Build your supportive classroom learning community around the wonder of relevant, observable science.
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 now open for the 2022-2023 school year. Quarter 4 implementation runs from April 11 through May 26 and the registration deadline is March 23, 2023. Click the button below to register your classroom.
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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, or Virtual Field Trip Workshop for classrooms whose school policy does not include field trips)
Science on the Go Curriculum Choices for Q4
Quarter 4 implementation runs from April 11 through May 26. The registration deadline is March 23, 2023. 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.
Trees Near Me
Grades: K-1
NGSS: K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-3, 1-LS1-1
Explore the ways trees around us affect their surroundings and change over time, and how other living things use structures and senses as they interact with the trees.
Budding Sprouts
Grades: 1-2
NGSS: 1-LS3-1, 2-LS2-2
Discover how plants spread without being planted and nurtured by humans! Use hands-on modeling to explore plant parts, pollination, and seed dispersal.
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.
Insect Investigators
Grades: 3-4
NGSS: 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
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.
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 4 Science on the Go (April 11-May 26, 2023). Registration deadline for Quarter 4 is March 23, 2023.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is Science on the Go?
Science on the Go is a quarter-long program. Each quarter lasts about 7 weeks.
How many students in a “classroom”?
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).
What if I teach science to more than one group?
Register each group for their own “classroom” of Science on the Go.
Can I do Science on the Go for more than one quarter?
Absolutely! There are multiple curricula in each grade band to choose from. Register for each quarter separately.
Science on the Go Teacher Feedback
The materials provided gave every student an entry way into inquiry. The organization of the lessons helped students to be able to have multiple ways of engaging in topics.
Students work together to discuss and reflect. Sharing findings builds their self-esteem. Now my students are paying more attention to nature nearby!
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!
My students were already active, excited learners. Science on the Go just made it so much easier to provide them the time and space to engage in scientific learning.
It was really helpful to see the lesson modeled at the PD workshop, and actually participate in it from a student-facing experience. It was much easier for me to implement the SOG plan after PD.
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.
