2026 Field Museum Cultural Teaching Fellowship

The Field Museum Cultural Teaching Fellowship is a Professional Learning Community through which Chicago-area educators receive ongoing professional development specifically related to the Museum’s cultural collections and exhibitions in order to connect educators and, as a result, their students with the cultural and religious beliefs of people around the world and throughout history.

For the 2026 Fellowship, learning will center the Museum's exhibition Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories.

Fellowship educators will serve as liaisons between the Museum and their school community by sharing and piloting our resources as well as their own inquiry-lessons that they create with us. In addition, as a result of this program, these educators will be able to model for their peers best practices in using museums and object inquiry to support cultural competency, empathy, and student learning.

Participants will engage in at least 15 hours of training (professional development hours!) on content relevant to the Field Museum's cultural collections as well as best practices in culturally relevant and responsive social science learning. 

Through the Fellowship, Educators will

• Dedicate themselves to lifelong learning in a collaborative professional learning community.
• Improve their ability to teach and learn social sciences through collections and exhibitions.
• Deepen their capacity to build lessons based on inquiry.
• Model best practices for teaching about culture and religious traditions.
• Develop an inquiry project for use in their classrooms and beyond.

We welcome educators of all levels to apply, but programming for the 2026 Fellowship will prioritize instructional strategies for PreK through Grade 5 educators.

Program Dates and Times

• Saturday, January 10, 2026, 9am-12pm
• Saturday, February 7, 2026, 9am-12pm
• Saturday, March 7, 2026, 9am-12pm
• Saturday, April 11, 2026, 9am-12pm
• Saturday, May 9, 9am-12pm; lunch served 12-1pm

Note: Participants are expected to

• Attend all five sessions (Jan. 10, Feb. 7, March 7, April 11, and May 9)
• Book their class(es) for a field trip and field trip class connected to their learning (Native Truths) sometime between January and June 2026
• Complete 7 brief evaluation surveys and 2 virtual focus groups/interviews.
• Complete and present a final project.
• It is recommended but not required that you apply as a school team or partnership to facilitate collaboration and field trip plans.

Participants will receive a $250 stipend upon completion of all requirements.

Questions? Reach out to Professional Development Educator Samantha Chapleau, schapleau@fieldmuseum.org.