Activities for kids

Families enjoy many of the regular museum programs, such as summer festivals and Thirsty Thursdays, but MNA also offers programs and activities to meet the specific needs and interests of our youngest members. The resources on this page include many activities that can be downloaded and printed out or watched at home, offering enriching experiences that will help prepare for or follow-up on a visit to the museum.

 

Family in a tentFamily Fridays

Each month educator Mari Soliday presents an online education program for kids, including an activity to try at home. New episodes stream onto the MNA Facebook page on the first Friday of the month at 2:30 pm. Past episodes can be found in both the video section of the MNA Facebook page and on the MNA YouTube channel. Visit the MNA calendar to see the upcoming programs.

Activity downloads:

Balancing Butterfly

Paper Parrot

 

Dinosaur skeleton

Story “The End of the Day at MNA”

This rhyming story imagines what the objects in the museum might do at night. The story familiarized young children with some of what they will see at the museum, and can be used as a scavenger hunt. Download & print. Watch the story read by the author.

Ages 3-6

 

 

 

Picture of scavenger hunts

Scavenger hunts

Find these animals (download – MNA scavenger hunts – animals in art)

Count & Compare

Find shapes

Find Colors

 

 

 

Comparing a drawing of artworkColoring pages

Print out and color some of the art, then bring the pages you colored with you to the museum to compare to the original. Talk about the different color choices your child made compared to the artist. Ages 5-8

Liberating Landscape coloring pages

The Force Is With Our People coloring pages

Flowers of the Rio de Flag coloring pages

 

MNA Junior Paleontologist logoJunior Paleontologist program

Paleontologist Dr. Dave Gillette has created a series of fun, dinosaur-related activities for anyone who loves dinosaurs. This program is a useful, non-technical introduction to paleontology and features MNA specimens and exhibits throughout. By participating in any of these activities, kids (of all ages) qualify to become Junior Paleontologists. The activities are posted here as a downloadable journal. There is also a Junior Paleontology group on the MNA Facebook page.

 

 

Junior Paleontologists Journal – Week 1

Junior Paleontologists Journal – Week 2

Junior Paleontologists Journal – Week 3

Junior Paleontologists Journal – Week 4

Junior Paleontologists Journal Week 5

Junior Paleontologists Journal Week 6

Junior Paleontologist Journal Week 7

Junior Paleontologist Journal Week 8

Junior Paleontologist Journal Week 9

Junior Paleontologist Journal Week 10

Junior Paleontologist Journal Week 11

Junior Paleontologist Journal Week 12

 

Geology walk

Flagstaff downtown geology bingo

Walking through Flagstaff can be a lesson in geology, as you spot examples of different types of rock and their uses. Try this in other towns too.

 

 

 

 

 

Ant carrying a leaf

Ant lab book

Created to go with an exhibition on honeypot ants, this labsheet can also be used to observe and learn from ants in your backyard.

 

 

 

 

Drawing artwork

Art prompts

Art lesson based on MNA Founder Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton (MRFC), who was an artist and a champion of art education.

Pottery design activity based on the work of Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo

 

 

 

 

HopiR2 reading a story

MNA Storytime online

Kids can watch as staff and museum friends read or tell children’s stories. Many of the books featured are available in our bookstore.

(link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNrYa7nGvXnIIKCnSWky7ANV8ZTXyCeXN)