Whether exploring the past with the mighty mammoth or delving into the future of our planet's ecosystems, the museum offers a wide variety of exciting, inquiry-based learning adventures for K-12 classes and youth groups.
All programs are taught by trained museum educators and are aligned with state and national standards. Each program is specifically tailored to students' grade and ability levels, and includes a hands-on activity in the classroom and an exhibit tour.
2024-25 School Year
Registration is open! Review the program information below and submit an online request form (available at the bottom of the page).
For summer 2025 field trip information, click here.
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PROGRAM INFORMATION
Each program is approximately 90 minutes, and includes a hands-on activity in the museum classroom, a guided tour of a related exhibit, and self-guided exploration time.
Each program group may not exceed 35 students. We ask that groups have a 1:8 ratio of adult chaperones to youths. Teachers and chaperones are free!
Only one group can be in the museum at a time. We can schedule back-to-back groups on the same day. Groups can occupy themselves elsewhere on campus when they are not scheduled in the museum. See the Things to Do at UO information below.
Please submit your program request form at least 2 weeks in advance.
Choose from the programs below and use the calendar to view possible available dates.
Payment must be made at time of arrival. We do not have a way to bill electronically. Please bring check, cash, or card. We can take card payments over the phone on the day of visit if necessary.
- Camas Oven (60-90 minutes)
Explore Oregon landscapes and the history of Northwest Native cultures. Build a replica of a camas oven and “cook” camas bulbs - once the most important food staple of the Western Valley. See what other foods are important as you tour the cultural history exhibit, Oregon—Where Past is Present. - Fun with Fossils (60-90 minutes)
Discover the natural history and geology of Oregon! Be a scientist for a day, handling and classifying items like fossils and volcanic rocks, and see the fossils on display in the Explore Oregon exhibit. - Animal Tracks (90 minutes)
Who’s been wandering through the museum? Follow the tracks to find out! Learn about different animals and the clues their tracks leave behind. Take a tour through the Explore Oregon exhibit.
- Oregon Archaeology Detectives (90 minutes)
Grades 3-5
Put on your detective hat and uncover clues about Oregon's past. Learn about the Tribes that have lived here since time immemorial. Develop and test your own hypothesis as you tour cultural history exhibit, Oregon—Where Past is Present. - Ride the Rock Cycle (90 minutes)
Grades 3-5
Journey through the eons and examine Earth’s dynamic geology. From sandstone to serpentinite, you’ll learn how different rocks fit into the spectacular story of the rock cycle and find out more in the Explore Oregon exhibit. - Famous Fossil Find (90 minutes)
Grades 3-5
Be a paleontologist for a day! Identify mysterious creatures by piecing together clues found throughout the Explore Oregon exhibit. - Adapt, Move, or Go Extinct (90 minutes)
Grades 3-5
Investigate Oregon’s ecosystems and learn how plants and animals adapt to their changing environments. Take a tour through the Explore Oregon exhibit.
- Famous Fossil Find (90 minutes)
Grades 6-8
Be a paleontologist for a day! Identify mysterious creatures by piecing together clues found throughout the Explore Oregon exhibit. - Cultural Scene Investigation (90 minutes)
Grades 6-8
Examine artifacts and oral histories – and reconstruct a moment in Oregon’s history! Explore the Oregon—Where Past is Present exhibit to help build the scene and learn about Native Americans in Oregon. - Adapt, Move, or Go Extinct (90 minutes)
Grades 6-8
Investigate Oregon’s ecosystems and learn how plants and animals adapt to their changing environments. Can you create an animal that will adapt to an environmental challenge? Take a tour through the Explore Oregon exhibit. - Chinese American Heritage in Oregon (90 minutes)
Grades 6-8
Examine the underrepresented impact of Chinese Americans on Oregon’s history, and the community’s immigration experience, from 1850 – 1940. The program includes a 30-minute guided exhibit tour, a 30-minute classroom activity and 30-minutes for self-exploration in the museum.
Interested in learning more after your class visits the museum? Additional resources on this topic are offered by the Oregon Historical Society: Chinese Diaspora in Oregon Traveling Trunk and the Chinese Diaspora in Oregon DBQ. - Self-guided programs (45-60 minutes recommended)
Grades 6-8
Create your own adventure and explore the museum at your own pace. Please provide one chaperone for every eight students.
- Cultural Scene Investigation (90 minutes)
Grades 9-12
Examine artifacts and oral histories – and reconstruct a moment in Oregon’s history! Explore the Oregon—Where Past is Present exhibit to help build the scene and learn about Native Americans in Oregon. - Chinese American Heritage in Oregon (90 minutes)
Grades 9-12
Examine the underrepresented impact of Chinese Americans on Oregon’s history, and the community’s immigration experience, from 1850 – 1940. The program includes a 30-minute guided exhibit tour, a 30-minute classroom activity and 30-minutes for self-exploration in the museum.
Interested in learning more after your class visits the museum? Additional resources on this topic are offered by the Oregon Historical Society: Chinese Diaspora in Oregon Traveling Trunk and the Chinese Diaspora in Oregon DBQ. - Self-guided programs (45-60 minutes recommended)
Grades 9-12
Create your own adventure and explore the museum at your own pace. Please provide one chaperone for every eight students.
AVAILABLE DATES AND TIMES
This calendar represents possible available times for you to request programs at the museum. If a time is marked as busy, that time is unavailable for booking. Consecutive classes can be scheduled on the same day, but not at the same time.
Programs are 90 minutes long and are available Monday - Friday 8:30am-4:00pm, October 1 – June 30.
PLEASE NOTE: Availability on this calendar is not guaranteed, but rather a guide to help you find the most likely openings for your group. You must request your chosen date and time through our request form, and wait for confirmation from our team.
COST
We offer discounts based a school’s percentage of students eligible for the Federal National School Lunch Program.
PLEASE NOTE: these statistics are not the same as the ones qualifying schools for universal free lunch, please view the link above to see your school’s percentage.
Costs are:
- $2/student for schools with 0-49% qualifying
- $1/student for schools with 50 – 74% qualifying
- $0/student for schools with 75 – 100% qualifying
Teachers and chaperones are always free. We do request a 1:8 ratio of chaperones to students, but groups are encouraged to bring as many chaperones as they like beyond that.
Payment is due upon arrival. We do not have a way to bill electronically. Please bring check, cash, or card. We can take card payments over the phone on the day of your visit if that is necessary.
Register Now
(click to submit a Program Request Form)
Are you wanting to bring a youth group to the museum during the summer? Check out our summer field trips.
THINGS TO DO AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Want to plan a whole day at the University of Oregon? Need to give your second program group something to do while they wait? Here are some suggestions for things to do!
- Take a self-guided tour of UO campus. For an added experience try these curated subject-specific tours.
- Schedule a guided tour of campus here. Great for older students considering their future.
- Complete a UO campus scavenger hunt!
- Visit Hayward Hall and learn about the history of Track Town USA. Open Tuesday-Friday 10am-2pm.
- Visit the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
- Get all the wiggles out and have some extra fun at Agate Playground, just a few blocks down Agate Street from the museum.
- Have lunch on campus. Bring lunches and have a picnic in our Native Plant Courtyard. Visit Unthank Hall, just across 15th street from the museum, or walk to the EMU at the heart of campus for some people watching and the true college experience.
Questions? Contact us at mncheducation@uoregon.edu.
Interested in checking out the museum before visiting with your students? Email us at mncheducation@uoregon.edu and request a FREE educator pass.
Are you wanting to bring a youth group to the museum during the summer? Check out our summer field trips.
Pre- and post-visit activity ideas can be found on our Teaching Resources page.
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