How do Gray seals, California sea lions, and other animals stay comfortable in different weather and habitats? Join the National Zoo and the National Air and Space Museum to learn about adaptations that animals... and humans use to survive in different climates.
Weather and Space
National Air and Space Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center
Supports Head Start ELOF Goals P-SCI-1; P-SCI-2; P-SCI-3
Classroom Resources: Weather and Space Unit
Nature Stamp Painting
Look outside your window and get inspired by the colors and patterns of nature! Use this lesson by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to explore seasonal changes, such as flowers blooming in springtime or autumn leaves falling.
Resource Description:
- Type: Interactive Lesson and Art Activity
- Time: 30+ Minutes
- Best for Ages: 3+
Music Playlist
Put on your dancing shoes! Find all the songs you loved from the program, plus more songs from Nick the Music Man about weather and space inspired by Do Sea Lions Wear Sunglasses.
Explore Weather with Astronaut Suits and Seals
Launch into space fully protected and ready to explore your new surroundings with a custom-made astronaut helmet from the National Air and Space Museum and the National Zoo!
Resource Description:
- Type: Interactive Lesson and Activities
- Time: 30+ Minutes
- Best for Ages: 3+
Explore the Sun
Discover the sun and what sunny weather looks like and feels like! This resource is created and provided by the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center.
Resource Description:
- Type: Activity Suggestions
- Time: 10+ Minutes
- Best for Ages: 2+
Explore Rain and Clouds
Discover what rain and clouds look like and feel like! How do these two things go together? This resource is created and provided by the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center.
Resource Description:
- Type: Activity Suggestions
- Time: 10+ Minutes
- Best for Ages: 2+
Make Your Own Seal Mask
Pretend to be a seal swimming in the water by making and wearing your own seal mask brought to you by the National Zoo!
Resource Description:
- Type: Arts and Crafts
- Project Time: 15+ Minutes
- Adult Supervision: Required
- Best for Ages: 4+
Make Your Own Astronaut Helmet
Launch into space fully protected and ready to explore your new surroundings with a custom-made astronaut helmet brought to you by the National Air and Space Museum!
Resource Description:
- Type: Arts and Crafts
- Project Time: 15+ Minutes
- Adult Supervision: Required
- Best for Ages: 4+
Letter to Caregiver
Learn about what your Head Start cuties experienced at the NHSA and Zoo in the Classroom program!
Carta para el tutor
¡Descubra lo que sus estudiantes de Head Start aprendieron en el programa NHSA y Zoo in the Classroom!
Explore More Programs
Fancy Food
What do animals eat? What do humans eat? Are animal diets and human diets similar, different, or both? Explore the answers to these questions with Pinky Jackalope and various Smithsonian museums including the National Zoo, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, and more!
Food
National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History
Suited for Survival
Suited for Survival explores animal adaptations from prehensile-tailed porcupines to super soft chinchillas. Students will learn how unique adaptations help animals survive.
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
mammals, survival, adaptations, animal traits, animal behavior
patterns, structure and function
Free
Caring About Conservation
What is conservation? Why is it important? Caring About Conservation explores the meaning of "conservation," some of the animals Smithsonian scientists are trying to save, and what we can all do to protect wildlife.
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 3-5-ETS1-2
conservation, sustainability, animals, wildlife, science
Free
Healthy Teeth
Why do animals need teeth? How do they use their teeth? And how do they keep them healthy just like we do?
Teeth
Supports Head Start ELOF Goals
Wild Medicine
What happens to a seal who has a toothache? How does an orangutan get a checkup? Wild Medicine invites students to Join our team of veterinarians and other animal health professionals to explore how animals go to the doctor, just like us!
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, 3-LS1-1, 4-LS1-1
Health, animal care, veterinary medicine
Patterns, cause and effect, systems and system models, structure and function
Free
Explore the Rainforest
Fly, leap and swim along on an adventure through the Amazon Rainforest to explore the sights and sounds of plants and animals living in this unique ecosystem.
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 4-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1
Amazon, rainforest, biodiversity, rainforest layers, animals
Patterns, cause and effect, scale proportion and quantity, and systems and system models
Free
Colorful Creatures
What animals are colorful and why?
Color
Supports Head Start ELOF Goals P-SCI-1; P-SCI-2; P-SCI-3
Saving Endangered Species
What does it mean when an animal is endangered and what can we do to help? Meet one of the National Zoo’s most endangered species and learn how staff care for these special animals.
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 5-ESS3-1
endangered species, conservation
Free
Discovering Amphibians
Join us as we celebrate Amphibian Week. Learn about amphibians, get an up-close look of some of them and chat with an amphibian expert.
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
amphibians, adaptations, habitats, life cycles
Free
Let's Celebrate!
Help us celebrate Head Start's 60th birthday by throwing a party with different Zoo animals!
Celebrations
Supports Head Start ELOF Goals
Exploring Neighborhood Birds
Birds are everywhere! Learn about some of our neighborhood birds and the techniques used to study them from a migratory bird scientist.
2-8
Supports NGSS 2-PS1-2, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1, MS-LS1-4, MS-LS1-5, MS-LS2-A
birds, migration, observation, tracking, bird banding
Patterns, Cause and Effect, Interdependence of science, engineering, and technology
Free