Student Activity Guides
Printable material for Bullock Museum films and exhibitions
Explore materials that encourage conversation and help your students discover history, science, and culture.
Looking for a way to engage with exhibitions and support your students' learning? Download or print one or more Activity Guides for chaperones and students. Bring pencils and clipboards or notebooks to use as a writing surface when in the galleries.
Not sure which one might be best for your group's field trip length and content focus? Want to use them on the visit, but are unable to print them in advance? Contact Reservations@TheStoryofTexas.com for assistance.
Activity Guides for All Grade Levels
Activity Guides help students focus on specific topics and skills during their Museum visit.
Making a Living Activity Guide
What jobs have Texans done over time, and how has the state’s geography influenced which industries grew here? How have trade and new industries shaped the economy of Texas? Find out by using the Making a Living Activity Guide. Explore the Texas History Galleries, looking closely at the artifacts and following the guide as it leads your students through six activities in the Museum.
- Making a Living (Manual Booklet Version)
To print, use the following settings: two pages per sheet, double sided, flip on short side. - Making a Living Teacher Guide
Artifact Adventure
Send your students on an adventure to find an artifact in the Museum, and learn how to analyze it like a historian. Learn more about what you see, or do this activity in the classroom by using our online Artifact Gallery.
Find and Sketch
As they visit the Museum galleries, your students become artists by sketching artifacts that represent thematic topics. Back in the classroom, use their sketches to continue the lesson.
Museum Rotunda Mosaic Search
Head up the Grand Staircase to the third floor Rotunda, and look down. Using the Terrazzo in the Rotunda floor, students will explore Texas history and learn why a detailed examination of artifacts is important to understand the state. Want to learn more? Check out our Campfire Stories.
Bobstagram Photo Scavenger Hunt
Have your students become keen observers as they take on this Bobstagram Photo Scavenger Hunt. Using cameras, students will find artifacts that represent the concepts in the activity.
Activity Guides for Special Exhibitions
Special temporary exhibitions at the Bullock Museum bring in different topics and disciplines for your students to explore.
To enhance your field trips, use these downloads to accompany exhibitions currently on view with activities in the classroom before or after your trip to the Museum.
T. rex: The Ultimate Predator
Everyone knows Tyrannosaurus rex. But did you know that T. rex hatchlings were fluffy and gangly, more like turkeys than the massive killing machines they grew up to be? Or that T. rex evolved from a large group of dinosaurs that were, for the most part, small, and fast? Or that the mega-predator had the rare ability to pulverize and digest bones? Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, the exhibition will introduce you to the entire tyrannosaur family.
- Use this scavenger hunt for an engaging in-gallery activity
- Explore educational resources from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), including an exhibition guide, activity sets, and worksheets
- View more details about the exhibition
T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org).
Activity Guides for Films
Both the Texas Spirit Theater, a multisensory experience, and the IMAX® Theatre offer a memorable and fun way to understand history, science, and culture.
Want to enrich your students' experience in the theater? Use these downloads to accompany films currently on view with activities in the classroom before or after your trip to the Museum.
Cities of the Future
Imagine stepping 50 years into the future and finding smart cities designed to be totally sustainable. Renewable energy is our primary power source, space-based solar power provides solar energy 24 hours a day, everything is recycled, and you travel in individualized pods that run on little or no energy. Follow a team of middle schoolers participating in the annual Future Cities Competition, an international contest that challenges students to engineer their own city to face the challenges the future might bring. Along the way, meet the engineers already working to create the technologies that will power a sustainable world.
Wild Rescue
Follow the heartfelt stories of animals in need and the devoted veterinarians and volunteers who provide them with a second chance at life. Students will learn more about the veterinary field and how people can work together to help wildlife. From the arrival of a fragile bobcat to the rehabilitation of a young fox, explore hospital admissions, groundbreaking medical treatments, and the delicate balance of wildlife care. Baby birds, nocturnal creatures, and even pelicans undergoing surgery highlight the interconnectedness of all species and the innovative efforts of modern conservation.
- Living With Wildlife | Learn practical ways to peacefully co-exist with wildlife
- Animals Around Us | Explore the wide variety of animals in urban communities
- More details on the film
School Programs are generously funded by Featured sponsor The Marie M. and James H. Galloway Foundation and Contributing sponsor The Honorable Kent R. Hance.
The Bullock Museum, a division of the Texas State Preservation Board, is funded by Museum members, donors, and patrons, the Texas State History Museum Foundation, and the State of Texas.