Museum-trained docents deliver a variety of hands-on activities to your site. With Traveling Trunk Exhibits you can explore Biological Anthropology, Southwest Archaeology, and world cultures. Traveling Trunks are $15/group within Albuquerque city limits, $15/group plus mileage outside Albuquerque city limits (program fees are waived for Title I schools).
In order to have the best possible presentation, we suggest two adults to assist in the activities for all school groups. Teacher participation is essential. Please, no substitutes! We limit group size to 30.
Call 505-277-2924 or email maxeducation@unm.edu for more information.
Learn how scientists explore the issues surrounding our human distinctiveness by analyzing skeletal differences.
Recommended Ages: 5th grade and up
02/28/2024: This trunk is being updated and is not currently available for checkout.
As novice biologists, your group will use calipers to measure and compare morphological features of skull casts. You will use this information to make interpretations about gender and lifestyle.
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Practice using artifacts and ecofacts to investigate southwestern cultures dating from Paleo-Indian through early Pueblo periods. Your choices include:
Recommended Ages: 1st - 5th grade
Learn about early technologies of the southwest by using "ancient" tools from our collection. Your group will process yucca, make rope, set traps, "make fire" and use pump drills.
Recommended Ages: 4th grade and up
As amateur archaeologists, you will gather and analyze "clues" from a generic early Puebloan "site". You will use the data to explore fundamental questions about this culture: When they lived; what they ate; what their communities looked like.
Gain appreciation for other cultures by exploring their artistic traditions. Your choices include Music, Hispanic culture and Native American Culture.
Recommended Ages: all ages
Explore the richness of world cultures by experiencing folk music: Shake, rattle and explore our collection of musical instruments. Sing, dance and hear music from around the world!
Encounter the Native American cultures of the Southwest through the study of their artistic traditions. Your choices include:
Recommended Ages: all ages
Compare and contrast the many types of Pueblo pottery. Identify the different Pueblo groups. Learn about the materials and techniques used to make a pot by participating in one of the following activities:
Yucca Paintbrush: Use stone scrapers to make paintbrushes from yucca leaves. (This is an easy activity for all ages.)
Clay Pot (Add $10.00 per group for materials): Includes enough clay for each person to make a pot based on the traditional coil technique. (Recommended for 3rd grade and up.)
Recommended Ages: all ages
Discover how the people of the Southwest used their environment to produce a variety of baskets and textiles. Participate in one of the following activities and experience the complexity and skill involved in the weaving process:
Paper Weaving: Use paper strips to make mats or baskets. (Baskets are challenging for young hands.)
Loom Kit (Add $10.00 per group for materials): Includes one cardboard loom per individual plus enough yarn to complete a small rug. (Recommended for 4th grade and up.)
Study the Hispanic culture of New Mexico: Learn about the early colonists and how their struggle to survive influenced their cultural traditions.
Recommended Ages: all ages
Study the arrival of the Spaniards in New Mexico. Learn about the lifestyle of the early colonists: what their homes, food and clothing were like and how they used their environment to survive. Choose an activity that reflects their domestic traditions:
Ramillettes: Cut "little paper bouquets" out of scrap paper. (This easy activity is good for all ages.)
Tinwork (Add $10.00 per group for materials): Make a small frame from light gauge aluminum. (Difficult for young hands.)
