Curriculum and Guides

Featured Lesson Plans

These resources are based on exhibitions at the Museum, but contain relevant activities, lessons, and background information that is easily accessible for parents offering lessons from home or teachers engaged in remote learning.

Expedition Baja
NGSS Aligned Lesson Plans for Middle School
English / Spanish (PDF)

Living Lab
NGSS Aligned Lesson Plans for Middle School
Curriculum Guide English (PDF)

Coast to Cactus in Southern California
NGSS Aligned Lesson Plans for Grades K-8
Lesson Plan Guides

Fossil Mysteries
English / Spanish (PDF)

Evolution, earth’s processes, extinction, and ecology are the themes of these activities. Check out the Fossil Mysteries section of our website for many other resources, including a Fossil Guide A-Z, online activities, a geologic timeline, and much more.

Hidden Gems
NGSS Aligned Curriculum for Grade 4

English / Spanish (PDF)

Learn about the properties of minerals, how a mineral is defined, and the differences between minerals and rocks.

Science Spotlight: Baleen Whale Evolution
NGSS Aligned Curriculum for Grade 4
Baleen Whale Evolution Curriculum English / Spanish (PDF)
Baleen Whale Evolution Worksheet English / Spanish (PDF)
Modern Animals and their Extinct Ancestors Worksheet English / Spanish (PDF)

Explore how whales and other animals have evolved over time. Use the Fossil Mysteries Field Guide to help you.

FUNGI: The Web of Life
Activities, fun facts, and more for K-8.
Educator Guide (PDF)

Wings Over Water
Activities, fun facts, and more for K-8.
Educator Guide (PDF)

Micro Monsters
Activities, fun facts, and more for K-8.
Educator Guide (PDF)

Ocean Oasis
English / Spanish (PDF)

Produced by The Nat, Ocean Oasis is a stunning film about Baja California and the Gulf of California. The activities in the teacher’s guide are designed for grades 4-8 and explore the film’s themes, including geology, geography and plate tectonics, currents and climate, adaptations of life forms, and the human presence in the region.

PROBEA Curriculum

PROBEA (Proyecto Bio-regional de Educacion Ambiental) is an environmental education training program for teachers in the Baja California peninsula. While the program is no longer active, we invite you to use these resources exploring the ecosystems and habitats of our binational region of southern California and the Baja California peninsula.

Curriculum in English

Grades 7-9
Archived

Guides from past exhibitions/films

Sea Lions
Grades 3-5 (PDF)
Grades 6-8 (PDF)

Conquest of the Skies 3D (Film)
English (PDF)

Water: A California Story
English / Spanish (PDF)

Whales: Giants of the Deep
Educator Guide (English) (PDF)

Animals: Machines in Motion
Educator Guide (English) (PDF)

Walking With Dinosaurs 3D Movie
Educator Guide (English) (PDF)

Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed
Educator Guide (English)

Educator Guide (Spanish)
Chaperone Guide (English)

The Discovery of King Tut

Discussion Topics for Your Students

Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship
Educator Guide. Explore the exhibition and test your Whydah Wisdom.

Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age
Educator Guide (English) / Educator Guide (Spanish)

Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age
Student Exhibition Worksheets (English) / Student Exhibition Worksheets (Spanish)

Dino Jaws
Exhibition Overview (English) / Exhibition Overview (Spanish)
Information Sheets (English) / Information Sheets (Spanish)
Student Exhibition Worksheets (English) / Student Exhibition Worksheets (Spanish)
Beyond the Exhibitions Dino Jaws Worksheets (English) / Beyond the Exhibitions Dino Jaws Worksheets (Spanish)

Dr. Entomo's Palace of Exotic Wonders
English / Spanish

Chocolate: The Exhibition (resources from the Field Museum website)

The Horse
Exhibition Educator Guide

All That Glitters: The Splendor and Science of Gems and Minerals
English / Spanish

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
School Educator Resources

Ends of the Earth: From Polar Bears to Penguins

English / Spanish
Worksheets :
Adapt a Polar Bear — English / Spanish
Climate Change — English / Spanish
Phenomenal Penguins — English / Spanish
Polar Geography — English / Spanish

Lizards & Snakes: Alive!
English / Spanish

Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries
English / Spanish

DARWIN Evolution | Revolution
English / Spanish

BODY WORLDS & The Brain–Our Three Pound Gem

Water: H2O=Life
English / Spanish

A Day in Pompeii

Playing with Time

Dinosaurs Reel and Robotic
English / Spanish

Genome
English / Spanish

Vikings: Journey to a New World

Backyard Monsters
English / Spanish

Earth, Wind and WILDFIRE

Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Flight
English / Spanish

Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A.R. Valentien
English / Spanish

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition

Glow: Living Lights

DOGS: Wolf, Myth, Hero & Friend

FORE! The Planet
FORE! The Planet Museum Activity

Animal Eyes (web page)

T. REX on Trial (web page)

Monarca: Butterfly Beyond Boundaries (web page)

Epidemic! The Natural History of Disease (web page)

BEARS: Imagination and Reality (web page)

The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park: The Lost World (web page)

REPTILES! Real and Robotic (web page)