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New Jersey State Museum Enrichment Experiences

Enhance your trip to the Museum with hands-on interactive presentations from our expert curatorial and education staff. We offer a variety of programs throughout the academic year all based on our current exhibits, new research and our extensive collections. Students are able to ask questions, see real artifacts and learn from some of the leading experts in their fields!

These programs work best in groups of no more than 30 students. Larger groups may be split between programs or can sometimes be accommodated in our larger theater space. Keep in mind, the hands-on and interactive portions of the presentation may need to be altered in the theater setting. Our reservation staff will work with you to plan the best schedule for your group.

Programs begin promptly. Advance registration is required. For reservations, call (609) 292-6347 or (609) 292-1382.

Preschool and Pre-K

Spending, Sharing and Saving: All about Money

Free

The New Jersey State Museum, in partnership with PNC Grow Up Great and William Paterson University, has created a workshop designed to teach children these basic financial concepts through object based learning. Children will learn about Spending, Sharing and Saving using objects in the Museum's collection including Native American wampum.

This program meets Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations in Social/Emotional Development (exp. 4, 6), Creative Arts (exp. 4), Health, Safety and Physical Education (exp. 5), Language Arts/Literacy (exp. 1), Social Studies, Family and Life skills (exp. 4), and Mathematics (exp. 1).

Bus stipends are available for qualifying schools. Please contact Kerry Scott at (609) 984-8487 or kerry.scott@sos.state.nj.us for more information or to make a reservation.

PNC Grow Up Great Financial Education for Preschoolers is made possible by a grant from the PNC Foundation.

Jobs: Families at Work

Free

In this follow up to Spending, Sharing and Saving: All About Money, children will learn about the concept of earning. Jobs: Families at Work incorporates music, poetry, storytelling and object-based learning games to teach the role and importance of different jobs in the community. This program uses objects from the Museum's art, cultural and natural history collections, including dinosaur fossils.

Bus stipends are available for qualifying schools. Please contact Kerry Scott at (609) 984-8487 or kerry.scott@sos.state.nj.us for more information or to make a reservation.

PNC Grow Up Great Financial Education for Preschoolers is made possible by a grant from the PNC Foundation.

Dino Alphabet

$3.00 per person

Everyone gets excited about dinosaurs, especially the Museum's youngest visitors who will benefit from a lesson prepared just for them. The Museum's Paleontologists use the alphabet to teach the children about the life of dinosaurs, geologic time, ancient environments and much more!

This program meets Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations in Social/Emotional Development (exp. 6), Language Arts/Literacy (exp. 1, 3), Social Studies, Family and Life Skills (exp. 4) and Science (exp. 2, 3)

Learning about Art: Shapes and Colors

$3.00 per person

You can find shapes everywhere! Kids will practice identifying shapes using the Museum's Fine Art collection. Hand-in-hand will be a discussion of colors and the difference between primary and secondary colors. Kids will create a color wheel to remember.

This program meets Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations in Social/Emotional Development (exp. 2, 4, 5, 6), Creative Arts (exp. 4) Health, Safety and Physical Education (exp. 5), Language Arts/Literacy (exp. 1, 3), Social Studies, Family and Life Skills (exp. 4), and Mathematics (exp. 2).

Elementary

Dinosaurs of New Jersey

$3.00 per person

Learn all about the world of dinosaurs – including the Tyrannosaurus Rex – that once dominated New Jersey's prehistoric habitats. Special focus will be on New Jersey’s two most famous dinosaurs, Hadrosaurus Foulkii and Dryptosaurus. Hadrosaurus was the most complete dinosaur skeleton unearthed anywhere in the world when it was discovered and scientifically documented in 1858. Hadrosaurus foulkii became the official State dinosaur of New Jersey in 1991. The Dryptosaurus was discovered in Barnesboro, New Jersey, and is the second nearly complete dinosaur skeleton found anywhere in the world. Students will see illustrations of these giants, as well as casts taken directly from the dinosaurs’ bones.

Grades: 2-6; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Science (5.1, 5.2, 5.3) and English Language Arts (RI, SL).

Botany Basics

$3.00 per person

Learn about the life cycle of plants and trees. Explore the Museum’s collection of plant species and learn to categorize plant life. Weather permitting, the group will take their magnifying glasses and nature journals outside to explore nature in an urban environment.

Grades: 1-4; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Science (5.1, 5.3, 5.4) and English Language Arts (RI, SL).

Cultural Connections: Delaware Lenape Block Stamped Baskets

$3.00 per person

Native people adapted to their environment by using natural resources to produce necessary objects. Compare and contrast a variety of baskets from different cultures. By examining authentic Delaware block stamped baskets, students will begin to understand the artistic and cultural significance of the baskets and how the designs changed as they began to trade with European explorers and settlers. Students will practice weaving and decorating their own block stamped design.

Grades: 2-5; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Visual and Performing Arts (1.2, 1.3), Social Studies (6.1) and English Language Arts (RI, SL).

New Jersey’s Original People: Clues from the Archaeological Record

$3.00 per person

In this workshop, students will get an overview of the most significant historic and pre-historic sites in the state; they could be right where you live! Students will understand how the changing environment created habitats for both animals and people. They will explore artifacts that illustrate how early inhabitants lived, worked and hunted for food.

Grades: 2-6; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Science (5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4), Social Studies (6.1), and Language Arts (RI, SL).

Reading Portraits: Hidden Meanings

$3.00 per person

Portraits come in all mediums – screen printed, photography, oil and watercolor to name a few. Students will be able to identify a variety of styles and understand what makes them all portraits. Portraits not only show a person’s likeness, they often display important clues about their life. Through the practice of Visual Thinking Strategies, students will focus on a couple of examples to find the hidden messages and learn to look for clues in all portraits. With this knowledge they will be able to make their own portraits.

Grades: 1-4; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Visual and Performing Arts (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) and English Language Arts (RI, SL).

Pretty Big Things: New Jersey Industry and Innovation

$3.00 per person

The history of New Jersey is a story of Industry and Innovation, from the early days of harvesting natural resources like whale oil and iron to inventions that defined the state and the nation including the Campbell’s Soup Condensing process and Edison’s Laboratory. Students will also learn about design innovation from Trenton Pottery to Craftsman Furniture. What does it mean to be an innovator? How did these famous New Jerseyans learn to “think differently?”

Grades: 2-5; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Visual and Performing Arts (1.2), Social Studies (6.1) Technology (8.1, 8.2) and English Language Arts (RI, SL).

Middle and High School Programs

Becoming a Natural Scientist

$3.00 per person

What does it take to be a scientist? Curiosity is number one! The more scientists discover about the world, the more questions they have. Students get a sneak peek into the work of natural scientists within the five major branches: chemistry, astronomy, earth science, physics and biology. Students will also learn about the Museum’s extensive natural science collection and how scientists and researchers regularly use this collection for their work. Finally, they will be able to meet the Museum’s curators and ask questions about their jobs, research and field work.

Grades: 6-12; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Science (5.3, 5.4), 21st Century Life and Careers (9.3, 9.4) and English Language Arts (RI, SL).

If Pots Could Speak:
A History of Pre-Historic Ceramics from New Jersey

$3.00 per person

This workshop will highlight the exhibition, New Jersey’s Original People. Students will learn about Native American pottery from the Middle Atlantic region - particularly New Jersey - through a presentation by one of the Museum's archaeologists and through hands-on activities. The examination of ceramics is much more than looking at pieces of broken pottery. These little pieces, and sometimes whole pots, open windows into prehistoric technology, style and cultural affiliation.

The influence that pottery had on Native American life and the connection between native settlements across the region and resources will be explored. The basics about Native American ceramic such as technology, manufacturing and distribution will also be discussed. Students will also see examples of the ways Native American cultures used ceramics as an outward expression of their personalities and culture.

Grades: 6 - 12; this program meets NJ State Standards and Common Core in Science (5.1, 5.3, 5.4), Social Studies (6.1), 21st Century Life and Careers (9.3, 9.4) and Language Arts (RI, SL).