Outreach
Bring The Children’s Museum at Saratoga to your classroom!
Outreach Education Programs
Schedule a hands-on program in your classroom, library or community group!
Photo by Keira Lemonis Photography
Each of our programs:
- Correlate to common core learning domains and next generation science standards.
- Are appropriate for multiple grade levels.
- Have adaptable time blocks for busy schedules.
- Are a wonderful addition as either an introduction to a unit or to complement or enhance any curriculum/content area.
All programs and activities are scaffolded based upon the class age to incorporate developmentally appropriate activities. If you don’t see a program you’re looking for, you can inquire by emailing education@cmssny.org. To skip down to our Preschool program options, click here. Download a copy of the Outreach Programs Brochure here.
The Museum’s priority is to make educational programs accessible to all students. We ask that you please share any special needs your students may have ahead of time so that we can accommodate their needs and help offer appropriate programs.
Program Fees:
- One Program: $165
- Two + Programs: $150 per presentation
- A maximum group of 25 students per program
- All outreach programs will incur a round trip travel fee
Outreach programs must be booked in advance. For more information, please email education@cmssny.org.
Preschool Options
Animal Tales
Have you ever wondered what the animals of a story book would be like if you could meet them? Join CMAS as we get to know some of the animal stars from your favorite storybooks. Together we will read their stories then learn about their real lives in this exciting animal story-time.
Build it Up
Standards: ETS1-1; ETS1-2; ETS1-3
This program uses a storybook to introduce students to the world of engineering and the Engineering Design Process. Students will begin to problem solve like an engineer as they propose and design a solution to solve a major dilemma and save the day!
Catching Rainbows
Learn about the myth and science behind rainbows! This educational kit helps you teach your child about how rainbows are created and how you can make them even when you’re indoors! The kit also contains all of the materials you’ll need to make a rainbow catcher for the next sunny day!
Frogs and More Frogs (SPRING PROGRAM)
Standards: MST Science Standard 4; LS1.A; LS1.C
Younger children can learn about frogs through manipulatives and hands-on fun. Students will learn about the frog’s life cycle and habitat.
Habitat Hunters
Standards: LS1.A.K-2; LS1.C.K-2; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K-2.2
In the woods and fields and right outside our homes there are furry animals that are our neighbors. Children discover the unique traits of some of our mammal neighbors, and how they coexist in their habitats.
Honeybee Business (SPRING PROGRAM)
Standards: ESS2.E.K-2; LSI.B.K-2; LS1.C.K-2; LS1.D.K-2; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.K-2.1; MST Science Standard 4
Students learn about how the honeybee fits into the insect family, how humans have relied on bees over time, methods for collecting honey and the life cycle of the bee. Children will study pollen transfer and engineering like a bee as they construct models of honeycombs in this program about the life cycle of a honeybee.
Oceans in Motion
Children will learn about the ocean, it’s creatures and how we can protect them. Hands-on materials include preserved examples of sea life and shells.
They Lived Along the Mohawk
This program focuses on the original people of this area. Children have the opportunity to handle objects, revealing how the earliest in habitants of the Mohawk Valley learned the secrets of nature in order to survive.
School Aged Options
Animal Tales
Recommended for grades PreK-K
Standards: Science: LS1-1, LS1-2, ESS2-2
ELA: PKR1, PKR2, PKSL1, PKR7, PKW7, PKSL4, PKSL5, KR1, KR2, KSL1, KSL4, KSL5
Have you ever wondered what the animals of a storybook would be like if you could meet them? Together we will read their stories and learn about their real lives in this exciting animal story time.
At Home in a Pond (SPRING PROGRAM)
Recommended for grades 2-3
Standards: Science: LS4-1, LS4-3, LS2-2, ESS2.C, LS2.C, LS4.C, LS4.D
Ponds are exciting places to see how life cycles may take many forms. Students will learn about the ecology of freshwater ponds by exploring life cycle models, skulls, shells, furs and complete a project illustrating how a pond community is like a neighborhood.
Bigfoot, Mothman, & Champie - Oh My! (FALL PROGRAM)
Recommended for grades 3-5
Explore the mysterious world of cryptozoology and help investigate a new cryptid right in the Capital Region! Junior Cryptozoologists will learn the legends of cryptids like Bigfoot and even creatures local to the area, like the Lake George Monster. Then they’ll have a chance to put their newfound knowledge to the test and follow the clues to discover a new cryptid right in their backyard!
Build it Up
Recommended for grades K-3
Standards: Science: ETS1-1, ETS1-2, ETS1-3
This program introduces students to the world of engineering, as well as, the Engineering Design Process. Students will begin to problem solve like an engineer as they propose and design a solution to solve a major dilemma and save the day!
Catching Rainbows
Recommended for grades K-1
Standards: Science: ESS2.D, PS3-1, ESS2-1, PS3-1
ELA: PKR1, PKR2, PKR3, PKR7, PKR9, PKSL1, PKSL4, KR1-KR3, KSL1, KSL4, KL5, 1R1, 1R2, 1W7, 1SL1, 1SL4
Learn the myth and the science behind rainbows. Students will be introduced to how rainbows are created and craft a way to catch a rainbow of their very own!
Habitat Hunters
Recommended for grades K-2
Standards: Science: LS1-1, ESS2-2, ESS3-1, LS2-2, LS2.A, LS4.D
ELA: KR1, KR2, KR8, KR9, KSL1, KSL4, KSL5, KSL6, 1R1, 1R2, 1R3, 1R7, 1R8, 1SL1, 1SL4, 1SL5, 1SL6
What is a Habitat? Who lives there? This program reflects the condition of the season it is presented in. For example – in winter children will learn about hibernation and in the spring, they will learn how the change in season affects the animals. Children will use natural building materials to make a habitat for an animal.
Innovate and Inspire: The Legacy of Marie Van Brittan Brown
Recommended for grades 4-6
Standards: Science: ETS1-1, ETS1-2, ETS1-3
Learn about the life of the inventor of the home security system, Marie Van Brittan Brown. Find out how and why she came up with this invention and learn about what life was like for a Black female inventor growing up in the mid-20th century. Then get your entrepreneurial hats on as we come up with our own security system with the help of Cubelets, robotic blocks that introduce students to coding and robotics.
In Days Gone By
Recommended for grades K-1
Standards: Science: LS2-2, ESS2-2, ESS3-3
Life was different for children 100 years ago. Clothes were washed by hand, candles provided light and irons were heated on the stove. Learn about chores, school, and play during this interactive program exploring technology of the past.
Indigenous Innovation
Recommended for grades 3-5
Standards: Science: ESS3-1, ETS1-1, ETS1-2, ETS1-3, ESS3.C
SS: 3.3a, 3.3b, 3.4a, 3.5b, 3.7b, 3.9a, 4.2a, 4.2b, 4.2c, 5.3b
The Haudenosaunee made significant contributions to our region’s history and development of technology. Explore this exciting time in our past through artifacts, objects, and engineering challenges. Discover how the Haudenosaunee lived and their ingenious ability to use their available natural resources.
Journey Through the Solar System
Recommended for grades K-2
Standards: Science: ESS1-1, ESS1-2, ETS1-1, ETS1-2
Students blast off for a visual journey through our amazing solar system. Through hands-on activities and experiments students learn about the relationship between Earth, the sun, and the rest of our solar system.
Kids Who Code
Recommended for grades K-3
(No more than 25 students)
Standards: Science: ETS1-1, ETS1-2, ETS1-3
This unique program uses hands-on activities to teach the fundamentals of coding. Students will learn about binary code, computational thinking, algorithms, and processing. Your students will then put their knowledge to the test when they are challenged to build a robot using Cubelets or magnetic blocks that when fastened together form the basis of a simple machine.
Kitchen Science
Recommended for grades K-2
Standards: Science: PS1-1, PS1-4; PS1.A, PS1.B, PS1-2, PS1-3, PS1-4
Explore the three states of matter during this hands-on exploration using common household kitchen ingredients. This program includes a variety of chemistry activities in addition to the creation of a new material.
Magnet Racers
Recommended for grades 2-4
Standards: Science: ETS1-1, ETS1-2, PS2-2, PS2-3, PS2-4, PS3-4, ETS1.A, ETS1.B
Discover the science of magnetism! Students will learn about magnets, conductors, and insulators through a series of tests. Then with their newfound knowledge, they’ll learn how to race toy cars without touching them on a racetrack of their own creation.
Matter, Matter Everywhere
Recommended for grades 2-5
Standards: Science: PS1-1, PS1-4, PS1.A, PS1.B, PS3-2, PS3.D, PS1-1, PS1-3, PS1-4
Through many fun and fascinating science experiments children will delve into an exploration of matter. Investigate the three states of matter, the size of atoms and molecules, and different types of chemical reactions.
Measures for Measuring
Using a hands-on approach, students learn how and why measurement standards have evolved and experiment with a variety of methods to measure length, mass/weight, capacity/volume, area, and perimeter.
Motion Madness
This physics program teaches students about motion through a series of hands-on experiments that test speed, friction, and other variables of force. Using the knowledge from these experiments, students are then challenged to build a roller coaster.
My Community
This program is a hands-on community development program that educates students on the intricacies and inner workings of their own community! We will investigate the principles of community planning, and explore social and environmental factors that contribute to shaping our towns and cities. During this experience students will explore community needs and then put their new found knowledge to work planning and building a model of their ideal community.
Our River, Our Responsibility
Join our educator in this hands-on investigation of the Hudson River and its watershed. Students will be introduced to stream ecology, learn the importance of the Hudson River, and more in this exciting exploration of the river that flows both ways.
Silent Spinners
Can spiders really make silk? This close-up look at common and exotic spiders, their bodies, webs, and habits will shed light on these beneficial creatures.
They Lived Along the Mohawk
Recommended for grades K-2
Learn how the indigenous people of this area harnessed natural resources to provide for their families and how their stories and traditions are reflected in the objects of everyday life.