Teaching Toolboxes
Teaching Toolboxes
- Feature subjects that excite students about natural science
- Are designed for K-12 and community groups
- Include touchable Museum specimens, reproducible materials and related books and information
- Are free of cost to the public
Reserve a Teaching Toolbox
Toolboxes can be reserved for a two week period at no charge. Request a reservation on-line at Teaching Toolbox Request. Once your reservation is confirmed, you can pick up the Toolbox at the Museum.
For questions, email toolboxes@umnh.utah.edu
Live far from the Museum? Toolboxes are available for teachers at other locations across the state!
Check out some of the Museum¹s latest fossil discoveries. See casts of Utah finds like the Allosaurus, Ceratops, Falcarious, T-Rex, and more.
+ What's in the Fossil Box?
Top Layer Specimens
- Allosaurus jaw
- Crocodile scute
- Hadrosaur toebone
- Falcarious hand
- Turtle shell (Cretaceous)
Bottom Layer Specimens
- Allosaurus finger
- Camarasaurus tooth
- Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth
- Utah Ceratops jaw
- Hadrosaur longbone with signs of predation
Books
- Bones Rock by Larsen
- Eyewitness Fossils
- Dinosaurs of Utah by Bagley
- Digging up Dinos by Aliki
- If You Are a Hunter of Fossils by Baylor and Parnall
- Specimen Information (articles about the different specimens)
Other Resources
- A Fossil's Journey: Utah Museum of Natural History DVD (10 minutes)
- 20 hand lenses
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See examples of many different types of bats and learn why it is important to understand and protect them. Study a bat skeleton, skulls, and preserved specimens of Utah bats!
+ What's in the Bat Box?
Specimens
- Bat Skeleton
- Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
- Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus)
- Little Brown Bat 1 (Myotis lucifugus)
- Little Brown Bat 2 (Myotis lucifugus)
- Long-legged Bat (Myotis volans)
- Mexican free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasilensis)
- Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)
- Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus)
- Townsend's Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii)
- Western pipistrelle (Pipistrellus Hesperus)
Skulls:
- Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida braziliensis)
- Fruit eating Bat (Pteropodidae)
- Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus)
- Townsend Big-eared Bat (Plecotus townsindii)
- Western Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus Hesperus)
Printed materilas:
- The Bat in the Diningroom
- When I Lived With Bats
- Bats in Question
- Educators Activity Book; About Bats
- Bats; A Complete Thematic Unit
- Zoobooks; Bats
- Golden Guide; Bats of the World
- Bat Poster
- Bat Facts Information Sheet
- Bat Watching Tips Student Flyer
- Bat Skeleton Key
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Box of Rocks
Examine the differences between rocks and minerals and learn how each was formed. Discover how rocks and minerals are important in our everyday lives!
+ What's in the Box of Rocks?
Specimens:
- Minerals:
- Hematite
- Galena
- Magnetite
- Pyrite
- Calcite
- Ulexite
- Sulfur
- Malachite
- Quartz
- Amethyst
- Geode
- Dogtooth
- Calcite
- Rose Quartz
- Veriscite
- Rocks:
- Igneous:
- Obsidian
- Granite
- Pumice
- Wonderstone
- Metamorphic:
- Sedimentary:
- Sandstone
- Conglomerate
- Fossiliferous
- Limestone
Other Resources:
- Rocks, Minerals and Electricity box
- CleverCatch Inflatable Ball Rocks
- CleverCatch Inflatable Ball Minerals
Printed materials:
- Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils (Collector's Guide)
- Everybody Needs a Rock Geology (Golden Guide)
- Geology Rocks!
- Rocks and Minerals
- Rocks, Gems, and Minerals
- Rocks, Mineral, and Fossil Localities of Utah
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Plants Toolbox Guide
Plant specimens from Utah's diverse habitats are accompanied by curriculum, activites and resources for studying adaptation and classification.
+ What's in the Box of Plants?
Specimens:
- Desert Salt Grass
- River Hawthorn
- Mat Saltbush
- Roundleaf Buffaloberry
- Quaking Aspen Bitterbrush OR Watersedge
- Swordleaf Rush
- Utah Juniper
- Curl-leaf
- Mountain Mahogany
- Freemont Barberry
- Four-wing Saltbush
- Shadscale
- Fernbush
- Timothy
- Oregon Grape
Other resources:
- 15 Laminated Plant Identification Cards
- 15 Laminated Colored 3x5 Index Cards
- 10 Plastic Rulers
- Magnifying lenses
- 15 plastic plates
- 1 metal teaspoon
- 1 box of seeds
- 1 slice of tree trunk
Printed materials:
- Ancient Harvest
- Introducing Flowers
- Tell Me, Tree
- Plants of the Rocky Mountains
- Once There Was a Tree
- How to Identify Plants
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Insects Toolbox Guide
Insects Book
Dozens of mounted entomological specimens to help students understand the incredible variability and beauty of insects. Learn to classify and to identify unique adaptations.
+ What's in the Box of Insects?
Specimens:
- Velvet ant
- Morpho butterfly
- Madagascar grasshopper
- Walking stick
- Dragonfly
- Tarantula hawk wasp
- Giant water bug
- Lesser angle-wing katydid
- Green stink bug
- Tiger beetles
- Ten lined June beetle
- Locust borer
- Earwig
- Predacious diving beetle
- Cicada
- Ilia underwing moth
- Madagascar sunset moth
- Stingless bee
- Bee fly
- Bumble bee
- Ichneumonid wasp
- Flower fly
- Narrow-winged damselfly
- Mormon cricket
- Atlas moth
Other resources:
Printed materials:
- Hands of Nature: Introducing Insects
- The Handy Bug Answer Book
- Introducing Insects
- Insectlopedia
- My First Pocket Guide: Insects
- Peterson First Guide: Insects
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Soils Toolbox Guide
Why is forest soil different from desert soil? What organisms are able to survive in the harsh alpine ecosystem? Learn about the processes that contribute to soil formation in Utah's amazing landscape.
+ What's in the Box of Soils?
Tools:
- Sieve
- Soil Thermometers
- Trowel
- Microscope Slides (8)
- Soil Sampler (includes boring rod)
- Magnifying lenses
- Clear rulers
Specimens:
- Mole skull
- Juncus
- Willow
- Morning Glory
- Crab Grass
- Austrian Pine
- Oregon Grape
- Cactus
- Mormon Tea
- Sage
- Rabbitbrush
- Aster
- Insects in Vials:
- Pill Bug (Crustacea: Isopodalem)
- Earwig (Dermaptera)
- Water Strider (Hempitera: Gerridae)
- Ants (Hymenoptera)
- Centipede (Chilopoda)
- Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae)
Sand
Silt
Clay
Topsoil
/>
Subsoil (see parent rocks)
Mivida (Utah’s State Soil)
2 Parent rocks
Sediment Column Printed materials:
- A Handful of Dirt by Raymond Bial
- Dirt by Steve Tomecek
- Dig In! Hands-On Soil Investigations, NSTA press
- Backyard Detective Critters up Close by Nic Bishop
- Life In A Bucket of Soil by Silverstein
- Soil Science Simplified by H. Kohnke
- Soil: Digging Into Earth’s Vital Resource by Stille
- There’s A Hair In My Dirt! By Gary Larson
- Working Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer
- Globe Soil Color Chart
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Learn about animals by studying bones and skulls. Try to distinguish how animals are uniquely adapted for survival by observing d
ifferences
in jaws, teeth, eyes, and other structures of the skull.
+ What's in the Box of Bones?
Specimens:
- Pond Turtle shell
- Snapping Turtle Skull
- Black Bear skull
- Beaver skull
- Coyote skull
- American White Pelican skull
- Domestic Duck skull
- Red-Tailed Hawk skull
- Frog skull
- Snake skeleton
Printed materials:
- Animal Skulls: A Guide for Teachers, Naturalists, and Interpreters by Richard S. White Jr.
- Bears by Deborah Hodge
- Beavers by Deborah Hodge
- Land Predators of North America by Erin Pembrey Swan
- Navajo Coyote Tales by William Morgan, Hildegard Thompson
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Ancient Ecosystems Toolbox Guide
Compare fossi
ls from
Utah's Cretaceous past to their modern day counterparts. Use museum specimens to illustrate how ecosystems work the same today as they did millions of years ago.
+ What's in Ancient Utah Box?
Specimens:
- Carnosaur (dinosaur) Footprint
- Ceratopsian predatory (Triceratops beak)
- Mammuthus primigenius (wooly mammoth tooth)
- Gastrolith (dinosaur gizzard stone)
- Tyrannosaurus rex tooth
- Coprolite (fossilized turtle poop)
- Knighta alta (fossilized fish)
- Tyrannosaurus rex Claw
- Lion Tooth
- Cactocrinus inperator (cast of ? jellyfish? )
- Kainops invius (shell/trilobite in rock)
- Pleuroceras spinatum (ammonite)
- Insects in amber
- Cougar Claw
- Snail shell
- Petrified wood
- Coal
- Turtle Shell
- Tree Ring
- Fresh Poop
- Fossilized Leaves
- Insect
- Shell Cluster Fossil
- Shell Fossil
- Pressed Leaf, Shells, Feather
Other Resources
- Fossil Dig
- 6 brushes, Key to Fossils
- 20 magnifying lenses
Printed materials:
- Fossils
- Fossils Tell of Long Ago
- Digging Up Dinosaurs Bones Rock!
- The Kids Natural History Book
- Eyewitness Books ? Fossil
- Dinosaurs of Utah
- Utah: A Geologic History, map
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Learn about the relationship people have had with the bison for centuries from ceremonial reverence to the utilization of every physical part of the animal. Examine and hold some of the many parts that have been used in everyday life as you contemplate our continued fascination with this remarkable creature.
- Skins, fur pieces, and hides
- 1 horn
- 3 foot bones
- 1 bone awl
- 1 bladder for water/cooking
- 1 small tail part with hair
- 1 bladder for holding colored quills
- 2 teeth
- 1 hoof sheath
- 3 dew claws
- 2 Hump Bones
- Pieces of stomach
- Sinew
Printed Materials:
- Bison Dreams
- Buffalo Dreams
- The Buffalo in the Mall
- Buffalo Nation
- The Great Buffalo Race
- The True Story of Nickel
Other Resources:
- Many Gifts from the Bison to the Native People
- Consumption and Preperation Article
- Bison Facts
- What is a Ruminant?
- What do Bison Eat?
- A Story Robe
- A Parfleche Carryall
- Leathering Paper
- SL Tribune Article: The Antelope Island Herd
- Photos
- Charts
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Discover how easy it is to extract DNA from anything living. This kit includes everything you need to extract DNA from green split peas, complete instructions, color illustrations on overheads, a large DNA model, and engaging books on DNA structure and function. Recommended for Grades 7, 8.
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Engage your students in an inventory of inherited traits and see how they combine. Explore how traits are passed through generations. Answer the question, "Are you a PTC-taster or not?" Activities involve data organization and math extensions. Recommended for Grade 5.
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Discover the principles of DNA electrophoresis and how this technique is used in forensics, paternity testing and genetic testing. This kit includes an electrophoresis chamber and power supply, dye samples to simulate DNA, complete instructions and sample scenarios.
Suggested for teachers who have taken the Heredity and Genetics endorsement class or other courses from Genetic Science Learning Center.
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Native American Indian Literacy Project
Learn using objects made by artisans from every native Utah tribe . Discover differences and similarities in how things are made and learn to recognize artistic characteristics of diverse people. Engage with stories written and illustrated by native children and elders from each tribe.
Box 1 (on site at UMNH)
- Craddle Board: Goshute
- Flute: All Tribes
- Traditional Cattail Doll: Shoshone
- Basket: Shoshone
- Bag of Corn: All Tribes
- Rabbit Fur Infant Moccasins: Shoshone
- Digging Stick: Shoshone
- Pine Nut Basket: Paiute
- Rugs (2): Navajo
- Adult Moccasins: Ute
- Stick/Rock Board Game: Ute
- Rose Necklace: Ute
- Stirring Sticks: Navajo
- Clay Pot: Navajo
- Stick Game: Goshute
- Duck Decoy: Goshute
- Waist Sash: Navajo
Books:
- Coyote Steals Fire: A Shoshone Tale
- Pia Toya: A Goshute Indian Legend
Other Resources:
Box 2
- Cradle Board: Shoshone
- Drum: All Tribes
- Drum Stick: All Tribes
- Rugs (2): Navajo
- Winnowing Basket: Paiute
- Shinny Game: Ute
- Child Gloves: Shoshone
- Bear Dance Chamber: Ute
- Growlers: Ute
- Water Basket: Goshute
- Wood Cradle: Navajo
- Bag of Corn: All Tribes
- Dye Package: Navajo
- Hair Brush: Navajo
- Basket: Navajo
- Belt Decoration: Ute
- Child's Moccasins: Paiute
- Stick Game: Paiute
- Stick Toy: Shoshone
Books:
- Coyote Steals Fire: A Shoshone Tale
- Pia Toya: A Goshute Indian Legend
Other Resources:
Items in the box such as the games and the cradle board are replicas of the originals and have been reproduced in miniature size for the toolbox.
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