With our Virtual Group Labs, you can bring the excitement of HMNS into your home! With two different virtual formats to choose from, we’ve got the options you need for any topic or audience. Please note: Basic school supplies and a printer may be necessary.
Looking for in-person programs? Check out our Weekday Lab or Lab on Demand pages for more information on the programming your group can participate in at HMNS!
How to Book
After reviewing the information below, email us at reservations@hmns.org or utilize the fillable form below to book your Lab. If you have any questions on which program would be best for your group, we’d be happy to provide recommendations!
Virtual Group Lab Formats
Choose between pre-recorded and live, virtual Group Labs depending on your program’s and audience’s needs.
Pre-Recorded Group Labs
Pre-recorded Group Labs feature our dynamic museum educators along with museum specimens to bring some of our favorite scientific and cultural concepts to life. Your group or class will have 24 hours of access to the content, so they can watch the presentation as many times as they would like. Scroll down for a list of the topics that are available as pre-recorded presentations. More topics coming soon!
Pricing:
As an introductory offer for our virtual, pre-recorded Group Labs, you and your audience get 24 hours of access to the topic of your choosing for only $150. Once you book with us and select your access date, you’ll receive a password-protected link you can share with your audience. You’ll also receive the password that will be active on the date of your program. Your audience will be able to log on using the designated password to watch the presentation at any time that fits their schedule on the date of your program.
Virtual Group Labs are available from 8 a.m. on the date of your choosing until 8 a.m. the following day. During that time, your audience can watch the video at any time and as many times as they would like.
Pre-Recorded Group Lab Add-On
Want to know more after watching your pre-recorded virtual Group Lab? Schedule some time with one of our educators to ask your most pressing science questions!
Q&A with an Educator
Select a date and time for your educator Q&A*, and we’ll send you a Zoom link to share with your audience. At the selected date and time, your audience can sign on to meet with our educator and learn more about your selected Group Lab topic. Q&A sessions are limited to 50 participants on a first come, first served basis.
*Educator Q&A sessions are subject to availability. While we are happy to take requests for educators that cover specific content areas, we cannot guarantee a specific educator.
Pricing: $50 for 30 minutes
Pre-Recorded Group Lab Topics
The following topics are available as pre-recorded Virtual Group Labs. While based on our in-person Lab programs, the content of these Labs have been adapted to work best in a virtual format. If you would like recommendations on which topic would be best for your audience, we’re happy to provide suggestions.
Grades 1-8
Discovery Lab: Rocks and Minerals of Ancient Egypt – This class provides a look at Granite, Scoria, Obsidian, Limestone, Sandstone, and Gneiss and how the ancient peoples of Egypt used these materials to build their worlds. We will focus on the specific geologic conditions that gave them the building materials to create their mega structures and mythologies.
Southwestern Energy Earth Science Lab: Bright Side of the Moon – Explore the phases of the moon and find out what causes it to wax and wane over the course of a month.
Wildlife Lab: Conservation and Pollution – Small changes in an environment can have a big impact on wildlife. Discover the impact humans have had, both good and bad, as you explore the effects of pollutants in a food web.
Grades 5-12
Biology Lab: Blood – Nobody can do without it, and we mean no body! Learn about some different kinds of blood and use simulated blood to identify human blood types.
Dissection Lab: Heart Dissection – Nothing beats that “Aww” moment! Take a detailed, in-depth look at one powerful muscle and vital body organ, the heart. *Demonstration only.
Dissection Lab: Owl Pellet Dissection – Ever wonder what happens to the indigestible parts when birds swallow food whole? They regurgitate it! Find out as you deconstruct and explore an owl pellet in this virtual demonstration. *Demonstration only.
Live, Virtual Group Labs
Choose from our Group Lab topics and get a live, virtual Group Lab led by one of our experienced educators. Labs are presented via Zoom and last an hour, including time for questions at the end!* Presenters will use museum specimens, artifacts, and/or handouts to enhance their presentations on a variety of topics!
Please note:
– Live, Virtual Dissection Labs will be dissection demonstrations with the opportunity to engage with the instructor and ask questions.
– Chaperone assistance is required for 1st-3rd graders.
– Latecomers will not receive additional time.
We assume students have basic school supplies such as washable markers, scissors, tape, paper, etc. but will send a list of supplies to gather and any paper materials specific to the lab activities to the email connected with your virtual lab purchase. Please note: access to a printer may be necessary.
*If you are unable to use Zoom, please let us know at the time of booking so we can find an alternate platform.
Pricing:
Our live, virtual Group Labs are $250 per presentation. Live, virtual Group Labs last approximately one hour, including both presentation time as well as time for Q&A at the end. Once you book with us and select your program date, you’ll receive a Zoom link you can share with your audience. You can join the presentation together or everyone can join us from home.
Live Group Lab Topics
The following topics are available as Live Virtual Group Labs. While based on our in-person Lab programs, the content of these Labs have been adapted to work best in a virtual format. If you would like recommendations on which topic would be best for your audience, we’re happy to provide suggestions.
Wildlife LabsAmphibians – Are frogs and salamanders fortune tellers? Study these environmental indicators to discover what they could tell you about your own future.
Australian Wildlife – It’s got flying foxes, the only two egg laying mammals in the world, and more!
Get Batty – Next time you see a bat, don’t call pest control, bats ARE the pest control! Discover why bats aren’t as spooky as they seem and why they make such great neighbors.
Nature’s Revenge – Don’t make them mad; these animals are equipped with toxins to fight back! Delve into the world of venomous and poisonous animals, particularly those found in Texas.
Pollution and the Food Web – Small changes in an environment can have a big impact on wildlife. Discover the impact humans have had, both good and bad, as you explore the effects of pollutants in a food web.
Polyp-palooza – Often confused for plants or rocks, coral beds are full of fascinating animals working together to support an incredible amount of life forms. Pay these polyps the attention they deserve in this wildlife lab.
Slow and Steady – Turtles and tortoises seem invincible with their heavy armor, but these living tanks are actually quite vulnerable to human influence. Investigate why in this lab. *Requires dried beans for supplies.
Optical Illusions – Investigate ambiguous pictures, impossible shapes, strobe effects, and other amazing illusions.
Shape Science – Discover the science and math of shapes through tessellations, construction, and more.
Falling Fast – Explore parachutes and other ways to cushion a fall, then design and protect an egg ‘passenger’ from a crash. *Requires uncooked eggs for supplies.
Patterns in Nature (Ages 10-16 only) – Explore the Fibonacci sequence and other cool patterns found in animals, plants, minerals, and more! *Should understand simple exponents.
Fascinating Fractals (Ages 12-18 only) – Explore endlessly repeating patterns similar to the branches of a tree. Then figure out how to draw your own. *Should understand orders of magnitude.
Heraldry – Use combinations of colors, shapes and animals to create shields as you discover the history of heraldry.
Archeology 101 – Dead men really do tell tales! Come explore the science of archeology from shards to skulls and beyond.
Forensic Anthropology – Get up close and personal with bones and discover what secrets they can tell you if you know how to listen. Class includes work with skeletal reproductions.
Aztecs – Come meet the Mesoamerican people who lived in what is now Mexico City and the surrounding territory beginning in the 14th century. They established a broad empire that lasted roughly 200 years and was one of the most advanced for its time.
Castles – Explore the basics of medieval castle structure and life inside these amazing fortresses. Then use what you’ve learned to design your own.
Cleopatra (Grades 5 and up only) – Last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and shrewd politician – meet this mysterious woman of the past.
Imperial Rome – Experience the magnificence of Rome during its reign as the dominant political, economic and military power of the western civilized world.
Fingerprinting – Discover the techniques crime scene investigators use to collect and examine evidence. This class teaches you how to lift fingerprints and identify basic fingerprints in order to better understand the science.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – Come travel all over the world as you discover the wonders of the ancient world, from the Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramids at Giza.
Da Vinci Science – Inventor, artist, architect, genius. Leonardo Da Vinci is the ultimate Renaissance Man. Discover the range of Leonardo’s talents as you try out some challenges of your own.
Lost Colony of Roanoke – Explore what clues we have to what happened to the settlers who disappeared from this early colony.
We Built this City – What does it take to build a successful city? Try your hand at ancient urban engineering.
History of Espionage – Do you have what it takes to crack the case? Discover the history of the covert world of espionage.
Owl Pellet – Ever wonder what happens to the indigestible parts when raptors swallow food whole? Find out as you deconstruct and explore an owl pellet in this virtual demonstration.
Starfish – Dive deep into this class about the starfish and other aquatic Echinoderms.
Heart – Nothing beats that “Aww” moment! Take a detailed, in-depth look at one powerful muscle and vital body organ, the heart.
Brain – Put your axons to work as you model nerves and neurotransmitters.
Eyeball – Blind spots, color blindness, or myopia a problem? Come find out why as you take an inside look at the eye and see how it functions.
Blood – Nobody can do without it, and we mean no body! Learn about some different kinds of blood and learn how to identify human blood types with simulated blood.
Cells – What do you have over 75 trillion of but have never seen with the naked eye? Compare animal and plant cells as you take an up close look at our most basic component.
Mitosis – Learn about chromosomes and cellular division as you study mitosis.
Rock Cycle – Sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous, oh my! Take a spin through the rock cycle and investigate how rocks are changed and formed.
Layers of the Atmosphere – Let’s take it from the top! In this lab, we’ll explore the layers of the earth’s atmosphere, and discuss how altitude, pressure, and temperature change in our atmosphere.
Layers of the Earth – Journey to the center of the earth? Of course! We’re going to explore everything from the core to the crust and all the layers in between.
Layers of the Ocean – Take a journey into the depths of the ocean! Learn about the ocean’s layers and the pressure it creates for the living and nonliving things in each layer.
Our Place in Space – Delve into our solar system to find out what makes it unique and see what lies outside of its boundaries.
Total Eclipse of the Sun – Explore what happens during an eclipse, and prepare for our next total solar eclipse!
Fossil Fuels – Dig into fossil fuels! Explore the formation of these resources.
Bright Side of the Moon – Explore the phases of the moon and find out what causes it to wax and wane over the course of a month.