Science on the Go
Build your classroom learning around the wonder of relevant, observable, nature-based phenomena.
- Time of Year
- Quarterly During School Year
- Location
- At Your School
- Grades
- K to 8th
Provide your students with unique experiences that inspire their connection to the natural world using accessible, NGSS-aligned curricula through Science on the Go. Nurture academic and emotional growth with collaborative thinking and interactive exploration activities.
With Science on the Go you’ll experience both professional learning and practical support through a curriculum-specific workshop, all lesson materials prepped, and an ongoing partnership with a museum educator to collaborate around classroom implementation and reflection. For over 30 years, our experienced education staff has been working side-by-side with teachers and their students throughout Chicago.
Science on the Go registration is open for the 2024-2025 school year. Quarter 4 implementation runs April 15 - May 30, 2025. The registration deadline for Q4 is April 3, 2025, but registration for all quarters is open.
Click the button below to register your classroom.
Have questions about the Science on the Go program? Please contact our program manager at scienceonthego@naturemuseum.org.
"I would recommend SOG to any of my colleagues. I thought it was a great program and I especially appreciated how all lesson materials were so painstakingly prepared and organized in advance. It was so user friendly."
Science on the Go Program Highlights
With Science on the Go, you’ll invest in:
- Professional Development workshop to prepare for classroom implementation
- Nine NGSS-aligned lessons that explore local science content with all teacher and student materials and documents provided
- All curricula include authentic connections to Chicago’s natural world that foster curiosity and wonder and promote social and emotional well-being
- All interactive and student materials will be provided in English and Spanish to support students and teachers as they make nature and science connections in the classroom
- Three lessons taught in your classroom by a visiting museum educator, modeling best practices in science education and incorporating unique resources from the Nature Museum’s living and preserved collections
- A Field Trip experience to connect classroom learning to real-world experiences at the Nature Museum (including a Field Trip bus reimbursement for an in-person visit)
"We utilized the Spanish language resources. Thank you for providing the great graphic organizers and other visual resources as well as hands on materials. Great for ELLs!"
Curriculum Choices
Browse our Quarter 4 curriculum choices below, or click here to see the full suite of curriculum choices with descriptions and NGSS alignment for grades K through 8.
Use observations, discussions, and scientific drawings to explore ecosystems on the ground, in the trees, and near buildings.
NGSS: K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1
Explore how milkweed and all the things that live on and around it get what they need in the city. Study the ways these organisms use their structures to survive, and use them as inspiration to design solutions to our everyday problems.
NGSS: K-LS1-1, 1-LS1-1
Investigate the ways butterflies find out about the world around them. Explore the unique ways each species responds to the information they collect to increase their chances of survival.
NGSS: 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1
What lives in—or used to live in—Chicago’s Great Lakes environment? Students will examine evidence of the ways local freshwater ecosystems have changed over time.
NGSS: 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-1, 4-ESS3-2
Did you know that insects represent over 80% of the species alive on Earth? Explore the body structures, behaviors, and life cycles of Chicago’s fascinating local insects.
NGSS: 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
What’s happening in the woodland? Explore how organisms of all sizes, from fungi to frogs, get the matter and energy they need for survival.
NGSS:4-LS1-2, 5-LS2-1, 5-PS3-1
Investigate the complex role of plants in their ecosystems: the interactions that sustain both plants and animals, and the process plants use to cycle energy and matter into their environments.
NGSS: MS-LS1-4, MS-LS1-5, MS-LS1-6
How can we tell if an ecosystem is healthy? Explore the work of conservation scientists at the Nature Museum and evaluate the impacts of human activities on Chicago’s woodland biodiversity.
NGSS: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4, MS-ESS3-3
"Students work together to discuss and reflect. Sharing findings builds their self-esteem. Now my students are paying more attention to nature nearby!"
Frequently Asked Questions
Science on the Go is a quarter-long program. Each quarter lasts about 7 weeks.
A “classroom” of Science on the Go is the group of students who regularly learn science together at your school in the same place at the same time (often one homeroom group, or one period group).
Register each group for their own “classroom” of Science on the Go.
Absolutely! There are multiple curricula in each grade band to choose from. Register for each quarter separately.
Experience nature and science up close with a trip to the Nature Museum.