NHM Mobile Museum FAQs | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Mobile Museum FAQs

General

Are there any fees for the Mobile Museum programs?

The Mobile Museum programs are free thanks to the generosity of the Max H. Gluck Foundation.

Do the Mobile Museums require any electrical hook-up?

No, each Mobile Museum has an onboard generator that supplies power.

Are the Mobile Museums wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the Mobile Museum: Archaeology Experience and the Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience are equipped with a wheelchair ramp or lift.

School Residencies

I completed an online request form for a school residency. What do I need to do next?

Due to the popularity of this program, it may take 6-8 weeks to process your request. We typically receive more requests than our capacity. You will receive an email on the status of your application.  

Please note that there is a two-year wait period between visits to each school site.

How much space does the Mobile Museum need to park at my school?

The Mobile Museums are large full sized semi-tractor trailers.  We require a level parking space that is 65 ft. x 20 ft. with a 14 ft. vertical clearance, can sustain the weight of the trailer and is enclosed within school grounds.  Once your request is approved, the Mobile Museum drivers will conduct an in-person site check to confirm that your site is accessible for the Mobile Museum. We require a person who has authority to sign off on parking at your site to be present during the site check, such as the principal or school administrator.

The Mobile Museum will be positioned to ensure maneuverability for the driver, easy access for the teachers/students, as well as limited disturbance to the school population. We make every effort to park the trailer in your preferred spot.

We have the Mobile Museum program confirmed for our school; do we need to supply anything?

We require the use of an unused classroom space for the week(s) of our residency.  This room should be within reasonable walking distance to the Mobile Museum trailer and accessible for our carts (must have ramp or elevator).  We require twenty (20) chairs and six (6) tables (no single desks) to be available in the classroom and will likely rearrange the tables to fit the needs of our program. It is also helpful if the room has a whiteboard. 

When will the Mobile Museum arrive at our school?

The Mobile Museum will arrive early on the first day of our residency and pull off in the afternoon after the last class on the last day of our residency. Please note, if the Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience is scheduled for a two-week-long residency, then the Mobile Museum will be pulled off during the weekend and will arrive again the following Monday morning.

How many students can you serve with the Mobile Museum program?

The number of students we serve is dependent upon your school schedule, class size, and NHM staff availability. 

The Mobile Museum: An Archaeology Experience can serve a maximum of 36 students per program, and we typically facilitate 8 – 10 programs per week.

The Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience can serve a maximum of 40 students per program, and we typically facilitate 8 – 9 programs per week.

How long is the Mobile Museum program?

The Mobile Museum: An Archaeology Experience is a two-hour block program; students spend 60-minutes inside of the trailer (field) and 60-minutes inside of the classroom (museum lab). Two NHM Educators will meet the teacher in his/her classroom at the scheduled time of the program. Following a brief introduction, one-half of the class will go to the Mobile Museum, while the other half will go to the "museum lab." The two groups will switch places after approximately 60 minutes.

The Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience is a 90-minute program; students spend 45-minutes inside of the trailer (field) and 45-minutes inside of the classroom (museum lab). Teachers are required to accompany half of the class to the Mobile Museum and send the other half to the classroom. The 90-minute program for one class may be split into two days or conducted in one day, depending on your school schedule (regular or block periods).

What is a Mobile Museum Open House, and who can participate?

If your school schedule allows, the NHM Educators will open the Mobile Museum for one hour after school, usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday.  The Open House is an opportunity for the entire school community (families, students, staff, and afterschool programs) to walk through the trailer and view the exhibit.

What grades can participate in the Mobile Museum program?

The Mobile Museum: An Archaeology Experience serves 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students.  Special Day classes can be served with a modified program, or mainstreamed with other participating classes. 

The Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience serves 6th – 12th-grade students. Special Day classes can be served with a modified program, or mainstreamed with other participating classes. 

What do teachers need to do in preparation for the Mobile Museum visit?

Two weeks before our residency, teachers and administrators are required to attend a 45-minute in-service orientation at your school with NHM staff.  During the in-service teachers will:

• Participate in a skills-based workshop.
• Review the required Pre-Visit activity.
• Review logistics such as scheduling of programs, classroom/mobile location, and preparing a Program Roster.

 

The NHM staff member leading the in-service will also meet with the school administrator and assigned Program Contact for 15-minutes to review logistical details of the residency.

Community Events

I completed an online request form for a community event. What do I need to do next?

It may take 2-3 weeks to process your request.  Our ability to attend community events is based on our school residency schedule, accessibility of your site, and the audience you intend to serve at your event.  We attend community events that are free of charge to participants and have an educational focus.

If you would like an update on the status of your request, please email mobilemusuems@nhm.org.

How much space does the Mobile Museum need to park?

The Mobile Museums are large full sized semi-tractor trailers.  We require a paved, level parking space that is 65 ft. x 20 ft. with a 14 ft. vertical clearance, and can sustain the weight of the trailer.  Once your request is approved, the Mobile Museum drivers will conduct an in-person site check to confirm that your site is accessible for the Mobile Museum. We require a person who has authority to sign off on parking to be present during the site check, such as the event site coordinator. 

The Mobile Museum will be positioned to ensure maneuverability for the driver and easy access for your event attendees. We make every effort to park the trailer in your preferred spot.

How early will the Mobile Museum arrive at the event site?

The Mobile Museum: An Archaeology Experience will arrive approximately 2-hours before the start of the event.  Our drivers will spend this time parking the vehicle in the designated space and set up the ramp/stairs to access the Mobile Museum.

The Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience will arrive approximately 1-hour before the start of the event. Our drivers will spend this time parking the vehicle in the designated space and set up the stairs to access the Mobile Museum.

What type of programming do you offer during Community Events?

The Mobile Museum: An Archaeology Experience simulates an archaeological field site in the Santa Monica Mountains. Visitors will have the opportunity to view various local, Southern California species of taxidermy mammal, rodents, and birds mounted inside of the trailer as part of the experience. 

The Mobile Museum: An Ocean Experience simulates a human-occupied submersible that travels to the bottom of the San Pedro Channel off the coast of Southern California. Visitors will view a variety of local sea life in the kelp forest, rocky reef, deep sea, and open ocean habitats, as well specimens from NHM collections.