What are Museums?

Types of Musuems

Recommended Time: 10-15 minutes

1. Display Types of Museums slides
2. Slide 1: Types of Museums
1. Tell students that there are many different types of museums. Each type of museum collections different kinds of artifacts.
3. Slide 2:
1. Hover over each image to reveal a definition of each type of museum:
1. Art Museum: Art museums or galleries collect art. Click the image to see examples of artifacts an art museum collects!
2. History Museum: Art museums or galleries collect art. Click the image to see examples of artifacts an art museum collects!
3. House Museum: House museums show how people lived at a specific time in the past. Click the image to see examples of artifacts a house museum collects!
4. Natural History Museum: Natural history museums collect artifacts about the natural world in the past. Click the image to see examples of artifacts a natural history museum collects!
5. Science Museum: Science museums collect artifacts about science and new technologies. Click the image to see examples of artifacts a science museum collects!
2. Click on each type of museum to reveal examples of artifacts found in each type of museum. Hover over the artifacts to show more information about each object.
4. Slide 3: Curators
1. Explain that there are many jobs at a museum. One museum job is being a curator.
5. Curators are people who collect and take care of artifacts in a museum. Curators are artifact experts!
1. Curators help decide which objects should be in their museum. Sometimes people donate or give items to a museum, but it doesn’t match their museum type. For instance, if someone tried to donate a plant fossil to an art museum, a curator would say, “No thank you. We do not collect fossils.”
6. Slides 4-9: Comprehension Check:
1. Give directions: Tell students that they will practice their curator skills! On the next slides, they will see three objects that people are trying to give to the museum. They must help the curator identify the artifact that does not belong in their museum.

Visiting Museums

Recommended Time: 5-10 minutes

1. Display Visiting Museums Genial.ly slides
2. Slide 1:
1. Explain that when you visit a museum, there are special rules. These rules help protect artifacts in the museum. Everyone helps care for artifacts when they follow the special museum rules!
3. Slide 2:
1. Discuss all five of the special museum rules with the students. After each rule, ask students why they think this rule is important.
1. “Do not touch artifacts.” Why? Everyone’s skin makes oils. If we touch artifacts, the oils from our hands get on the artifacts. The oils on our hands are bad for artifacts. Curators wear special gloves when they touch artifacts.
2. “Use quiet voices.”Why? Many people will be visiting the museum. Some of them need quiet so they can read all of the labels and signs.
3. “Keep your body to yourself.”Why? We could accidentally break the artifacts! Museums might not be able to fix or replace broken artifacts.
4. “Use walking feet.”Why? We could run into an artifact and accidentally break it. We could run into another museum visitor.
5. “Stay with your adult.”Why? Adults need to know where you are at all times. Many museums are large buildings. Your adults do not want you to get lost.
4. Slide 3:
1. Tell students there are three tips to help them have an amazing visit to a museum. For each tip, click on the image. A window will pop up with additional information.
1. Read Labels and Signs: Tell students there are many signs and labels in the museum. Some signs give you directions or remind you of the rules. Other signs might tell you: 1) Information about the exhibit, like the title or them of the exhibit. 2) Information about artifacts, such as what year the artifact was made or who used it. 3) Special rules for the exhibit, such as if it is OK to touch certain objects or if it is OK to take photos.
2. Explore Exhibits: When you are walking around the exhibit, here are some tips to help you explore: 1) Look carefully at the artifacts, this might be your only chance to see some of these objects! 2) Use quiet voices. Some visitors need the quiet to focus on reading the signs. 3) Look for touchable artifacts. Some exhibits have puzzles, games, or touchable artifacts.
3. Ask Questions :Remind students that museums are places to learn, just like a school! If students have questions when visiting a museum, encourage them to ask a museum worker or volunteer. Sometimes museum workers know special stories about artifacts and people that are not on the signs. They love sharing those stories with visitors!

What is History Nebraska?

Recommended Time: 5-10 minutes

1. Display the What is a Museum? Genial.ly slides
2. Slide 1: What is a Museum?
1. Explain that a museum is a building with artifacts. Museums show artifacts that are very special to people, like the state constitution or objects owned by important people
2. Photo: This is the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. This museum is operated by History Nebraska and exhibits, or shows, artifacts that tell the history of the people of Nebraska.
3. Click “museum,” “gallery,” and “hall” to display definitions.

1. Slide 2: What is an Artifact?
1. Ask students: “If a museum is a building with artifacts, what do you think an artifact is?” Allow 2-3 student answers.
2. Explain that an artifact is an object that was made, used, or changed by humans. Some artifacts are thousands of years old, but some artifacts are only one or two years old.
3. Click on the magnifying glasses to reveal examples of artifacts: ceramic pot, letters, fossils, and paintings
2. Slide 3: What is an Exhibit?
1. Explain that museums do not have enough space to show all of their artifacts at once. Instead, museums create exhibits.
2. Exhibits share information about different artifacts.
3. Museums do not pick random artifacts for exhibits. Instead, each exhibit tells a story using artifacts. For example, the Piecing Together the Past exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum tells the story of how archeologists in Nebraska uncover artifacts.
4. Exhibits can be about any topic!
3. Slide 4: Comprehension Check
1. Ask students to answer the following prompt: “What would you make an exhibit about?”

What is a Museum?

Recommended Time: 5-10 minutes

1. Display the What is a Museum? slides
2. Slide 1: What is a Museum?
1. Explain that a museum is a building with artifacts. Museums show artifacts that are very special to people, like the state constitution or objects owned by important people.
2. Photo: This is the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. This museum is operated by History Nebraska and exhibits, or shows, artifacts that tell the history of the people of Nebraska.
3. Click “museum,” “gallery,” and “hall” to display definitions.

1. Slide 2: What is an Artifact?
1. Ask students: “If a museum is a building with artifacts, what do you think an artifact is?” Allow 2-3 student answers.
2. Explain that an artifact is an object that was made, used, or changed by humans. Some artifacts are thousands of years old, but some artifacts are only one or two years old.
3. Click on the magnifying glasses to reveal examples of artifacts: Ceramic pot, Letters, Fossils, and Paintings

1. Slide 3: What is an Exhibit?
1. Explain that museums do not have enough space to show all of their artifacts at once. Instead, museums create exhibits.
2. Exhibits share information about different artifacts.
3. Museums do not pick random artifacts for exhibits. Instead, each exhibit tells a story using artifacts. For example, the Piecing Together the Past exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum tells the story of how archeologists in Nebraska uncover artifacts.
4. Exhibits can be about any topic!
2. Slide 4: Comprehension Check
1. Ask students to answer the following prompt: “What would you make an exhibit about?”
2. Students can answer using devices, writing on paper, or verbally as a class discussion.

How do Museums Get Artifacts?

Recommended Time: 10-15 minutes

1. Display the How do Museums Get Artifacts? Genial.ly
2. Slide 1:
1. Ask students: “What do you do with old things in your home? Things you do not use anymore, like old toys or clothes?”
2. Explain that sometimes people find very special objects in their homes or businesses that they do not need. These could be pictures of famous or important people or maybe clothes or costumes from cultural groups. Some people donate or give these special artifacts to museums.

1. Slide 2: What do you think?
1. Ask students to answer the following prompt: “Why would someone give an artifact to the museum?”
2. Students can answer using devices, writing on paper, or verbally as a class discussion. Have students share answers with the class.

1. Slide 3: How do Museums Get Artifacts?
1. Explain that sometimes people give their special artifacts to museums because they want to share their story with others. Once the artifact is in a museum, people from all over the state and country can see the artifact and learn from it.
2. Slide 4: How do Museums Get Artifacts?
1. Explain that curators decide if artifacts should be in their museum.
3. Slide 5: Types of Artifacts
1. Explain that museums collect many types of artifacts. In large museums, curators only collect and study certain kinds of artifacts. For instance, a curator might only study photographs.
2. Click on each image to reveal a definition of each artifact type:
3. Archeology: These are artifacts humans used in the past, in a time called “pre-history.” Pre-history means the time before humans could write.
4. Moving images: These are videos and films.
5. Government records: These are documents that come from city, state, and federal governments.
6. Library: Some museums have libraries for research. The Nebraska History Museum has a library full of books about Nebraska’s history.
7. Photographs: These are pictures taken with cameras. Photographs can be printed or digital.
8. Audio recordings: These are stories or songs that people listen to.
9. Manuscripts: These are documents people wrote, like letters and diaries.
10. 3D Objects: These are artifacts that are objects, like a clay pot or a pair of shoes.

Introductory Activity

Recommended Time: 5-10 minutes

1. Optional: Divide students into small groups to facilitate discussion during the activity. Each student group will need one device.
1. No devices? No problem! Print and use these activity cards
2. Display the “Activate Your Thinking” slide and read the task directions aloud together together.
3. Students will see ten images. Students should sort these images into three groups, thinking about the similarities between images in a single group.
1. Each image must be placed in a category.
2. Not all categories will have the same amount of images.
4. Allow students to sort the images individually or as a group.
5. When all groups are finished sorting, ask students to share and explain their work with the class. Use the following discussion questions to help facilitate a conversation:
1. What do all of the images in Group 1/2/3 have in common?
2. Did anyone sort the images differently?
3. Which image was the most difficult to put in a group? Why?
4. Were there any images that fit in two or three groups? Which one?
6. Explain to students that they will be learning about museums. Museums are buildings that collect artifacts or special objects. Later we will learn about curators, who are special people who work in museums. Curators have to sort artifacts into exhibits, just like students sorted the images into groups.