Distance Learning: Skulls! Halloween Edition

Last week the Distance Learning Team gave an awesomely spooktacular treat to over 700 students from California to Alaska; it was the first Special Live Event of the school year: Skulls! Halloween Edition.

This 45-minute program brought the 3rd-5th graders face-to-face with skulls ranging from a Jack Rabbit to a Nile Crocodile! Then, while watching a live colony of flesh-eating beetles devour and clean some freshly dead bones, students learned about the Academy Collections and the stories a skull can tell. Students were guided on how to examine the eye sockets, teeth, and other features to find out if mystery skulls were predator or prey.

During the interactive program students had the opportunity to ask Academy science educators about their curiosities regarding skulls, the Academy Collection and much more.

"I am always looking for free resources. My curriculum is seriously out of date, so I often have to find online resources or spend my own money on science materials. I'm grateful that Cal Academy offers different programs and resources that are aligned to Next Gen standards and are available at low or no cost. Please keep providing these experiences for students. The Skulls presentation was more than I ever could have done in the classroom and fit in perfectly with what we have been learning (animal habitats, adaptations, food chains)."

- 3rd Grade, St. Lawrence O'Toole School, Oakland CA ​​

"We've been studying ecosystems, so it was very relevant. Plus we're a hunting/subsistence community in Alaska, so skulls are something they see on a regular basis."

– 3^rd -5^th Grades, Northway School, Northway AK

"They were also very engaged and like reading the comments of children from other schools as well. We recently studied the human body, so later in the day we discussed the experience then compared the predator/prey characteristics of animal skulls to the characteristics of the human skull.”

- 3rd Grade, Escuela Bilingue Internacional, Emeryville CA

We are looking forward to many more programs this winter and spring with the planetarium staff and our own Academy scientists!

If you are interested in seeing our next live program join us on Thursday, December 3^rd for Planets in the Night Sky.