Information for Educators
The Los Alamos History Museum offers a variety of programming for young people to meet the needs of the community. We offer year-round programming that takes place in the museum and in the Fuller Lodge classroom, as well as traveling programs that visit schools. For inquiries, or to schedule a program, please contact Museum Educator Aimee Slaughter, educator@losalamoshistory.org or 505-695-5251.
Classroom Lessons
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The Los Alamos History Museum has hour-long outreach lessons that address common core standards for grades 2, 3, 4, and 7. The museum educator will bring the lesson to your classroom at a time that works best for you and your class. The lessons are centered around hands-on activities and focused on a specific era of Los Alamos history. The second and fourth grade lessons focus on Ancestral Pueblo life, the third grade lesson highlights the Los Alamos Ranch School, and the seventh grade lesson brings the homestead era to life. Lessons can be scheduled to coordinate with a field trip to the museum.
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Field Trips
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Visiting the Los Alamos History Museum or taking a guided walking tour allows students to engage with their local history. Field trips are interactive, with discussion questions encouraging students to imagine what it would have been like to live here in the past. When you contact us to schedule a field trip, we will provide an information sheet to help plan logistics and provide details about the state standards that will be addressed on your visit.
Classes receiving course credit and non-fee-based programs for young people can schedule museum visits and guided walking tours for free. Other youth groups can schedule museum visits and guided walking tours at a group rate. A minimum of two weeks advance notice is needed to schedule a museum visit or walking tour. Visiting the museum: Please plan on an hour and a half to visit the Los Alamos History Museum, giving your class enough time to explore the two museum buildings and the outdoor sites. Brochures for Bences’ Challenge, a scavenger hunt-like game, can be made available for your group. The museum exhibits are best enjoyed by students in fourth grade and above. Guided walking tours: Our guided walking tours of the historic district can be adapted for any grade level. Students will learn about the local history of Los Alamos with stops at the Ancestral Pueblo Site, the Romero Cabin, Fuller Lodge, and Bathtub Row. The guided tour does not include time in the museum buildings. Tours last an hour for younger students and an hour and a half for older students. High school classes: Thematic half-hour scavenger hunts are available for high school classes. These three hunts focus on homesteading, the Manhattan Project, and the Cold War. Contact the museum educator if you would like to have one of these scavenger hunts as part of your field trip experience. |
The Secret Project Notebook
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In this book, author Carolyn Reeder tells the story of Fritz, a seventh grader who arrives in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project and quickly starts trying to uncover its secrets while making new friends and learning how to deal with bullies. This work of historical fiction allows students to learn some of the real-life history of Los Alamos and to gain an appreciation for what life was like for kids living here during the Manhattan Project.
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We have a classroom lesson and a guided walking tour ideal for 3rd–5th grade classes. The museum educator can bring an hour-long lesson to your classroom. Students can then discuss what they learned from the book and pretend they are living in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project by writing a letter to a friend back home (that will have to go through the censors!). This lesson works best if your class is most of the way through or has finished the book. After the students have finished reading the The Secret Project Notebook, the class can take an hour-long guided tour where they can connect events from the book and history with real locations in downtown Los Alamos.
