Early Childhood Programs-on-Wheels (Pre-K to K)

45 minutes, maximum 25 students
Minimum age requirement of 3 years

Single program
August 16 to January: $165
February to August 15: $180

Multiple programs*
2 sessions: $300
3 sessions: $420
4 sessions: $520
5 sessions: $600
6 sessions: $690

*Same program, same day

3…2…1… Blast off!*

Build the solar system in your classroom, then blast off with radio-controlled space shuttles to explore what’s beyond our planet. View photos and learn about gravity, asteroids, orbits and more. Also available in Exploration Station format.

A Cultural Experience

Use music, toys, colorful clothing and role playing to explore cultures from Peru, Japan and Mali.

Coral: A Colorful Community

Learn what coral is, where it lives, what it eats and how it protects itself. Explore real coral skeletons, role-play a coral polyp and view pictures of some of the creatures that live in a coral reef. Make a coral reef habitat come to life with beautiful puppets. Also available in Exploration Station format.

Dino Dig*

Growl, claw and walk like a dinosaur! Dig up fossils and identify which dinosaurs they came from. Learn about different kinds of dinosaurs, including what they looked like, what they ate and how they protected themselves. Also available in Exploration Station format.

Egg-cellent Eggs

Explore bird eggs and learn about their shapes, sizes, colors and nests through hands-on activities. Learn about the other animals that lay eggs and crack open an egg to find out what’s inside.

From the Backyard to the Barnyard

Use puppets to investigate animals that might live in backyard or barnyard habitats. Meet one of our resident animals, investigate what this animal eats and discover how it finds food by echolocation.

How Does Your Garden Grow?*

Gain an introduction to the diverse world of plants! Learn what they need to grow, what parts they have, and the stages of the plant life cycle. Investigate the differences between fruits and vegetables. Then spend some time digging in the dirt and plant your own seed to take home.

Our Five Senses

It takes a nose to know – or maybe hands, ears, eyes or a tongue! Explore the magic of your senses through fun, hands-on activities, and interact with a live animal.

Rainforest Adventure

Take an imaginary journey to the tropical rainforest to learn about the many animals and plants that live there. “Shop” for important products that come from this unique habitat and meet three live animals that call the rainforest home.

Snug as a Bug

Build a bug, see through the eyes of a fly and learn the life cycle of a caterpillar. Explore how insects protect themselves by playing a game of hide-and-seek with a very hungry frog. Meet and touch live insects and marvel at incredible mounted bugs from around the world. Also available in Exploration Station format.

Stuffee, the Amazing Anatomy Doll

Meet Stuffee, a seven-foot-tall, blue-haired, smiling anatomy doll that unzips to show what’s inside all of us. Feed Stuffee lunch and use stethoscopes to listen to your own beating heart.

Tall Tails

Hop, prop, and crawl your way to learning about animal adaptations. Try on larger-than-life costumed tails, morph into different animals then hear a tall tale about two unique local animals.

Wild About Animals*

From Africa to Antarctica, become part of the wild animal kingdom. Take an imaginary safari across Africa and look through binoculars to see zebras, lions and more. Waddle like a penguin in the coldest place on Earth, then hop on over to a continent with some unusual Down Under residents. Also available in Exploration Station format.

Wonders of Weather

Investigate seasonal weather patterns, complete the water cycle, make some snow and race clouds. Have a hair-raising experience with lightning and take home jewelry with sun-sensing abilities.

Science Programs-on-Wheels

60 minutes, maximum 30 students per class

Single program
August 16 to January: $180
February to August 15: $205

Multiple programs*
2 sessions: $340
3 sessions: $480
4 sessions: $600
5 sessions: $700
6 sessions: $810

*Same program, same day, same location
**Program requires a large open space.

ABC: Arches, Bridges, and Construction** (Grades 5-8)

Work in teams to build arches, a suspension bridge and a truss bridge you can actually crawl across. Learn what makes bridges work - anchors, beams and compression. Explore the concepts of live load, dead load and environmental stress.

Animal Identification: The Science of Skulls (Grades 4-8)

Who’s there? Use clues such as skull size and shape, type and number of teeth and eye placement to identify a variety of mammals from our region using their skulls and a dichotomous key. Gain a great introduction to the science of classification. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Awesome Animal Adaptations (Grades 1-8)

Explore animal habitats and adaptations. Meet and touch live animals that may include a bat, snake, box turtle, salamander, frog, and/or hissing cockroaches. Learn about and handle unique items from our collections such as baleen, caribou fur, and armadillo armor. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Bats (Grades 1-8)

Walk like a bat! Fly like a bat! Meet a live native bat! Explore echolocation to understand how it works and hear what it sounds like. Learn about these truly amazing yet misunderstood animals through a slide presentation, game, specimens and more. Program available in Exploration Station format.

The Best of Biology (Grades 7-12)

Apply the concepts of adaptation, taxonomy, and genetics to the natural world. Gain hands-on practice interpreting and creating phylogenetic trees or cladograms. Then, investigate phenotypes and genotypes of an assortment of bird specimens from museum collections.

Chemistry in Your Hands (Grades 4-7)

Heat it up and cool it down! See and feel the evidence of physical versus chemical change. Watch your experiments change color as you create acids and bases. Learn chemistry basics and practice lab safety. Beware — the results you take home may be slimy!

Coral: A Colorful Community (Grades 1-3)

Biodiversity is the name of the game when it comes to the coral reef, “rainforest of the sea!” Learn all about the organisms that build the reef. Touch real coral skeletons and learn how coral polyps feed and protect themselves. Explore the interconnectedness of the many organisms who make up the coral reef community through puppet play time and a symbiosis puzzle. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Digging for Dinosaurs** (Grades 1-4)

Uncover fossils on a mock paleontological dinosaur dig. Discuss Cincinnati’s world-famous Ordovician fossils, learn how fossils are formed and unearth how to differentiate them from rock. Touchable fossils from dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Triceratops, Iguanodon and more – a junior paleontologist’s dream! Program available in Exploration Station format.

Engineer It! (Grades 1-4)

Explore engineering using step-by-step instructions and colorful construction kits. Solve problems by building working belt-driven machines. Utilizing the engineering design process, improve your inventions by conquering friction and making tension work for you.

Evolution of Diversity: A History of Earth's Changes** (Grades 3-8)

Investigate how land masses moved and shifted through time. Explore a timeline of major species evolution and extinction events. Learn about local ancient creatures, the habitat in which they lived and their adaptations. Examine an Ordovician period diorama and fossil specimens from museum collections. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Experimenting with Physical Science (Grades 3-7)

What shapes do bubbles take? Does sound vibrate? Explore bubbles, sound, electricity, magnets, motion, light, color, mirrors and optical illusions in this inquiry-based program. Create hypotheses, perform experiments, draw conclusions and share your discoveries. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Fantastic Flora (Grades 1-3)

Animals aren't the only ones with amazing adaptations: plants are masters of survival as well! Tour the plant life cycle with posters and hands-on activities, focusing on the unique way plants disperse their seeds, attract pollinators and manufacture food. Learn about parts of a plant, photosynthesis, germination, pollination and more. Each student will leave with a planted seed of their own.

Forces of Nature (Grades 1-4)

Investigate weather patterns and natural phenomena through activities that shake, shock, and erupt! Review the steps of the water cycle, learn about tectonic plates, and model the power of earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and lightning. Use teamwork to attempt to build a house that is unshakeable! Program available in Exploration Station format.

Forensics: The Science of Crime (Grades 5-8)

Analyze human skull replicas to determine the sex and ancestry of a fictional victim. Combine clues from the skull with crime scene evidence to determine the identity of a missing person and speculate as to the cause of death. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Geology Rocks** (Grades 3-7)

Transform into a geologist for the day! Learn all about rocks and minerals while viewing and handling impressive specimens from our collections. Examine and classify specimens to learn their true identity, then test your knowledge of everyday uses of minerals. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Incredible Insects (Grades 1-5)

Get up close and personal with the creatures that make up Earth’s largest group of animals. Learn the characteristics of insects, see the world through the eyes of a fly and learn amazing facts about insect defense, including camouflage and mimicry. Meet live insects and view mounted insect specimens from around the globe. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Rainforest Adventure (Grades 1-2)

Take an imaginary journey to the tropical rainforest! Discover where in the world to find this habitat and how much it really rains there. From the forest floor to the emergent giants, puzzle out the layers that compose this jungle environment and identify the animals who live in each. Learn about the many rainforest products we consume and why it is important to protect this habitat. Meet and interact with three live animals that call the rainforest home!

The Reasons for the Seasons (Grades 1-5)

Using globes, rotate and revolve your way to learning about the seasons and understanding why summer is warmer and winter is colder. Create the sounds of spring and explore seasonal camouflage with mounted animal specimens from our collections. Win a wintry prize if you can identify animal visitors from their scat and tracks left behind. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Superheroes of STEMville (Grades 5-12)

Calling all science heroes! The citizens of STEMville need your engineering and math skills to solve a series of challenges and save the community. Use the engineering design process to define the problems; then imagine, create and test solutions. Improve as needed until you save the city! Program available in Exploration Station format.

Tour the Solar System (Grades 3-6)

Soar through the solar system with recent slide images from Mercury, Neptune and beyond. Touch real meteorites and rocks like the ones found on our Moon and learn about why the gas giants are so colorful. Figure out your galactic address, visualize the distance between planets and observe the crushing effects of air pressure. Program available in Exploration Station format.

What’s the (State of) Matter (Grades 1-3)

Learn about solids, liquids, gases and plasma through fun, bubbly, sticky and electrifying experiments. Mix different states of matter and be amazed by what happens. Energy in, energy out! Chemical reactions galore! As an added bonus, take home an entertaining substance that doesn’t quite follow the state of matter rules.

Your Heart, Your Blood, Your Health (Grades 2-6)

Learn where the heart is located, the way it works, how it sounds, which system it’s part of and what it pumps. Get a closer look at capillaries, run a little race, test your food group knowledge and identify some giant microbes.

Social Studies Programs-on-Wheels

60 minutes, maximum 30 students per class

Single program
August 16 to January: $180
February to August 15: $205

Multiple programs*
2 sessions: $340
3 sessions: $480
4 sessions: $600
5 sessions: $700
6 sessions: $810

*Same program, same day, same location

American Revolutions (Grades 4-8)

Take a journey through four eras of American history: Colonial America, the American Revolution, the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. Through replica artifacts, historical documents, and hands-on challenges, explore the impact of individuals and groups on the establishment of our democracy and our nation’s evolving fight for freedom and equality for all.

Archaeology of Ohio Valley Native Peoples* (Grades 3-8)

Gain an introduction to the major indigenous groups that have called the Ohio River Valley home. Discover the tools, natural resources and skills that allowed them to survive. Using a timeline, view these local cultures within the context of civilizations around the world. Learn about two techniques that archaeologists use to gather information and make inferences about people of the past. Use artifacts to experience quadrant mapping and create an example of stratigraphy for your group to keep.

Business Beginnings (Grades 3-6)

Investigate soap and candle making, meatpacking, furniture making and brewing in 19th-century Cincinnati. Work in small groups to review period business records, illustrations and historical artifacts. Learn how productive resources were used in these industries and how they impacted production and consumption. Get to know economic terms such as opportunity cost, scarcity, profit and loss. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program.

Coming to America (Grades 3-8)

The 1800s brought people from all around the world to the United States. Contemplate the push-and-pull factors that influenced immigrants to leave their homes and consider what items they might have brought with them on the journey to America. Learn what immigrating through Ellis Island was like and explore the lives and accomplishments of immigrants who settled in our area.

From Crown to Colonies to Country (Grades 1-4)

Pack your trunk and sail into the past for a colonial adventure! Map the colonists’ journey from Europe to America and investigate replica artifacts to imagine what life was like in the colonies. Explore challenges faced by the colonists and the reasons they wanted to establish self-government.

Impact of Inventions (Grades 1-6)

What is innovation? Who can be an inventor? How do you get credit for an invention? Many inventors, including Thomas Edison, Lewis Howard Latimer, Garrett Morgan, Eil Whitney, Henry Boyd and Patricia Bath, created items that changed our daily lives. Use a timeline, documents, artifacts and hands-on exploration to investigate the impact of their inventions and others on the past, present and future of our world.

On the Trail with Lewis & Clark (Grades 3-8)

Take an imaginary trip with Lewis & Clark to explore President Jefferson’s recent acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase. Why were they going? What did they pack? Answer these questions and more as we head out on our adventure. Use maps, historical artifacts, primary source material and a choose-your-own-adventure game to study the wildlife, unknown lands and people that the Corps of Discovery encountered on their journey. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Lotions, Potions and Strange Notions (Grades 3-6)

Learn about cholera, the disease at the root of multiple Cincinnati epidemics in the 1800s. Use primary documents to review cholera’s symptoms and the impact it had in our city. Explore the strange notions that people once had about the causes and treatments of illnesses and review the root causes of cholera outbreaks in our city. Identify colorful “giant microbes” responsible for other pandemics. Then, use mortars and pestles to mix and roll herbal pills like those dispensed by 19th-century apothecaries.

One World, Many Cultures (Grades 1-4)

Take a trip around the world, using maps and travel buddies to navigate your way. Explore cultures from Africa, Asia, Australia and South and North America through clothing, crafts, games, celebrations, music and photographs. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Transportation Transformations (Grades 1-6)

Learn how canals, streetcars and inclines impacted the growth of Cincinnati from the 1820s through the 1950s. Learn about a period folksong, load goods on a mock canal boat, experience one of Cincinnati’s five inclines and view historical photographs of these forms of transportation.

Uncovering Egypt* (Grade 2-8)

Calling all Egyptologists! Explore archaeology, the science that unlocks the secrets of past civilizations. Excavate and analyze replica artifacts to learn about famous Egyptians and expand your knowledge of Egyptian culture. Immerse yourself in this world of hieroglyphs, pharaohs and gods and goddesses galore!

The Underground Railroad: Its History, People & Glory (Grades 3-8)

Explore the journey from enslavement to freedom by learning about the Middle Passage and the experiences of those who endured it. Recreate elements of the Underground Railroad through photographs, maps, navigational tools, replica shackles and true stories of historical figures. Discover the resourcefulness, courage and determination of freedom-seeking enslaved people and abolitionists.

Walking City (Grades 3-8)

Explore how geographic factors kept Cincinnatians confined to the downtown basin and learn why our city remained a walking city longer than most. Use a giant authentic 1863 urban map, its key, advertisements from the city directory and illustrations to perform a series of tasks that help you understand what life was like then in downtown Cincinnati. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program. Program available in Exploration Station format.

When Two Worlds Met (Grades 3-6)

The North American fur trade connected people from two different worlds. Exchange furs, coins and wampum for replica goods from a late 18th-century trading post. Learn about the Battle of Fallen Timbers by stepping into roles as the signers of the Treaty of Greenville. Experience a period beaver felt hat, wampum and a calumet.

Exploration Stations

Looking for something less structured than our classroom programs for your family night, field day, or fair? Exploration Stations provide hands-on, stop-and-go, informal learning for events where people are on the move. Book one or more stations, available in a variety of science and social studies topics, for your next event. You provide the tables and we’ll provide materials and activities for assorted ages to explore at their own pace.

Please note that a single station can accommodate 25 participants at a given time; please book multiple stations or host additional activities to accommodate larger audiences.

Pricing
$190/hour; 2-hour minimum

321 Blastoff (Grades PreK-1)

Drive remote control space shuttles around inflatable planets and other solar system objects. Create a colorful space shuttle rubbing to take home, “measure” the distance between planets and view images from space.

Awesome Animal Adaptations (Grades K-8)

Meet 4 live animal ambassadors and examine a variety of zoology specimens such as furs, hooves, spines and armor. Look through binoculars at wildlife images, create a symphony of bird songs and role play with a huge variety of animal puppets.

Bats (Grades K-8)

Meet a live Big Brown Bat, hear it echolocate and observe a feeding. View specimens that include mounted bats and skeletons. In addition, view a slide show that highlights the diversity of bat species and their behaviors and view and handle objects to understand bat sizes and weights.

Coral: A Colorful Community (Grades PreK-4)

Explore touch tables packed with ocean specimens including coral skeletons, shells, sea stars, shark skin and a mounted pufferfish. Explore a giant bin of realistic ocean puppets, ocean-themed View-Masters and other interactives. Color a picture of the coral reef, build a magnetic coral reef community and complete a symbiosis puzzle.

Digging for Dinosaurs (Grades PreK-4)

Dig up fossil replicas and explore a variety of fossils from carnivores and herbivores. Role play with dinosaur models and puppets, marvel at images in View-Masters and explore interactives that help clarify how large dinosaurs were and when individual groups lived. Color a picture of your favorite dinosaur to take home.

Evolution of Diversity (Grades 3-8)

Explore the history of life on Earth by seeking and finding organisms on a six-foot timeline. View display cases of real fossils, an Ordovician diorama and large fossil replicas from many of the periods represented. Flip through images highlighting the movement of tectonic plates over millions of years.

Experimenting with Physical Science (Grades 2-8)

Explore five physical science themed tables with dozens of interactives. Find the answers to challenge questions or ask and answer your own at tables focused on sound, light and color, magnets and electricity, forces and motion and bubbles.

Forces of Nature (Grades 1-5)

Interact with mini tornado tubes, a water cycle model and a lightning ball. Build a magnetic structure and test it out against earthquakes on a shake table with a seismometer. Make a bag of un-meltable instant snow and a UV color-changing bracelet to take home.

Geology Rocks (Grades 3-8)

Explore impressive specimens of rocks and minerals. Classify and identify rocks and minerals, using their properties. Match everyday objects with the minerals that they come from. Complete these challenges to win tattoo, fossil, or mineral prizes.

Impact of Inventions (Grades 1-6)

Explore a variety of historical patents and inventions, including light bulbs, gas masks, toys, phones, a clock, the cotton gin and more. Investigate historical innovations and attempt to determine what they were used for and what their modern counterparts are. Use your creativity and curiosity to fill out a patent application of your own.

Incredible Insects (Grades PreK-6)

Meet two live insects and a closely related arthropod with too many legs to join the club. Marvel over mounted insect specimens from around the world and play with a variety of insect puppets, models and toys. View insects through child-friendly microscopes and View-Masters and see the world in bug-vision through compound eye glasses. Complete some origami or grab an insect sticker to take home.

On the Trail with Lewis & Clark (Grades 1-8)

Follow along on the explorers’ voyage with a choose-your-own-adventure style game. Explore their packing list and replica artifacts. Match tracks and scats with some of the animals they discovered or described on their trip. Make a necklace with an image of the peace medal they distributed and solve Jefferson’s cipher to win a seasonal prize.

One World, Many Cultures (Grades K-4)

Use maps and travel buddies to navigate while exploring interactives from six cultures. Fly kites, try on clothes, play music, create artwork, have a parade and more, as you experience tiny bits of culture from five continents.

The Reasons for the Seasons (Grades 1-5)

Grab a passport and solve challenges to earn a bag of instant snow to take home. Sort animals into those who migrate, hibernate, or tolerate during winter; observe seasonal changes in bird feathers and make the sounds of spring. Rotate and revolve globes to understand why we have seasons. And identify animals by scat and tracks left behind.

Superheroes of STEMville (Grades 4-8)

Save the city by conquering three engineering design challenges. Create a boat that can float with a set amount of weight. Design a free-standing catapult that can launch projectiles a minimum distance. Calculate the correct speed and angle to launch a rocket successfully through a target. Plan, create, test, improve and repeat!

Walking City (Grades 3-8)

Using large primary source maps of downtown Cincinnati from the 1860s, complete a series of challenges. Locate specific city blocks and explore what was located within them. Find a real business from that time period using its directory advertisement and address. Use the map directory to locate competitors. Finally, build a pop-up version of the business district.

Wild About Animals (PreK-K)

Grab a pair of View-Master binoculars and take them on a safari. Visit stations that highlight wildlife from 5 areas of the world. At each stop, swap out the disc for new animal photos and explore the interactives that include puppets, fur or feather specimens, models, jumping and waddling challenges and more!

Virtual Programs-on-Wheels

In-person connections not an option? Bring Cincinnati Museum Center's vibrant programs live to your classroom (or class-ZOOM) via virtual connection. CMC can supply the connection or present on a variety of platforms: please contact Val Horobik at vhorobik@cincymuseum.org for additional details.

Maximum participants: 30 students
Length: 30-45 minutes
Pricing: $125-$140; multi-session discounts available for three or more sessions of the same program on the same day.

3…2…1… Blast off! (Pre-K to K)

Learn about the main “characters” of our solar system with fun masks and beautiful NASA images. Planets, moons, and a star: Oh my! Rotate, orbit, and jump around to check that gravity works. Review what you’ve learned with a to-scale coloring sheet of all the places we toured.

Awesome Animal Adaptations (Grades K-8)

“Zoom” in to get up close and personal with five live animals who call the Cincinnati Museum Center home! Whether scaly or furry, winged or webbed, 6-legged or 4-legged, all are sure to impress with their unique adaptations. Learn about the habitats they can be found in and the amazing features and behaviors that help them survive there.

Bats (Grades K-8)

Walk like a bat! Fly like a bat! Meet a native bat! Scavenge up an item that weighs the same as a bat. Learn about these truly amazing yet misunderstood animals through a slideshow of pictures that highlight the tremendous diversity of the second largest group of mammals!

The Best of Biology (Grades 7-12)

Apply the concepts of adaptation, taxonomy, and genetics to the natural world. Gain hands-on practice interpreting and creating phylogenetic trees or cladograms. Then, investigate phenotypes and genotypes using an assortment of bird specimens from museum collections.

Coming to America (Grades 3-8)

The 19th century brought people from all around the world to the United States. Explore factors that might influence an immigrant to leave their home and learn how these groups impacted local communities. Learn what immigrating through Ellis Island was like and choose a card to uncover your fate.

Digging for Dinosaurs (Grades 1-4)

Uncover fossils on a mock paleontological dinosaur dig and use pre-printed research stations to identify your find. Learn how fossils are formed, how paleontologists unearth them, and when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth. View drawings and impressive fossils from Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops and more to learn what these dinosaurs ate and how they moved and protected themselves.

Dino Dig (Pre-K to K)

Growl, claw, and walk like a dinosaur! Play a match game with fossil cards to identify which dinosaurs they came from. Learn about what dinosaurs looked like, what they ate and how they protected themselves.

Impact of Inventions (Grades 2-6)

Many inventors, such as Thomas Edison, Garrett Morgan, Eli Whitney, George Washington Carver, and Lonnie Johnson, have changed our daily lives. View patents, photos, models, and artifacts to explore the impact of their inventions and others on the past, present and the future.

Incredible Insects (Grades 1-5)

Get up close and personal with the creatures that make up Earth’s largest group of animals. Learn the characteristics of insects, see the world through the eyes of a fly, and view incredible examples of insect defense, including camouflage and mimicry. As a grand finale, meet some African insects with a few tricks up their sleeves.

Lotions, Potions and Strange Notions (Grades 3-6)

Learn the cause of cholera (present day and historical theories) then role-play the symptoms this disease caused. Meet a “giant microbe” of Vibrio cholerae (Cholera) and investigate where the disease is found today. View historical documents to review cholera’s symptoms and the impact it had in our city.

One World, Many Cultures (Grades K-4)

Take a trip around the world! Brainstorm local culture. Then, explore cultures from Africa, Asia and South America through clothing, crafts, games, music and photographs.

Stuffee, the Amazing Anatomy Doll (Pre-K to K)

Meet Stuffee, a seven-foot-tall, blue-haired, smiling anatomy doll that unzips to show others what’s inside all of us. Help us decide what to feed Stuffee for lunch, and then watch as we pull amazing organs out of his belly. Learn about our digestive system, lungs, kidneys and more. By the end of the program, your heart will be racing!

Tour the Solar System (Grades 3-6)

Soar through the solar system with recent slide images from Mercury, Neptune and beyond. View the crushing effects of air pressure. Use your creativity and math skills to create a to-scale miniature solar system.