Grades 9-12
Behind the Screen Tour
90 minutes, 10-150 students, $8/student ($3/student for Title I)
Students learn about how moving images are made, marketed, and shown, while discovering the many careers open to them in the moving-image industries. Under the guidance of a Museum educator, students actively explore and discuss artifacts and artworks, and experiment with hands-on interactive experiences and demonstrations. This tour serves as an ideal introduction to the Museum and its collection, and discussions can be focused to address the class’ specific curricular needs.
Behind the Screen Tour & Screening Program
2 hours, 10-150 students, $9/student ($3/student for Title I)
Optional: $175 fee for live musical accompaniment
Along with a guided tour of the Museum’s core exhibition, students experience a historic film or television episode in one of the Museum’s state-of-the-art movie theaters as part of the Screening America program. These screenings, which include a post-screening discussion, use historic media to help teach English, English as a Second Language, and Social Studies, with a focus on American history.
Groups looking for an introductory experience with historic film or television may choose either an episode of I Love Lucy ("Job Switching," 1952), which explores women at work in the fifties, or a Charlie Chaplin film (The Immigrant, 1917), which explores screen comedy and the immigrant experience. Live musical accompaniment is available for The Immigrant.
High school groups looking for a program with specific alignments to American History topics also have the option to select a feature-length film. Click here for a full menu of options.
Behind the Screen Tour & Video Game Workshop
2 hours, 10-60 students, $9/student ($3/student for Title I)
Students participate in a guided tour of the Museum’s core exhibition, and also explore the world of digital game design through a hands-on, educator-led workshop. Students are introduced to basic game design principles, and then work in teams to use programming software to build their own unique versions of a ping-pong style video game.
Behind the Screen Tour & Political Ad Workshop
2 hours, 10-60 students, $9/student ($3/student for Title I)
As an extension of the guided tour of Behind the Screen, students explore basic principles of video production through the lens of political campaign advertising. Working with archival materials from The Living Room Candidate, the Museum’s online exhibition of historic presidential campaign commercials, students remix and re-edit a campaign commercial from an actual presidential campaign.
Screening America Program
1.5-2.5 hours, 10-150 students, $8/student or $9/student with a guided tour
Optional: $175 fee for live musical accompaniment.
Screening America uses film and television to help teach English, English as a Second Language, and Social Studies, with a focus on topics in American History. This program is well-suited for groups looking for a program with specific alignments to American History topics. A Museum educator introduces the film program and guides a post-screening discussion. Please visit the Screening America page for detailed program offering information. A Screening America program can be coupled with a Behind the Screen guided tour, or an on-your-own Museum visit.
The Jim Henson Exhibition: Guided Tour & Workshop
45–60 minutes (recommended), 10-65 participants, $11/student ($3/student for Title I)
In this inquiry-based tour of The Jim Henson Exhibition, students explore the creative genius and legacy of Jim Henson, which includes puppets, character sketches, scripts, interactive experiences, and costumes from the worlds of Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and more. For Grades 6–12, the Museum offers a supplementary Storyboarding Workshop in which students explore design-thinking through advertising agency exercises modeled after Henson's early work for television.
The Jim Henson Exhibition: Guided Tour & Screening Program
2 hours, 10-65 participants, $11/student ($3/student for Title I)
Along with a guided tour of The Jim Henson Exhibition, students learn about the science, technology, engineering, art, and math behind the creation of imaginary worlds through puppetry, with a screening of clips from Henson's Muppet Show in one of the Museum’s movie theaters. This program is a dynamic complement to any STEAM curriculum.
Self-guided Visit
90 minutes (recommended), 10-50 students, $7/student ($3/student for Title I)
Groups will receive an introduction from a Museum educator, and then explore any of the Museum’s general-admission exhibitions with their teachers and chaperones. The whole museum can be experienced in an hour and a half, and self-guided groups are welcome to stay for up to a two hour maximum. Students must be accompanied by chaperones at all times during self-guided visits.
When you are ready to schedule your visit, please read through these frequently asked questions and book here.
