School Programs

Native American Days, November 21-22, 2024

Join Shiloh Museum in partnership with the Arkansas Archeological Survey and approximately 20 different presenters for the 5th annual Native American Days virtual event. We will host a variety of virtual sessions highlighting the history and culture of Native Americans in Arkansas, with live sessions for registered attendees taking place over a span of two days. Session recordings will be available following the event. Native American Days fits Arkansas curriculum standards for grades 5 – 7 but is open to all grades. Registration for this event opens October 1. Go to Native American Days for more detailed information and to register your classroom (registration opens in October).

This event meets the following Arkansas curriculum standards:

• • • Social Studies: geography; spatial patterns and movement, change over time, environment and society; economics; exchange and markets; history; expansion and reform

Fibers to Fabric, April 24, 2025

Students explore the creation of fabrics from fibers and the various uses of fabrics while highlighting economics with consumers and producers. The event takes place in numerous locations across the Shiloh Museum grounds, and participants have opportunities to experience the work of crafts people and educators in a marketplace atmosphere so that elementary-age students can experience the ambiance of life in the past as it compares to today. Multiple stations help students visualize ways that fibers are gathered and processed; fabrics are created; and ways that fabrics can be used. This event fits Arkansas curriculum standards for grades 1 – 3 but is open to all grades. Fibers to Fabric is free but pre-registration is required as limited tour slots are available. Please visit Fibers to Fabric School Program to register and learn more.

This event meets the following Arkansas curriculum standards:

• Economics: exchange and market; global economy
• Geography: spatial patterns and movement
• History: chronology; change over time; contextualization

Shiloh Museum offers field trip reimbursement stipends to qualifying schools. Learn more by clicking here.

We offer a variety of field trips and program opportunities. All field trips and school programs meet Arkansas Social Studies and Common Core State Standards curriculum frameworks. Optional writing assignments are available for most programs. Program activities vary based on grade.

Shiloh Museum offers field trip reimbursement stipends to qualifying schools. Learn more by clicking here.

PROGRAMS AVAILABLE in the 2024 – 2025 School Year

Buffalo River Country

Created in 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo River’s designation as the country’s first National River, this program introduces students to the rich, natural life of the Buffalo River. We delve into the geology, beauty, history, and culture of the area with a hands-on exploration of the museum’s collections. Teachers can either bring students to the museum or we will bring the river to you on your school campus. Curriculum frameworks include:

Social Studies: history; changes over time; perspective; historical evidence and causation; civics and government; processes, rules, and laws

Civil War Home Fronts and Haversacks

In this program, students discover hands-on replicas of daily items used by Civil War soldiers; try their hands at basic archeology while learning about a local Civil War battle; and explore the museum’s exhibit hall with a focus on the Civil War in the Arkansas Ozarks. Social studies curriculum frameworks include evidence, expansion and reform, and Civil War and Reconstruction.

Covered Wagons and Log Cabins

Students take a “journey” to 1830s – 1850s Arkansas and learn about life in the Arkansas Ozarks during this program. They experience Ozark homesteads by visiting the museum’s 1854 log home, exploring the Settlers of the 1800s exhibit, and learning about the hands-on chores of the time period. Social studies curriculum frameworks include production and consumption, resources and movement, and change over time.

First Peoples of the Ozarks

Through hands-on exploration of the museum’s historic grounds, exhibit hall, and education collections, students discover ways the First Peoples of the Ozarks interacted with their environment and used natural resources in their daily lives, including making tools, preparing and processing food, and more. Social studies curriculum frameworks include place, region, and culture; resources and movement; chronology; change over time; evidence; and perspective. Science frameworks include life sciences and ecology.

Mr. Cooper’s Barn and the Steele General Store

Students experience what life was like on a 1930s farm in the Ozarks through hands-on exploration and a visit to the museum’s general store (built in 1879) to learn about the Great Depression as well as  trading and bartering for needed supplies. They explore the museum’s exhibit hall with a focus on the arrival of electricity to the Arkansas Ozarks and the “alphabet agencies” of the 1930s. Social studies curriculum frameworks include economics; place, region, and culture; resources and movement; change over time; and evidence.

Fibers to Fabric in your Classroom

In this program students learn how fibers like wool and cotton are processed and turned into clothing through demonstrations and hands-on activities. Scroll up to the top of this page for our annual Fibers to Fabric (formerly Sheep to Shawl) event. Social studies curriculum frameworks include scarcity, cost and benefits, and change over time.

Then and Now

Students use hands-on learning and exploration of the museum’s exhibit hall and historic grounds to discover changes over time in the Ozarks, including transportation, clothing, and technology. Educators may select a focus area to be highlighted during one section of the program, including geology, fossils, Native America stone tools, early settlers, architecture, and ecology (season-dependent). Social studies curriculum frameworks covered are place, region, and culture; resources and movement; changing spatial patterns; change over time; and evidence.

Winter in the Ozarks

In this field trip, students learn how people experienced winter in the Ozarks through the eras before modern times. They can stay warm inside the museum’s 1854 log cabin and see a Dutch oven cooking demonstration. Students also explore museum collections such as our nineteenth-century magic lantern projector and hand-painted slides depicting winter scenes of the past. Finally, they take a “journey” through time in the museum’s exhibit hall. Social studies curriculum frameworks covered in this program include place, region, and culture; change over time; and contextualization.

We’re ready to meet your field trip needs! All of our field trips meet Arkansas Social Studies and Common Core State Standards curriculum frameworks. Program activities vary based on grade level.

Cost: Free, but donations are welcome.

Shiloh Museum offers field trip reimbursement stipends to qualifying schools. Learn more by clicking here.

For more information, email Education Manager Judy Costello or call 479-750-8165.

Click on this link to request a field trip.

Our Discovery Boxes are filled with artifacts, documents, photographs, and teaching materials for check-out and use in the classroom.

Discovery Boxes are free of charge and related to the history of the Arkansas Ozarks, specifically Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, and Washington counties. Most boxes include a teacher’s manual with an artifact guide and teaching materials.

• Boxes must be reserved in advance.
• A box request may not be available at the exact time requested. A museum staff member will contact you to confirm availability and work with you on pick up and drop off times.
• Boxes must be picked up from and returned to Shiloh Museum.
• Box requests may take up to 48 hours to process.
• All boxes may be kept for up to one week.
• Boxes are limited to up to three at one school in one week.
• Boxes may be shared among teachers and classrooms, but we ask that one person be responsible for returning boxes in good condition.

Use this link to reserve Discovery Boxes: Discovery Box Reservations

DISCOVERY BOX TOPICS

Arkansas State Symbols

The Civil War

First Peoples of the Ozarks

Fossils of the Ozarks

Geology (artifacts only)

Toys and Games

Weaving Looms

We partner with local education co-ops to offer Arkansas Department of Education-approved professional development opportunities, free of charge, to K – 12 educators. Workshops may take place at the museum or on an appropriate site in our six-county region. To schedule a workshop, email education manager Judy Costello or call 479-750-8165.

WORKSHOP TOPICS

Overview of Shiloh Museum Resources for Schools – 60 to 90 minutes
In this quick workshop, teachers learn about our field trip and in-school children’s programs and how these programs support state curriculum frameworks or Common Core curriculum. We introduce our Discovery and Artifact Boxes available for loan. We also include a tour of our historic buildings and grounds and time to explore the exhibit hall.

Field Trip Immersion – 60 to 90 minutes
We adapt any of our field trips to demonstrate to teachers in this workshop. This format includes a short introduction to the program and how it supports curriculum framework. Teachers experience a pared-down version of the field trip program and participate in the activities their students would do. Teachers also participate in a brainstorming session for pre- and post-visit resources they would use relating to curriculum frameworks and ways to improve or enhance the activities.