School Programs
Hastings Museum offers a number of wonderful school programs – including those focused on Museum exhibits and topics and programs involving the theatre and planetarium.
Museum exhibit and related topics are included on this page, organized by grade – from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Click here for theatre programs, or click here for planetarium programs.
Current School Programs
These curriculum-related programs introduce students to specific Museum topics or exhibit areas. All include a guided tour of related Museum exhibits plus hands-on, object-based learning activities – and all are tied to Nebraska state education standards! (Click here [.pdf] to download state standards for all programs.)
The programs are free with paid Museum admission, although we do accept donations to help cover the cost of materials. Programs run approximately 45 minutes and can be adapted to meet your specific needs. Just ask!
For questions or to make a reservation, contact our education department at 402-461-4629 or 800-508-4629. Or via email at education@hastingsmuseum.org.
Please limit two programs per visit.
Kool-Aid Laboratory — Grades K-1
Explore early 20th century Nebraska as you follow the life of the REAL Kool-Aid Man, Edwin Perkins. Our young adventurers will enjoy seeing the homes and tools of yesteryear, bartering in the D.M. Perkins General Merchandise, and creating a new flavor of Kool-Aid. Bring your taste buds…this one’s a treat!
North American Mammals — Grades 1-2
Join us for some furry fun on a tour of our Wildlife Diorama Hall! Students employ their observational skills to identify a number of scientific concepts including classification, physical and behavioral adaptation, communication, and habitat. Hands-on activities include animal skins, skulls, scat, and teeth identification.
Sea Monsters of Nebraska — Grades 1-2
What was the Earth like when giant reptiles swam in the seas, flew in the air and walked the land? After a guided tour of our Fossils exhibit, students will dig for fossil clues to determine what prehistoric Nebraska was like during the Age of the Dinosaurs.
Plains Indian Family — Grades 1-3
Students will travel back to the 19th century on the Great Plains as they explore the commonalities of the Plains people. We will introduce clothing, adornment, food, shelter, and gender roles with a guided tour of the People on the Plains exhibit. Students learn Native American dancing and make a souvenir winter count slap bracelet.
Kool-Aid Kitchen — Grades 2-3
Discover Edwin Perkins, chemist and entrepreneur, who created this KOOL drink here in Hastings, Nebraska. See a part of Edwin’s childhood in the D.M. Perkins General Merchandise. Make a mess in the kitchen as we mix and measure our own creations.
Fossil Detectives — Grades 3-4
Students will discover the exciting work of a paleontologist as we visit our Fossils exhibit and learn the secrets fossils can tell us about the Earth. They’ll test their new knowledge when they select and identify a fossil, determining what its environment was like millions of years ago. Was their fossil a living thing in Nebraska? We’ll find out!
Gee! What’s Geology? — Grades 3-5
Rocks, minerals, and gold, oh my! Students will follow along as we explore the Rocks and Minerals exhibit including a tour of our glow in the dark room. They will learn to identify and differentiate between minerals and the three different types of rocks. Hands-on activities include rock classification, panning for fool’s gold and a memory rock students will take home.
Building the State — Grades 4-6
Key people and events will come alive as your class assembles the state piece by piece to discover how the past has helped build Nebraska into “the good life” state that it is today. Students will learn about the unicameral system, agriculture, transportation, state symbols, and notable Nebraskans. Students will get to take their gigantic, hand-built map back to the classroom as a souvenir.
Corps of Discovery — Grades 4-6
Take part in the Lewis and Clark expedition! Adventurers must overcome numerous obstacles to discover a route to the West Coast. You can travel by keelboat, navigate a trail to the shore of the Pacific, and even collect unusual artifacts and animals native to the area just like Lewis and Clark did over 200 years ago.
Kool-Aid Chemistry — Grades 4-6
Enter the creative world of Edwin Perkins, inventor of Kool-Aid. Students will learn about Perkins’ innovative advertising techniques, explore his other inventions, test their own experiments, and make a sweet Kool-Aid treat.
The Pawnee — Grades 4-6
This program brings the historic Pawnee to life through a guided tour of People on the Plains. Students will discover the effects emigrating groups had on these early Plains people and how Native American and Euro-American interaction changed both peoples’ lifestyles. We will grind corn, play a Pawnee hunting skill game, learn how they made tools and toys, and create a talking feather to take home.
Overland Trails — Grades 6-8
In this role-playing program, you can haul freight to New Mexico on the Santa Fe Trail, travel with Brigham Young in his search for Zion, become an entrepreneur during the California Gold Rush or experience the fate of the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Follow missionary Narcissa Whitman as she becomes the first white woman to travel the Oregon Trail as we trek the many Overland Trails through the Museum.
Mineral Madness — Grades 6-8
Students will get to know rocks and minerals on a deeper level with a tour of our Rocks and Minerals exhibit. Using magnification, we will take a closer look at facet formation in minerals and explore what it means. Students will discover how some minerals protect us through fluorescence. Before leaving the Museum, you will determine one mineral from another using time tested methods.
