This is no ordinary history lesson.
The Collier County Museums offer an exciting, curriculum-based learning experience that will introduce your students to the rich cultural and natural history of Southwest Florida. Interactive exhibits, child-themed guided tours and hands-on artifact displays bring the basics of local history down to size and will keep your students coming back to explore more on their own for years to come.The education programs offered by the museum are outlined in this section to help you and your students choose a topic and better prepare for your visit. Activities and special programs can also be customized to fit your specific curriculum needs.
Once you've made your selection and booked your visit, pre-visit materials will be sent to you with a confirmation sheet and a schedule so that your class will know what activities have been planned for the day of their visit.
To schedule your class or learn more about the museum's education programs, please call the museum's Curator of Education at (239) 252-8242.
SCHOOL PROGRAMS CURRENTLY OFFERED
* Exploring the History of Collier County* First Floridians: The Calusa and Pre-Columbian Florida
* People of the Distant Fires: The Seminole and the Seminole Wars
* Seeds of Change
* Talking Rocks: Fossils and How They're Formed
* Southern Patriots: Florida's Role in the American Revolution
* Gray and Blue: The Civil War in Florida
* The Gulf Coast Blockade
* Remembering World War II: The European Front
* Famous Florida Shipwrecks
* Hurricane History in Southwest Florida
* Meet the Natives: Florida Plant Communities
* Bug Bonanza: Introduction to Florida Insects
* Stars in Your Eyes: Introduction to the Solar System
* Student's Choice
SCHEDULING TIPS
- All programs are offered free of charge.- Museum visits are more meaningful and enjoyable for the well-prepared class.
- For best interaction between the museum educator and your students, the size of your group should be limited to one class (30-35 students). Special arrangements for larger groups should be discussed with us in advance.
- Reservations must be scheduled in writing through the Curator of Education, davidsouthall@colliergov.net
- We recommend that you have two possible dates in mind, should your first choice not be available. Please remember that the months of March, April and May fill up early in the year, so schedule early if you are planning a spring field trip.
- If you need to cancel or think you may arrive late, please contact the museum as soon as possible.
- Programs are offered to school groups Monday through Friday and usually begin at 9:30 a.m.
- The museums are handicapped accessible.
- Picnic facilities are available on the museum grounds, but there are no vending machines available for drinks or snacks.
- Please remember that mosquitoes like to eat outdoors, too. So plan accordingly when touring the museum grounds or having lunch outside.
YOUR ARRIVAL
- Please have your bus driver unload and load your students in the circular driveway in front of the main museum building. The bus can remain parked there during your visit.-Students will enter the museum through the main entrance. The Curator of Education will meet you there.
-If you plan on using the picnic facilities, students should bring their lunches into the museum lecture hall and place them on the tables provided. Garbage bags will be provided.
Suggested Do's And Don'ts
Do's
+Please have your students wear nametags on the day of your visit.
+Prepare your class for their visit by discussing museum etiquette and the purpose of their visit. You will receive a pre-visit packet of information with suggested post-visit student activities.
+Please remind your class that the Curator of Education is their teacher during their visit.
+Encourage your students to ask questions and participate.
Don'ts
-Please do not eat, drink or chew gum in the exhibit galleries.-Please do not run.
-Please stay on the pathways and sidewalks while touring the museum grounds.
-Don't touch unfamiliar plants or animals.
-Bring your cameras, but please remember that flash photography is not permitted in the exhibit galleries.
Programs To Go
Most programs can be adapted for use in a classroom setting where slides and artifacts from the museum's extensive historic and natural history collections are used to involve your students in a hands-on, learning experience. Teachers will need to provide a table for a projector and to display historical artifacts.
Outreach programs are offered on a limited basis and do not replace the more comprehensive programs available through a museum visit.
To discuss or schedule a museum-to-go program, contact the Curator of Education at (239) 252-8242.
The Children's Museum Express
Successfully launched by the Friends of the Museum in 1998, the Children's Museum Express is designed to enhance the museum's educational programs by making class field trips an affordable and enriching experience for every school child.
What is the Museum Express? This special program helps underwrite the cost of school bus transportation to the Collier County Museums for public and private schools in Collier County that have little or no money available for an educational field trip to the museum.
Who pays for the Museum Express? Funding is made possible by the Friends of the Museum through public and private donations, corporate gifts, and annual fundraising events like the Old Florida Festival.
How successful is the Museum Express program? Thousands of local schoolchildren, primarily 2nd and 4th graders, have climbed aboard the Museum Express since it was launched in 1998. The program is growing each year and now reaches other grade levels as well as exceptional students and students who are learning English.
What does it cost? A gift of $200 can bring 60 students and their teachers to the museum for a half-day visit and one of eleven educational programs.
How can I apply for a Museum Express grant for my class? The program is administered by the Friends of the Collier County Museum through the museum's Curator of Education. Call (239)252-8242 to request more information and a Museum Express grant application.
