NEW! Home School Days!
Programs for Home School Students (grades 4-12)
On the first Monday of every month, students in home schools can participate in one of the three staff-led lessons available in the Lab. Lessons will rotate on a monthly basis, posted one month in advance. See lesson descriptions below.

Home School Days logistics: 60 minute programs are at 10:15 and 11:30; online registration required. Students can be in family groups or organized home school groups and can be in a variety of grade ranges between 4th and 12th grade. Please include your child's grade in the comments section on the form.

February 1st program: Mystery at Yorktown Creek. Sorry! Slots available for the 10:15 program only!

Mystery at Yorktown Creek (grades 4-12)
Erosion along a creek bed produces a startling discovery – a human skeleton. Before the clues are washed away forever, your students will get the chance to examine the evidence collected by the archaeologist. They will use the tools of the forensic anthropologist to study the human bones and artifacts found with the skeleton to determine who this person was, when he/she lived, and what their life might have been like. Uncover the mystery of a person whose burial could turn out to be over two hundred years old!

Lesson Plans
Mystery at Yorktown Creek: Basic (grades 4-6)
Mystery at Yorktown Creek: Intermediate (grades 7-9)
Mystery at Yorktwon Creek: Advanced (grades 10-12)

A “Grizzly” Discovery (grades 4-12)
A group of hikers stumble across what looks like human remains. Have they found a crime scene or could there be another explanation? Your students will examine real human and animal bones and cultural artifacts to solve this mystery. Their investigation will guide them in determining what the bones represent, age and sex, time since death, and maybe even cause of death.

Lesson Plans
A "Grizzly" Discovery: Basic (grades 4-6)
A "Grizzly" Discovery: Intermediate (grades 7-9)
A "Grizzly" Discovery: Advanced (grades 10-12)

Criminal or Collector? (grades 4-12)
When a box of bones and curious artifacts are found in an attic by the house’s new owners, forensic anthropologists at the National Museum of Natural History are called to investigate. Your students will decipher the clues in this unique “collection” (including real human bones and artifacts) to determine what the objects represent and why they might be together. Last, they will use evidence to propose how and when the person represented by skeletal remains might have lived and died. Civil War soldier? Modern teacher’s anatomy model? You decide!

Lesson Plans
Criminal or Collector? : Basic (grades 4-6)
Criminal or Collector? : Intermediate (grades 7-9)
Criminal or Collector? : Advanced (grades 10-12)

• Capacity: Minimum number of students required per class is 15. Maximum number of students is 30 per class; two back-to-back classes are available for a total of 60 students per day.
• Grade Range: Lessons are designed to accommodate a one or two grade range. Groups with a wider grade range should consider the programs for home school students in the program description section above.
• Program Days: Classes are on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, beginning promptly at 10:15. For back-to-back classes, the second class will begin at 11:30.
• Program Dates: Classes are available through Friday, May 29. There are no school programs during the summer.
• Program Length: Classes are 60 minutes.
• Chaperones Required: 1 chaperone per ten students.
• Accommodations: We are able to accommodate most students with special needs. Please call for details: 202-633-1085

Please call 202-633-1085 with additional questions about programs or logistics.