About Coyote Point Museum Education
Mission: To educate and inspire people to take care of our earth wisely.
Educational Philosophy
"Teaching people HOW to think"
It is our philosophy that by providing experiences that foster observation and interaction, the learner is more involved in the learning process. Rather than deliver information, we create opportunities through science, art and the outdoors, for students to ask questions, engage all their senses, and discover what makes their world work. Through this, students develop a greater appreciation for their world and are inspired to care for it.
Changes This Year
The success of our programs and our educational philosophy is based upon creating enriching, personal, engaging, and natural phenomena-based experiential learning experiences. While many things have remained very similar to years past, we have made a few improvements that will provide an even better educational experience for your group.
- A more personal and effective learning experience: For our on-site programs, we have reduced the allowed number of students for any one program to provide a more personal and more effective learning experience. We have found that when we are working with small groups, there is more time to interact with each student, activities are more engaging, students have greater enjoyment of the experience, and learning is greatly enhanced. This change does not impact the size of the class that you bring to the museum.
- More flexible scheduling: We know that groups that visit Coyote Point Museum have a variety of time constraints. To meet this need, we now provide three different program structures that vary in length to allow groups to have a unique educational program and still have time to enjoy the museum.
- Additional science topics offered: Coyote Point Museum's educational programs now incorporate more than education on animals. Our new classes on energy, plants and weather cover many science disciplines and thus now support a greater number of the California Science Content Standards. Understanding the science of the how and why our world works creates a sense of wonder in learners and is inspires them to care for our planet.
Fewer students in a lesson, more options for you to plan your visit, lessons that support what you teach in the classroom, and an engaging educational philosophy all add up to a truly remarkable environmental and science education program.
We encourage you to look at our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information and then contact us, and let us help you schedule the best environmental and science education program for you and your group.
New! Lesson Formats
Coyote Point Museum offers a variety of environmental and science lessons conducted using our unique educational approach, supporting the California Science Content Standards, and in three different lesson formats to facilitate small groups and meet a class/group’s timing needs. The following lesson formats are for programs conducted at the Museum.
Exploration
The Exploration Program structure is a 30-minute instructor-led lesson focused on a particular science or environmental concept. Small group sizes allow for greater interaction, more instructor-to-student attention, and a more enriching learning experience. This structure is best if you have younger students, your class is 18 students or less, and you have a couple of hours to spend enjoying the Museum.
Inquiry & Investigation
This is our traditional program structure of a 45-60 minute lesson. A Museum educator provides a group introduction and discussion about the topic, observation and/or experimentation, a wrap-up and a conclusion. The slightly longer lesson time and small group size provide plenty of opportunities for investigation of your topic. This structure is best for a class of 20 or more students which wants more in-depth coverage of an environmental or science topic.
Discovery Adventure
This special lesson structure is conducted by at least two museum educators and is 1.5 to 2 hours in length. Students work in groups both inside and outside the museum to engage in a multi-faceted learning experience. The length of this class and the additional educators provide students with opportunities to make connections and conclusions with the information they learn. This structure is ideal for older students and/or a class that wants to completely cover a focused topic.
How many students can participate?
Other Program Options
School Days
Schools bringing multiple classes of the same grade and wanting to add educational lessons to their visit can now set-up a special day for your school group visit. Museum educators can work with school/group leaders to create an educational experience using any or all of the above lesson structures. School Days will be scheduled on the first Friday of each month (October –May).
We Can Come to You!
Some of our lessons are able to travel to your school/group site. After the lesson description, look for the label that states, "This program can travel to your site!" Coyote Point Museum educators will travel to school/group locations within San Mateo County to bring our effective educational philosophy to you. All lessons done at your site are done in the Inquiry & Investigation format. Some classes may have certain space requirements, and if you have more than 20 students for pre-school - 2nd grade or 30 students for 3rd grade and above, multiple class sessions may need to be scheduled. Travel fees may apply for off-site program locations. Please check the General School Programs Information page for travel fees.
How many children can participate?
