Education

Teacher Resources

Here you'll find curriculum guides, scavenger hunts and lesson plans aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to help you integrate a museum visit into your classroom teaching. Print out our guide to Museums and Thinking Skills for more suggestions on relating museums and learning. Also, see our Austin Science Fun Guide for a book of local science places, groups and activities.

Print our 2009 Education Programs (PDF*) brochure.


Curriculum Guides (K-12)

Curriculum guides coordinate our exhibits with multiple themes from the K-12 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Each guide provides detailed information on field trip planning, informative activities to do before, during, and after your visit to the Museum, TEKS-alignment, and suggested resources for additional information.

Hall of Geology and Paleontology (Floor 1)

Background Information for Educators (PDF*, 206KB)

Educator Guide, Grades 3-5 (PDF*, 215KB)

Educator Guide, Grades 6-8 (PDF*, 219KB)

Hall of Texas Wildlife (Floor 3)

Fishes of Texas

Texas Wildlife Exhibits

Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger hunts help students explore the Museum’s exhibits in an exciting way.

Discovery Drawers (Floor 1)

Discovery Drawers:Who Am I?, Grades K-2 (PDF*, 601KB)

Discovery Drawers: Who Am I?, Grades 3-6 (PDF*, 65KB)

Whole Museum

Who Am I?, Grades K-2 (PDF*, 161KB)

Who Am I?, Grades 3-6 (PDF*, 107KB)

Lessons and Activities

Museums and Thinking Skills - for parents and teachers (PDF*, 106KB)

My Visit to the Museum - Pre-K/K, (PDF*, 854KB)

Fossil Pasta Dinosaurs - Pre-K-2nd (PDF*, 29KB)

Texas Pterosaur Hat - Pre-K-3rd

Potato Fish Adaptations - grades 3-8

Modeling Petrified Wood - grades 4-8 (PDF*, 31KB)

Creating a Freshwater Ecosystem

Understanding Geologic Time - grades 8-12


Dino Pit Discoveries Coloring Sheets

Texas Pterosaur (PDF*, 50KB)

Onion Creek Mosasaur (PDF*, 72KB)

Seymouria (PDF*, 64KB)

Alamosaurus (PDF*, 49KB)

Bouldin Creek Starfish (PDF*, 93KB)


Other Science Resources

Science. It's Everywhere! from the Partnership for Science Literacy of AAAS. The Museum is a participating organization.



* Requires Adobe Reader.