Resource Kits

Discover how researchers use Field Museum's millions of specimen to document and study evolution and the world's biodiversity.

Long before there were advanced technologies available for studying the sky, people devised ways of depicting the sun, moon, planets, and stars in relation to the Earth to figure out how our planet fit into the vast universe. Our method of exploring the night sky has grown to now include actual trips into space, even visiting another celestial body in person. But before technology made direct exploration possible, we had to use remote methods to map the expanse we could see from Earth.

Join us on a fun journey to explore what a paleontologist does and follow along with a series of activities to learn about Wyoming’s Paleontology and Geology. This Resource kit is aimed at grades K-5, and offers very basic explanations and 8 challenges that are fast paced, visually interesting, and not too challenging.

In this resource kit you will observe an ancient funnel trap once used for fishing near Juneau, Alaska, you will construct a simple funnel trap to capture and hold a marble, and build and test a trap of your own design.

Ute people are the longest continuous residents of Colorado and are still here today. Explore the history of the Ute people-CO's oldest inhabitants. How did Ute people live in the Rocky Mountains 200 years ago? How do the Ute people live today? How did Ute Indian people use science, technology, engineering and math to solve specific problems, and how do those practices relate to STEM practice today? How did Ute people use the landscape to survive and thrive in the Rocky Mountains?

Why are there so many different kinds of frogs? How did this diversity arise? This resource kit explores these questions, using instructional videos, sketching activities, and careful observation of 3-D models printed from actual frogs chosen from the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology Herpetology Collection.

Need help crossing a body of water safely? Need a way to sneak past a hungry troll? What about a sled that can travel speedily down a snowy hill? You need an engineer! Engineers are the problem-solvers of our world! Engineers identify problems, then use math and science to work to find possible solutions. In these video-inspired activities, you’ll learn to use the engineering design process to build your engineering skills and solve some design challenges of your own!

Calling all paleontologists! Step back on the geological timeline to explore a variety of plant and animal fossils. Learn all about the science of fossils and how prehistoric creatures lived, ate and moved about our world.

Explore the similarities and differences between dinosaurs and their closest modern relatives.

Students will discover the fascinating world of early land plants, commonly known as bryophytes. Learn about the significance of these small plants and their roles as environmental indicators, and predictors of climate change.

The mysteries of space often leave us with more questions than answers, but meteorites can actually tell us a lot about the history of our solar system. Learn about the identification process and discover whether you are meteorite, or meteor-wrong.

You can try these engineering design challenges with materials you might already have! The goal is to get you thinking like an engineer with problem-solving and having some hands-on, learning fun. Each challenge has a list of suggested materials, background science concepts, and some options to extend the challenge. We also walk you through the steps of the Engineering Design Process (define the problem, plan a solution, create a prototype, test your design, and improve your creation) with guiding questions to help along the way.

Colorow. Leader among the White River (or Yamparika) band of Utes.

tinted photograph of Chipeta and Chief Ouray

This is a yellow-background nylon flag with a white seamed hoist edge. In the center of the fly is a white background circular canton with black inscription around the edge and imagery in the center

Uintah and Ouray Reservation. In the center of the flag is a circular emblem that is composed of a spread-winged golden eagle. Emerging from the base of the two outside indian figures are the two claws of the eagle. The claws frame a geometric symbol composed of two red diamonds, a black diamond and blue and black triangles. The eagle claws clutch a ceremonial tobacco pipe.

This is a blue-background nylon flag with a white seamed hoist edge. There is white inscription running along the head on both sides. In the center of the fly is a white background circular canton with red inscription around the edge and imagery in the center

This car decal would be placed on a Ute Mountain Ute tribal vehicle. The tribal seal is a symbol of tribal government and sovereignty. The Ute tribes place it on a variety of items, but those items are not for sale. They are given to and used by tribal chairmen and council members. They are sometimes given by chairmen and council members to others to commemorate sovereignty and the government-to-government relationship between the tribe and other government entities.

Abraham Lincoln

Miner panning for gold.

Nanise and his family, Native American Southern Utes, pose at (probably) Ignacio (La Plata County), Colorado; costume includes a feather headdress, blankets, embroidery, and a doll papoose. Tipis are in the background.

Basketball Team

This is painting is on buckskin, which has partial legs and a tail still attached. The painting is of the Ute Bear Dance, a ceremonial dance. The somewhat aerial scene depicts a large group of men and women who are participating in the Bear Dance and are surrounded by a stockade with an entrance. The painting is done in poster paints and water color and is multicolored.

This Bear Dance flag is rectangular and made from tightly woven, machine made cotton fabric. It has been painted with poster paint and water colors. The design consists of three brown bears on their hind legs, one black bear on all fours, one man with long black hair and a blue loincloth, trees and mountains in the background and the rest of the flag is blank.

Make note of structural similarities and differences as you explore the feet structures of the three organisms featured in this slideshow: Alligator, Deinonychus, and Penguin.

Each of the three Ute tribes has its own seal with images and icons that are important to the Tribes. The government of each tribe is elected by the members of the tribe.

The government established two boarding schools for Ute children, including one at Ignacio in 1902 and one at Towaoc in 1906.

The Ute Indian Tribe lives on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Fort Duschesne, Utah. It is the second largest Indian reservation in the U.S., and covers over 4.5 million acres. The tribe oversees 1.3 million acres of land. The tribe’s membership is 3,022 people. Over half of the membership lives on the Reservation. The Ute Indian Tribe are descendants of the Tabeguache, Yamparica, Parianuche, Uintah, Cumumba, Tupanawach, San Pitch, Pah Vant and Sheberetch bands.

Explore information about the Ute Bear Dance.

By the 1880s, the white settlers had caused the Ute bands to separate and live on three reservations.

Draw and label where the 3 Ute tribes are located.

The Ute people have oral traditions going back thousands of years—that explain that their origin was possibly right here in Colorado.

Horses were important for trade. Ute bands were connected to each other through a trade network that stretched to the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Southwest, the Great Basin, and the plains.

In this activity, try to label recognizable parts of this creature that for decades puzzled scientists, the Tully Monster! Can you identify: The body? The eye-bar? The proboscis (long trunk)? The fins? Try your hand and use the key at the end of the slideshow in the next activity to check your answers!