Burpee Museum of Natural History - Homeschool Classes

Burpee Museum of Natural History - Rockford
http://www.burpee.org/education/homeschool.asp

Education : Home School 2009-2010
Burpee Museum has been offering classes for students who are home schooled for over 8 years. The current teacher home schooled her own four children, has extensive experience as a teacher in a local home school co-op, and has been on the education staff at Burpee for 6 years. Classes are for 9 – 13 year olds and are offered three times a month, with a monthly theme. Participants can sign up for the entire month, or pick and choose which classes to attend. Workshops for 6 – 8 year olds are offered twice a month and follow the same theme as the classes. These classes are inquiry based; hands-on activities and experiments are the core of all classes. The curriculum for the 9 - 13 year old classes is based on ISGS Geo Activities by the Illinois State Geological Survey, funded by a National Science Foundation Grant. The curriculum for the 6 - 8 year old workshops is based on the AIMS (Activities Investigating Mathematics and Science) curriculum. Students will measure, estimate, observe, predict, classify, and gather and record data.

Classes for 9-13 year olds (Please note NEW start time)
September: Watersheds and Water Resources of Illinois

Thursday 9/10
2.00– 4.00 pm
Water From the Ground
For 9 – 13 year olds
Experiment with porosity to see how geology controls our water resources and how ground water moves through unconsolidated materials.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 9/17
2.00– 4.00 pm
Your Ecological Address
For 9 – 13 year olds
Identify your watershed. Experiment with capacity of aquifers and water production rates.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 9/24
2.00– 4.00 pm
A Well Placed Well
For 9 – 13 year olds
Discover variables effecting depth of the water table. Identify the difference between "aquifer" and "aquiclude".
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

October: Geologic World

Thursday 10/8
2.00– 4.00 pm
Geology All Around Us
For 9 – 13 year olds
Discover just how important geology is in everyday lives.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 10/15
2.00– 4.00 pm
Interpreting Earth's History
For 9 – 13 year olds
Apply principles of superposition, original horizontality, cross-cutting relationships, and uniformitarianism.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 10/22
2.00– 4.00 pm
Build Illinois
For 9 – 13 year olds
Build a 3 Dimensional map of Illinois to show its geographic history and sedimentary structures.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

November: Illinois Rocks and Minerals

Thursday 11/5
2.00– 4.00 pm
Ice on the Rocks - How Glaciers Shape the Land
For 9 – 13 year olds
Conduct experiments to show the abrasive power of glaciers. Identify landscape features carved by glaciers.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 11/12
2.00– 4.00 pm
Reading the Earth
For 9 – 13 year olds
Use geologic maps to interpret Illinois' geologic histroy.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 11/19
2.00– 4.00 pm
Illinois Minerals
For 9 – 13 year olds
Identify and map Illinois minerals. Learn how the geology of Illinois determines the location of mineral deposits.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

December: Earth Hazards

Thursday 12/3
2.00– 4.00 pm
An Illinois Earthquake
For 9 – 13 year olds
Use real data to show how the distribution of damage from an earthquake is dependent on regional geology.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 12/10
2.00– 4.00 pm
The Great Flood of 1993
For 9 – 13 year olds
Identify floodplain features and experiment with geologic controls and impacts of river flooding.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 12/17
2.00– 4.00 pm
Levee Construction and Failure
For 9 – 13 year olds
Experiment with the forces of flooding that weaken levees. Test various earth materials for suitability in levee construction.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

January: Geology and Society

Thursday 1/14
2.00– 4.00 pm
Where Should We Build?
For 9 – 13 year olds
Experiment with factors affecting the selection of locations for buildings.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 1/21
2.00– 4.00 pm
Geologic Materials and Landfills
For 9 – 13 year olds
Experiment with the three major Illinois unconsolidated earth materials, identifying their properties, for landfill sites.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Thursday 1/28
2.00– 4.00 pm
Society and Geologic Hazards
For 9 – 13 year olds
Create a simulated model to investigate geologic hazards and impact of society's use of the landscape.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Classes for 6-8 year olds (Please note NEW start time)
September: Watersheds

Tuesday 9/15
2.00– 4.00 pm
A Watershed in Your Hand
For 6 – 8 year olds
Create a watershed model. Discover how water flows.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Tuesday 9/22
2.00– 4.00 pm
Hello Watershed
For 6 – 8 year olds
Discover who and what shares your watershed.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

October: Soil
Tuesday 10/13
2.00– 4.00 pm
What Makes Soil?
For 6 – 8 year olds
Not all soil is the same! Examine the composition of different soils and identify layers of soil.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Tuesday 10/20
2.00– 4.00 pm
Don't Mix Me Up!
For 6 – 8 year olds
Some plants grow better in certain soil; study soils and their effect on plant growth.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

November: Rocks
Tuesday 11/10
2.00– 4.00 pm
Hard As A Rock
For 6 – 8 year olds
All rocks are hard, but some are harder than others! Experiment with the characteristics of rocks.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Tuesday 11/17
2.00– 4.00 pm
Pet Rocks and Memory Rocks
For 6 – 8 year olds
Do you have a pet rock? Discover all the ways people use rocks.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

December: Minerals
Tuesday 12/8
2.00– 4.00 pm
Vermiculite the Wormy Wonder
For 6 – 8 year olds
What is vermiculite? Find the answer to this and other questions as you experiment with minerals.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Tuesday 12/15
2.00– 4.00 pm
A Paste With a Taste
For 6 – 8 year olds
Discover that most minerals can be used in many ways, including in toothpaste.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

January: Mining Minerals
Tuesday 1/19
2.00– 4.00 pm
Colorful Cores
For 6 – 8 year olds
How can we see what is under the ground? Core samples identify mineral resources below the surface.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child

Tuesday 1/26
2.00– 4.00 pm
"49' ers"!
For 6 – 8 year olds
Learn about the life of an early miner. Dress as a miner and make sourdough pancakes.
Pre-registration and payment is required
Call Education Department 815 965 3433 ext 1020 to register
Fees: $12 per child members, additional siblings $9 per child
$16 per child non members, additional siblings $13 per child