Resources For Educators: Extreme Mammals

Part of the Extreme Mammals exhibition.

hero image for educators extreme mammals
Extreme Mammals uses both living and extinct mammals to trace the ancestry and evolution of this remarkable group of animals. This comprehensive guide will help you explore the exhibition with your students. 

Educators Guide and Materials

Cover of Educator's Guide titled "Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time" featuring images of four mammals.

Extreme Mammals Educator's Guide

Get an advance look at the exhibition's major themes and what your class will encounter. This eight-page guide for K-12 educators includes a Map of the Exhibition, Essential Questions (important background content), Teaching in the Exhibition (self-guided explorations), Come Prepared Checklist, Correlation to Standards, and Glossary.

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Science and Literacy Activities

Extreme Mammals: Activities for Grades K-2
Extreme Mammals: Activities for Grades 3-5
Extreme Mammals: Activities for Grades 6-8
Extreme Mammals: Activities for Grades 9-12
Extreme Mammals: Correlations to Standards
Explore the Hall of Primitive Mammals: Worksheet for Grades 6-8

More Resources


Use these free online resources before or after your visit to further explore themes presented in the Extreme Mammals exhibition.

At the Museum

  • Museum Tours
    Tours of popular exhibits for groups, plus information on popular self-guided tours.
  • Zoology for Kids 
    This site lets younger students explore big ideas about mammals and other animals though games, puzzles, and interactives. They can examine how six cool mammals move, explore the Extreme Mammals photo gallery, play a mammal teeth matching game, and make a moving-mammal flip book.

Additional Web Links

  • Scholastic Science Explorations, Talking Science: Extreme Mammals
    www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=624
    In a series of short videos, Extreme Mammals curator John Flynn talks about extreme mammals, his work as a paleontologist, and what inspired him to become a scientist.
  • Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History
    mnh.si.edu/mammals/
    Supporting the Smithsonian's Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals, this site's digital resources including a quiz about the characteristics of mammals, a timeline showing how mammals evolved, and an interactive world map showing where mammals live.
  • How Stuff Works—About Mammals
    animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals
    An expansive library of mammal-related articles and videos.
  • La Brea Tar Pits
    tarpits.org/
    Visit the website of the La Brea Tar Pits, one of the world's most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world.

Read more about

Meet your Relatives What is a Mammal? What is Extreme? Extreme Bodies Moving Bodies Extreme Stories Extreme Extinction About the Exhibition Meet the Curator Collaborators