pottery
(4th – 8th grade) 1.5 to 2 hours
Students learn the importance
of pottery in prehistoric native cultures. Traditional techniques of
pottery-making and decoration are demonstrated, and students are able to
create their own prehistoric-style ceramic pot.
Curriculum Guide
Prehistoric Technologies
(4th – 8th grade) 1 to 1.5 hours
Prehistoric peoples used
native fibers to make cordage as fine as thread or as thick as rope. Using
animal or plant fibers, students will learn ancient techniques to create
cordage by hand. They will learn how to use an ancient-style pump drill to
make a piece of jewelry out of clay.
Owl Pellets
(4th – 8th grade) 1.5 to 2 hours
Through the dissection of owl
pellets (regurgitated masses of bone, teeth, hair and feathers), students
learn about the habits of birds of prey, the food chain, food webs and
interdependence. Students work in pairs to uncover the skeletal remains of
mice, voles and shrews that have been ingested by barn owls.
Curriculum Guide
Rock Art Workshop
(4th – 6th grade) 1.5 to 2 hours
Through discussion and
hands-on activities, students learn about the techniques for making
petroglyphs and pictographs. Possible meanings and cultural implications are
covered as well as archaeological site etiquette.
Curriculum
Guide
PROGRAMS
Dinosaurs
(Pre-K – 3rd grade)
Children are transported back
to the Age of the Dinosaurs. They will learn about the environments and
animals that existed during the Mesosoic on the Colorado Plateau. Dinosaur
bones, models, footprint casts and illustrations help bring the subject to
life.
Curriculum Guide
Colorado Plateau Cultures
(4th – 12th grade)
A comparative look at the
traditional and contemporary lives of the Native American cultures of the
Colorado Plateau: specifically Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Havasupai. Students
may play Hopi games, grind corn, or card and spin wool among other
traditional hands-on opportunities.
Hunter’s Kit (Archaeology)
(3rd – 8th grade)
Visitors learn of the earliest
Southwest inhabitants by studying their food sources, basketry, pottery and
architecture. Students examine objects found in a bag typically carried by
hunters of the period.
Curriculum Guide
Grand Canyon Geology Program
(4th – 8th grade)
Working in small groups,
students examine rocks and fossils from rock layers in the Grand Canyon and
identify them based on information provided. They also use clues in the
Museum’s Geology Gallery to help them deduce the environment of deposition
of the different layers.
Curriculum Guide
Highlights Tour
(7th – 12th grade)
This tour takes the students
through the Museum while docents point out the key concepts portrayed in
each gallery.
PUPPET SHOWS
The actual production of
these shows is 10-15 minutes long. They are usually introduced by a short
program on the same topic. An associated craft activity is available.
Goat in the Rug (Navajo)
(Pre-K – 3rd)
The story of a Navajo weaver
and her pet goat which teaches children about the process of traditional
rug-making.
Curriculum
Guide |
