Traveling trunks are offered by many non-profit organizations, commercial companies, and other entities who like to share their resources. Traveling trunks give the busy teacher the opportunity to access resources that might be too expensive to obtain otherwise. Usually these trunks come with lesson plan ideas to make your job even easier.
Today, I am sharing with you some of these resources. I have many more up my sleeve, so if you do not see something you might like to use, leave a message, and I might just have what you are looking for.
1. The National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/learn/trunks.htm)
The National Park Service has a variety of traveling trunks available for teachers. They require in most cases a refundable security deposit. Trunks pertaining to resources for each park are available from specific parks. Trunks include:
* Ellis Island: Five different "Park in a pack" trunks.
* Aztec Ruins National Parks: Different trunks containing numerous replica artifacts, the Hisatsinom video, and a teacher's guide. The teacher's guide includes background readings, lessons, and field trip advice.
* Geology or Archeology traveling trunks from the Delaware Water Gap
* Jefferson National Park Expansion Memorial in Missouri (10 different trunks available)
Investigate the website for more information. There are also other teacher resources on the "Parks in the Curriculum" page.
2. Civil War: Life of a Civil War Soldier
Friends of the National Park at Gettysburg will send you this trunk for a suggested donation. COntact them at tel. 717-334-0772 x 222, or email at
taltland@friendsofgettysburg.org.
You can find a lesson plan to use for this trunk online at http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/publichistory/sanders.html
3. Home for History Traveling Trunk
http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/preservation-services/youth-education/#trunk
This trunk is for 2nd through 6th grade and teaches about architecture and historical preservation. Contact them at tel. (501) 324-9880, email at
info@arkansaspreservation.org
4. Center For Diversity Education (CDE)
http://eduweb.unca.edu/diversityed/
This education center offers several trunks:
*An Unmarked Trail (Stories of African Americans in Bumcombe County 1850- 1900)
*Choosing to Remember from the Shoah to the Mountains (Shoah is Hebrew for catastrophe)
*Coming to the Mountains (Immigration and Western North Carolina)
* It’s Only a Game? (portrayal of Native Americans in sports)
* Lest We Forget (WW II)
* The Power of Words
*Treasure of Diversity
Contact them at tel: (828) 232-5024
5. Holocaust Information:Florida Holocaust Museum
http://www.floridaholocaustmuseum.org/Trunks/trunks2.cfm
Contact them at tel: (727) 820-0100 ext 221 or email at:
trunks@flholocaustmuseum.org
They have 10 trunks available for 1st grade through 12th grade levels
A variety of topics related to the holocaust, human rights, tolerance, etc.
*Different and Same (for 1st-2nd grade)
*Creating Community (3rd-4th grade)
*Beginning Holocaust Studies (5th grade)
*Investigating Human Behavior (middle school)
*Historical Perspective of the Holocaust (high school)
*Arts Trunk (either elementary or secondary)
*Human Rights and Genocide (middle and high school)
Holocaust Museum of Houston (http://www.hmh.org/ed_cur_trunk.asp)
Contact them at tel: 713-942-8000
*Elementary School
*Middle School
*High School Social Studies
*High School Language Arts
*Advanced Placement High School Language Arts
6. Lewis and Clarke: Montana Lewis & Clark Bicentenial http://www.montanalewisandclark.org/resources/travelingtrunks.htm
Contact them at tel: 406) 443-2109 or email at rcortright@mt.gov
*The Expedition
*Natural History
*Montana’s First People
There are many regional centers who also offer trunks. Contact your local natural history museum or the art museum to see what they have available. Since I live in Alabama, here are some Alabama resources also.
7. Mobile Museum of fine arts (http://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/)
Contact them at tel: (334) 343-2667
They have: * An African Trunk
*A Native American Trunk
*A Preschool trunk
8. Alabama Power Science Suitcases (http://www.southerncompany.com/alpower/community/sciencesuitcases.asp?mnuOpco=apc&mnuType=sub&mnuItem=oc)
They have many resources for teachers, including over 300 suitcases:
Nutshells - Grades 2 - 6
Delta Science Corners - Grades 2 - 6
Delta Science Modules
Delta FOSS (Full Option Science System) Modules Cuisenaire-->
Carolina Biological
Insights (Kendall/Hunt) Kits
Wabash Instrument Corporation
Water Assessment Kits
Enviroscape - Grades 3 - 8
9. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery http://www.archives.state.al.us/teacher/architrunk.html
Contact them at tel: (334) 242-4435
ArchiTrunk: Alabama History Teaching Kit. This kit is aligned with fourth grade Alabama teaching standards and contain Artifact reproductions, Books, Videos, Maps, Lesson Plans, and Activity Sheets. Costs only shipping.
10. Burritt on the Mountain (www.burrittmuseum.com/pages/education_programs_out.htm)
Contact them at tel: (256) 512-0146
They offer: *Grandmother’s trunk (TN Valley)
*Gifts from the earth (Native Americans and early Europeans of Southeast)
*Animals (skulls, pelts, etc)
*School Days (school items from 1800s)
My thanks to Debbie Carden for help with the research on this topic.
Does this not excite you? If students can touch and see, they will enjoy learning much more, they will remember much more, and you might just inspire a budding scholar to investigate further. Apart from the benefits to students, changing the everyday into a special day will help you enjoy your work more!
Have fun!
