Middle School Institutes

Lace up your boots, grab your field notebook, and experience the urban environment through a conservation lens as an AMNH EcoRanger! Learn the tools and techniques conservation scientists use to gather information about endangered habitats, and explore the Museum’s biodiversity resources in the exhibit halls, genetics labs, and beyond. Then head out into the field to explore the local environment and get hands-on experience collecting data! With the help of the institute’s EcoGuides, students will develop a conservation plan based on their fieldwork. Are you ready to take the future of our planet into your hands?

Lunch and snack will be provided for all institute participants.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open

The scene: Homo sapiens and Neanderthals are living side by side in Ice Age Europe. Were they friends or enemies? Did they speak to each other, mate with each other, or kill each other? Why did Neanderthals become extinct and leave humans as the only hominid species on Earth? Use fossil and genetic evidence to investigate these questions and then bring competing scenarios to life in a virtual Ice Age Europe. In this Virtual Worlds Institute, we will work with fossil specimens from the Museum’s collections, take behind-the-scenes tours of our research departments, and meet scientists who work in the field of physical anthropology.

Check out this video about the Virtual Worlds Institute: What Happened to the Neanderthals?

Cost: $1300 ($1250 Members)

Registration Open

Did you know that we share our planet with more than five million species? In this program, you will explore the amazing diversity of life on Earth by visiting our fossil halls and our genetics labs, exploring the diversity right in front of us in New York City, and examining our world-famous collections of specimens. Join us to gain understanding of the genetic and physical evidence for evolution, meet Museum scientists that work in different fields of biology, and take behind-the-scenes tours of our research departments.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open

Ocean currents, ecology... computer programming? Coding Climate Change is a new course that explores climate science and computer science. With Python, a popular coding language used widely by scientists in many fields, students will ask and answer scientific questions by analyzing data from the NASA Earth Observatory. No coding experience necessary—we’ll start from the beginning! Along the way, students will take a deep dive into current climate science research and develop basic coding skills. Join us for an opportunity to learn about the forces changing the global climate and the tools scientists use to study them.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open

The strongest forces of our planet and... computer programming? Coding Quakes is a new course that explores earth and computer science. With Python, a popular coding language used widely by scientists in many fields, students will ask and answer scientific questions by analyzing data of earthquakes from around the globe. No coding experience is necessary—we’ll start from the beginning! Along the way, students will take a deep dive into current Earth science research and develop basic coding skills. Join us for an opportunity to learn about the forces shaping our planet and the tools scientists use to study them.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open

What is life like for anthropologists searching for our earliest human ancestors? Join Museum scientists on a journey to uncover how humans evolved by looking for signs of life at the famous paleontological site of Koobi Fora in northern Kenya. Unparalleled for its geological, fossil, and archaeological evidence for all major stages of human evolution over the last five million years, this site has informed much of what we currently know about the evolution of humans today. Discover what it is like to do fieldwork and learn how scientists identify human fossils, reconstruct prehistoric environments, interpret the behavior of extinct early human species, and determine the age of the fossils.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open

Want to take a stroll on Mars? How about an afternoon flight to Europa, a moon of Jupiter, which may have vast oceans under its icy surface? In this unique program, you will learn to navigate our solar system, galaxy, and beyond using the Museum’s cutting-edge three-dimensional digital map of our universe. Digital Universe combines celestial mapmaking with breathtaking and sophisticated data visualization. Using advanced gaming laptops and the Rose Center’s Hayden Planetarium, students will have the incredible opportunity to explore this software and the science behind it.
The Digital Universe Flight School also provides you with the opportunity to learn from the Museum’s considerable space science resources, as well as to meet scientists to learn about careers in astrophysics and Earth science.

Want to learn more about Digital Universe? Check out this cool film The Known Universe.

Here's a video about the Winter 2012 Institute for the Digital Universe Flight School.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open

Sharks—for more than 400 million years, these fearsome fishes have been among the ocean’s top predators. In this institute, you will use the Museum’s amazing fossil collection to learn about the strange and fascinating history of these extraordinary creatures. Through a combination of hands-on activities and computer-generated graphics, you will build a detailed knowledge of ancient shark biology, behavior, and environments.

Cost: $650 ($625 Members)

Registration Open