Build your supportive classroom learning community around the wonder of relevant, observable science.
Engage your students’ minds and inspire their connection to the natural world with accessible, NGSS-aligned curricula through Science on the Go. Nurture academic and social emotional growth with collaborative thinking and interactive exploration activities.
With Science on the Go you’ll have a curriculum workshop experience, all lesson materials prepped, and an ongoing partnership with a museum educator teaching your students to ensure supported implementation in the classroom. 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 now open for the 2021-2022 school year. Quarter 1 implementation runs from December 7, 2021-January 28, 2022 and the registration deadline is October 28, 2021. Click the button below to register your classroom.
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 powerful connections to the natural world that foster the curiosity and wonder that promotes 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, or Virtual Field Trip Workshop for classrooms whose school policy does not include field trips)
If your school district has protocols in place that prohibit outside providers from engaging with students in the classroom, please email us at scienceonthego@naturemuseum.org to discuss the best program model for your classroom.
Science on the Go Curriculum Choices for Q2
Quarter 1 implementation runs from December 7, 2021-January 28, 2022. Registration deadline is October 28, 2021. Browse our Quarter 2 curriculum choices below, or click here to see the full suite of 16 curriculum choices with descriptions and NGSS alignment for grades K through 8.
Nature in the City
Grade: K
NGSS: K-ESS3-1, K-ESS2-2
Take a walk around the neighborhood— what plants and animals will you see? Use observations, discussions, and scientific drawings to explore ecosystems on the ground, in the trees, and near buildings.
Habitat Seekers
Grades: 1-2
NGSS: 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1
Explore the animals and habitats of the Midwest! Discover the different ways adult animals care for their young in wetland, prairie, and woodland habitats.
Making Sense of Butterflies
Grades: 1-2
NGSS: 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1
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.
Freshwater Flashback
Grades: 3-4
NGSS: 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-1, 4-ESS3-2
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.
Survivor: Winter Edition
Grades: 3-4
NGSS: 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
Where do Chicago’s animals go in the winter? Use hands-on activities and nonfiction text to develop a claim about animals’ structural and behavioral adaptations.
Chicago’s Nature Network
Grades: 4-5
NGSS: 4-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1
What is Chicago’s apex predator? Explore the food web and connections between living and non-living things in our urban ecosystem.
Biodiversity Disrupted (C)
Grades: 6-8
NGSS: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4, MS-ESS3-3
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.
Climate Change in Chicago
Grades: 6-8
NGSS: MS-ESS3-4, MS-LS2-2
How are local species affected by climate change? Students will construct an explanation about the cause of a changing climate and its effect on biodiversity in the Chicagoland area.
(C) = Connected
Programs designed especially for 1-to-1 digitally- equipped classrooms in which all students have access to a digital device in every session. The curriculum relies on direct student engagement with documents, images, and media that are included in digital form. These curricula also include hands-on cooperative learning activities and in-person visits by the Nature Museum educator. If your students do NOT have daily access to a digital device, please choose a curriculum that is not labeled “Connected”.
Science on the Go Registration
Registration is now open for Quarter 2 Science on the Go (December 7, 2021-January 28, 2022). Registration deadline for Quarter 2 is October 28, 2021.
Nature Museum educator visits and PD workshops will be in-person and follow all public health, district, and school guidelines. If local health protocols preclude in-person programming, virtual programming will be substituted.
Have questions about the Science on the Go program? Please contact our program manager by clicking here.
Remote Science on the Go Teacher Feedback
We are excited to return to in-person Science on the Go. Students need a chance not only to discuss their observations but to test if their ideas align with their real-life experiences. It is a wonderful program! Well planned and as a teacher I felt supported and empowered to teach science in the classroom.
After attending the PD and watching how the Museum educators delivered science lessons, I feel more confident to teach science.
Students made connections after their field trip – they noticed things in other areas because of what they saw on the trip. Their observation and ‘wonder’ skills increased.
Students created connections between things they’ve observed on their own outside of school and the science we do in school and were excited to share their observations with their peers.
My students made connections to the city around them. During the unit, students would report about birds they spotted in their neighborhoods that we’d talked about in class. They noticed what the birds were doing and thought about why they were there.
