Connect your classroom with nature
Living organisms, from the most delicate flower to the toughest coyote, have a lot to teach us. Observe how all kinds of living creatures adapt to and interact with environments and each other. Learners will deepen their understanding of concepts like food chains, migration, and ecosystems. With lesson plans, games, and more, our resources help connect your students to the natural world, both in the classroom and at the museum.
In-museum activities with Plants & Animals
See life science up close with the Field’s diverse specimens.
Everything Has a Purpose | Exploring the Field Guide
Examine why plants and birds have certain features to uncover the relationship between structure and function.Relationships in Ecosystems | Exploring the Field Guide
Investigate an ecosystem by observing the individual organisms as part of a larger structure—a food web.Survival of the Birds | Exploring the Field Guide
Infer whether a bird can survive in a specific environment by observing physical features such as beak, feathers, legs, and feet.
Early Elementary Resources On Plants & Animals
Animal Survival Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Act as consultants to the City of Chicago and assess their relocation plan for urban coyotes.Mapping and Monarchs Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Learn how to analyze and interpret maps by studying monarch butterfly migration.Pollination Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Interact with various models to explore the structures of plants and animals related to the process of pollination.
Explore animal adaptations
Why are eggshells so brittle? What can we learn from how animals move? Investigate these questions and more with the Biomechanics Toolkit.
Structure Function Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Design a shoe appropriate for the icy, wet, and cold conditions of Antarctica using different types of bird feet as inspiration.BIOlympics Game | Biomechanics Toolkit
Jump into BIOlympics events to see how animals achieve amazing feats. Use that knowledge to choose competitors for different events.Dome Strength | Biomechanics Toolkit
Discover how much force a seemingly brittle object like an egg can withstand when it’s dome-shaped.
Plant and Animal resources
Showing 71 resources
Pterosaurs and Tape Measures
Investigate the acutal sizes of these famous flying reptiles who lived side by side with dinosaurs.Rapid Inventory: Home Edition | Science Hub at Home
The Field Museum's Rapid Inventory helps conserve and protect the planet. Learn how to conduct your own rapid inventory at home.Who Lives Here? | Science Hub at Home
Try to match each unique home to the animal that made them. Can you find any animal homes in your neighborhood?Make Your Own Field Guide | Science Hub at Home
Identify the plants and animals that call your ecosystem home.Make Your Own Field Journal | Science Hub at Home
Document your next adventure with a homemade field journal.Life All Over | Science Hub at Home
Even cities are filled with nature. What will you find when you take a closer look?The Birds and the Trees
How do all birds fit on the avian tree of life?Specimen Spotlight: Purple Coneflower | Science Hub at Home
Examine the Purple Coneflower to learn why native plants are important to any ecosystem.Bird Calls and Songs | PlayLab at Home
Listen to different songs or calls made by local Illinois birds.What do you Hear? | PlayLab at Home
Find a listening spot to hear the world around you and make a sound map.Herbarium Sheets | PlayLab at Home
Learn about scientists who study plants and create your own herbarium sheet.Monarch Guide | Home FIELD Advantage
Write and draw to observe monarch butterflies.Specimen Spotlight: Peregrine Falcons | Science Hub at Home
Meet Chicago's peregrine falcons and learn how our collections helps the population thrive.Furiously Fast Falcons | Science Hub at Home
Figure out how fast you can run and how that compares to some of the fastest and slowest animals on the planet.Animal Observations | Science Hub at Home
Learn how scientists observe and track animal behavior and how you can do the same with your pets at home.Birding 101 | Science Hub at Home
Discover the birds of Chicago with these birding techniques.Wheel of Function | Science Hub at Home
Learn how animals evolved to display the color blue. Then print your own game wheel to play with others!Specimen Spotlight: Japanese Giant Salamander | Science Hub at Home
Meet the Japanese giant salamander.Lizard or Salamander | Science Hub at Home
Learn how to tell a lizard from a salamnder then challenge to do the same friends and family with a puzzle.Spot the Animal | Science Hub at Home
Can you find the camouflaged animal? Inspect how reptiles and amphibians hide in their environment.Specimen Spotlight: Indigo Bunting | Science Hub at Home
Meet the Indigo Bunting bird.Prolific Pigment | Science Hub at Home
Here's a recipe for your own blueberry "paint." Use it to study and color a blue morpho butterfly.Jump Like a Frog | Science Hub at Home
Can you leap like a frog? Investigate how frogs jump then compete in a jumping contest.In Your Backyard | Science Hub at Home
Track down reptiles and amphibians by exploring your own natural spaces.At Home Collections | Science Hub at Home
Create your own museum collection at home.What are Fossils Primer | Dinosaur Toolkit
Explore how fossils form and discover how scientists know where to find them.Who were Dinosaurs? Primer | Dinosaur Toolkit
Uncover the features that all dinosaurs share, and determine whether a mystery species is a dinosaur.Rock Clocks Primer | Dinosaur Toolkit
Discover how scientists determine the age of rocks and fossils and use those processes to develop a timeline of Earth's history.SUE's World | Dinosaur Toolkit
Use fossils as clues to rebuild a North American landscape from the past and imagine the world where SUE the T. rex lived.Plate Motion Past and Present | Dinosaur Toolkit
Analyze and interpret data about the structures of Earth’s crust and the fossil record.Giants from the Past | Dinosaur Toolkit
Analyze and interpret data about sauropods and build a nonfiction narrative about how this group of dinosaurs evolved over millions of years.Exhibition Investigation Guide
Investigate a museum exhibition using the claim, evidence, reasoning cycle.Mission to the Mesozoic
Find plants and animals across the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods in this online game.Muscle Model | Biomechanics Toolkit
Explore factors affecting muscle strength using simple models.Specimen Observation Guide
Encourage close examination of a single specimen—a collected example of a particular species or type—using observations and inferences.Artifact Observation Guide
Encourage close examination of a single artifact—an object produced by humans—using observations and inferences.Mapping and Monarchs Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Learn how to analyze and interpret maps by studying monarch butterfly migration.Animal Survival Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Act as consultants to the City of Chicago and assess their relocation plan for urban coyotes.Pump it Up | Biomechanics Toolkit
Learn how the giraffe’s super-pump of a heart delivers blood seven feet up to the brain.Being Big on Land
Learn why being big isn’t always an advantage and find out how mythic creatures like Godzilla and King Kong could never have carried their own weight.The Brain Scoop: The Taxonomy of Candy
Scientists use a system called taxonomy to group and categorize living things. What happens when you try to apply taxonomy to candy?Today's Dinosaurs | Dinosaur Toolkit
Explore evidence in the physical features of living animals and dinosaur fossils to learn what living animal is most closely related to dinosaurs.Structure Function Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Design a shoe appropriate for the icy, wet, and cold conditions of Antarctica using different types of bird feet as inspiration.Pollination Unit | Early Elementary Science Partnership
Interact with various models to explore the structures of plants and animals related to the process of pollination.Plants of the World Exhibition Guide
Observe intricate plant models to determine the functions of their unique structures.From the Field to the Field Museum
Prepare for a field trip or object study by learning how the Field Museum collects and studies specimens and artifacts from around the world.The Brain Scoop: Tully Monster Mystery Solved!
Learn how researchers discovered the Tully Monster, long believed to be an invertebrate (similar to worms), is actually a vertebrate and more closely related to fish.The Field Revealed: Tully Monster
Discover the Tully Monster, the state fossil of Illinois.Mammal Phylogeny
Discover how scientists classify the diverse mammals found on Earth.Island Evolution
Discover why islands contain so many unique species.Forces Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit
Use animal structure and function to design a way that humans can reduce the force felt and/or energy absorbed by an object.Senses Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit
Use animal senses as inspiration to design a way for humans to use their senses differently or use a new sense.Locomotion Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit
Use animal movement as inspiration to design a new vehicle for traveling via land, water, and air.Thermoregulation Design Challenge | Biomechanics Toolkit
Use animal thermoregulation as inspiration to design an eco-friendly dwelling that stays warm in the winter and/or cool in the summer.Giraffe Heart Dissection | Biomechanics Toolkit
Go behind the scenes in our mammals wet lab to watch the dissection of a giraffe heart.Advantages of Levers | Biomechanics Toolkit
Test basic lever types and explore the trade-off between a force advantage and speed advantage in the animal world.Bergmann's Rule | Biomechanics Toolkit
Uncover how an animal’s size affects its ability to regulate temperature.Dome Strength | Biomechanics Toolkit
Discover how much force a seemingly brittle object like an egg can withstand when it’s dome-shaped.Survival of the Birds | Exploring the Field Guide
Infer whether a bird can survive in a specific environment by observing physical features such as beak, feathers, legs, and feet.Conservation in Action | Exploring the Field Guide
Examine different ways that scientists and community members conserve the environment, then analyze the results.Relationships in Ecosystems | Exploring the Field Guide
Investigate an ecosystem by observing the individual organisms as part of a larger structure—a food web.Hominid Adaptations | Exploring the Field Guide
Investigate fossil remains of hominids to learn how humans and our relatives evolved over time.Protecting Earth's Ecosystem | Exploring the Field Guide
Analyze methods used to address environmental issues and design strategies to protect local ecosystems.Everything Has a Purpose | Exploring the Field Guide
Examine why plants and birds have certain features to uncover the relationship between structure and function.Diversity of Life | Exploring the Field Guide
Observe animal dioramas to compare and contrast organisms and explore the diversity of life.What Do Animals Eat? | Exploring the Field Guide
Investigate the relationship between an animal and its environment by identifying possible food sources in each habitat.BIOlympics Game | Biomechanics Toolkit
Jump into BIOlympics events to see how animals achieve amazing feats. Use that knowledge to choose competitors for different events.WhyReef
Dive into a virtual coral reef to discover marine life and connections between these sea creatures and what they eat.Rise of Dinosaurs | Dinosaur Toolkit
Analyze data from a mock fossil dig to determine the differences and similarities between multiple fossil dig sites.Dinosaur Family Tree | Dinosaur Toolkit
Examine dinosaur physical traits to identify similarities and differences in their features and construct a system of classification.Monarchs Legend Story and Coloring Book
Read The Legend of the Parákata or color your own version of the story!
Acknowledgments
The Griffin Dinosaur Toolkit is part of the Griffin Dinosaur Experience, made possible by generous support from the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund.
School learning experiences are supported by ITW.
