DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM

Videoconferences

Registration Information For more information and additional scheduling information, contact Pat McShea at (412) 622-3292 or IDEA@CarnegieMNH.Org.

Your students can experience Distance Learning firsthand by participating in a live, interactive videoconference with Museum staff. Videoconference formats are straightforward: Your students will be able to see, hear, and speak with a Museum educator in real time via a television monitor, and that presenter will likewise be able to see, hear, and speak with your students. Museum staff will work with your building's technology coordinator to test audio and video links before the videoconference.

Exciting educational moments occur when close-up cameras are used to visually explore structures as familiar as a robin's nest or as unusual as a tiger beetle's compound eye. Videoconference programs are aligned with Pennsylvania's Academic Standards, and relevant pre-videoconference lesson materials are provided two weeks in advance of scheduled sessions.

The Museum offers two videoconference options:

•   Single Session programs on a wide variety of topics
  
•   Meet the Scientist programs
  

Technical Requirements
Current programming is available for schools with ISDN and IP-based videoconferencing systems.

West Virginia Teachers
Funding from the Benedum Foundation supports free Distance Learning programming about paleontology and geology for classrooms throughout West Virginia and in Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties in Pennsylvania. For additional information about this opportunity contact Sue McJunkin at (412) 622-3235 or McJunkinS@CarnegieMNH.org.

Call (412) 622-3292 or email IDEA@CarnegieMNH.org for reservations and updated program schedule:

Single Session Videoconferences

Most topics can be modified to address your class's specific questions, ongoing projects, and related study units. Additional information is available on our Web site. Programs are 45 minutes and $125 with discounts available for multiple bookings.

Recording of programs is prohibited. Programs must be reserved two weeks in advance. Pre-videoconference lesson materials will be available electronically.

Bats!
The seasonal popularity of these misunderstood Halloween icons creates an opportunity for students to explore aspects of bat diversity, anatomy, physiology, and behavior.
Grades 2–8, October and November 2006

Owls!
If you're planning to use owl pellet dissection as part of a science lesson, this session about owl adaptations and ecological roles will provide background for that activity.
Grades 2–8

Groundhog Day: The Mystery Behind the Marmot
Although the species known scientifically as Marmot monax cannot predict the arrival of spring, this mammal's amazing survival-oriented adaptations make it a great subject for a winter lesson.
Grades 4–8, January 2007

Birds As Builders
By comparing the structures birds create to protect their eggs and nestlings, students make connections to the broader topics of populations, ecosystems, instinct, and evolution.
Grades 4–10, March, April and May 2007

Insects and Us
Training students to count legs and body segments remains a standard exercise for insect lessons, but a deeper understanding of the topic occurs when discussions focus on the roles insects play in ecosystems.
Grades 1–6

Dino-Mite Dinosaurs
Storytelling, song, role-playing, and the close examination of fossils are used in this session in an imaginative journey into the world of dinosaurs.
Grades pre-K–1

Dinosaur Diversity: What Teeth and Claws Can Tell
Take a closer look at what paleontologists use to identify a dinosaur fossil, including how they classify the type and species from a partial fossil.
Grades 2–8

Dinosaur Extinction
Theories abound for the extinction of dinosaurs. In this program, learn what a theory is and apply it to other mass extinctions.
Grades 4–8, 9–12

Ancient Egypt: Archaeologists' Discoveries About Daily Life 3,500 Years Ago
Take a close look at details of day-to-day life in the village of Deir-el-Medina, home to workers who built tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
Grades 5–8

Ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphs and How Egyptians Pictured Their World
Investigate discoveries made about Ancient Egyptian culture from writing and geography. Explore the techniques ancient Egyptian artists and scribes used, and discuss our current understanding of the hieroglyphic code through the Rosetta Stone.
Grades 4–6

Inuit: Survival in the Canadian Arctic
Explore how the Inuit lived 100 years ago and how they live today in Nunavut, Canada.
Grades 3–8

The People of the Longhouse
This session, which focuses on the Seneca, explores what life was like for the Haudenosaunee, the Iroquois People, before contact with European settlers.
Grades 3–8

Rocks and Minerals
An understanding of rock and mineral properties creates an essential foundation for Earth Science learning. This session covers the basics of rock and mineral identification.
Grades 3–5

Meet the Scientists Series

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is famous for the research its scientists conduct around the globe. From the Arctic to the tropics, from Argentina to Uzbekistan, CMNH scientists are making important discoveries worldwide.

Interact with Museum scientists during a videoconference and discover how they incorporate the scientific method into their research. Conference topics focus on the research interests and specialties of our scientific staff. Programs are appropriate for middle school and/or high school classes. Some sessions are designed specifically for Advanced Placement classes.

Each Meet the Scientist session is $125 per class (maximum 35 students).
Programs begin between 10 and 11 a.m.

Recording of programs is prohibited. Programs must be reserved three weeks in advance.

Life in the Leaf Litter
October 4, 2006
1 p.m.
Timothy Pearce, Ph.D., Assistant Curator, Section of Mollusks
Enjoy the view from a front row seat while Dr. Pearce, whose research focuses on terrestrial land snails, sorts a fresh sample of a Pennsylvania forest floor and identifies life forms that many people never notice.
Grades 3–6

Dinosaurs in the Desert: Searching for Spinosaurus in Egypt
December 18, 2006
1 p.m.
Matt Lamanna, Ph.D., Assistant Curator, Section of Vertebrate Paleontology
Fieldwork is among the most challenging aspects of paleontology, and fossil collecting expeditions to other countries present particular complications. In this session Dr. Lamanna will discuss his work in Egypt.
Grades 8–12

Evolution: Evidence in Bird Skeletons
November 16, 2006
1 p.m.
Bradley C. Livezey, Ph.D., Curator, Section of Birds
Beak changes among Darwin's Finches are the classic example of evolution in birds, but trained observers can cite plenty of evidence in other skeletal features. In this session Dr. Livezey will share some of his observations about the skeletal features of birds.
Advanced Placement Biology Classes

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