Looking for things to do with your kids? Want to get them back into learning mode after a long summer? Grab all the neighbourhood kids and book a school program here at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. For the month of September, 2014 we have lowered our minimum group size from fifteen to eight, making it even easier and more cost-effective to bring a small group to the museum.
Learn about biodiversity, biology, zoology, botany, ecology, and evolution. Build observation, communication, scientific identification, and classification skills.
There are lots of programs and tours to choose from – select one based on your kids’ grade level within elementary and secondary school. Got a variety of age groups? Pick one of our camps & community youth group programs. Prefer to explore the museum on your own? Come in for a self-led visit and use our educator resources to find fun activities to do before, during, and after your visit.
Some of our most popular options:
Beasts Big and Small
Grades K-2 | 1.5 hours
Students explore the concept of biodiversity by comparing and contrasting museum specimens. Using their senses to make observations, they will begin to classify familiar animals according to similarities and differences in appearance, behaviour, and life histories. Students will examine a variety of specimens, including insects and birds, and participate in hands-on and kinaesthetic activities.
Discovering Plants
Grades 2-4 | 1.5 hours
Plants are all around us and play an essential role in the lives of many living things – including ours! Students will investigate plant parts, life cycles, and discover the relationships between plants and other living things. Focusing on flowering plants, your class will explore the herbarium, get hands on with real museum specimens, share their learning with each other, and get moving with an interactive game.
One Life to Live
Grades 3-7 | 1.5 hours
Students will explore biodiversity and the interconnectedness of life by comparing structures and behaviours of local animals and plants in different habitats and communities. Students will participate in hands on activities and use museum specimens to learn about adaptations and taxonomy.
What is Biodiversity Tour
Grades 8-12 | 1 hour
Biodiversity can be defined as the variety of life, but it is much more complex than that sounds. On this tour, explore the museum as you get hands on with specimens and hear a variety of stories that highlight what biodiversity is and what makes it so fascinating. Stories focus on the drama of biodiversity, how species change over time, the human link to biodiversity, and biodiversity of the past and future.
UBC Biodiversity Research Tour
Grades 8-12 | 1 hour
We have learned so much about our world in recent times, yet so much remains to be discovered. On this tour, expand your knowledge of biodiversity and discover how UBC researchers are helping to solve some modern-day mysteries of the natural world. Stories highlight microscopic diversity, how species evolve, how organisms interact in ecosystems, and how our actions can affect future biodiversity.
Evolution Tour
Grades 8-12 | 1 hour
Evolution explains how the vast biodiversity around us originated and is arguably the most important theory at the heart of modern-day biology. On this thought-provoking tour, hear stories that reveal how our understanding of biodiversity has changed over time and what these changes tell us about our own heritage. Stories focus on biodiversity of the past, how species change and survive over time, evolution in the modern world, and what we know about relationships among living things – including how humans fit in.
Want a behind-the-scenes look at the museum? Request one of our new programs Museum Tour with a Curator or Collections Experience.
Drop in to the museum for our daily activities including story time, puppet shows, our Discovery Lab, hands-on activities, and more. Encourage reading, writing, and drawing skills by visiting our exhibition Backyard Biodiversity opening September 27th which features books and illustrations by the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC.