Cowboys: Past and Present

• K-2nd Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 25 students per hour

Cowboys have always been an important part of the American West. In this program, students explore the galleries and investigate replica cowboy gear to answer the question, “What helps a cowboy do his job?”

Animals of the West: Engineering With Nature (STEM Content Class)

• K-2nd Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 25 students per hour

In this interactive STEM-focused program, students will learn how people lived in the West for thousands of years by using their creativity and critical thinking to make tools, clothing, and other useful objects from animals.

Sculpture Explorers

• K-2nd Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 25 students per hour

What are sculptures? How are they made? Who makes them? Students will uncover the answers to these questions as they investigate our diverse collection of sculptures throughout the museum.

Docent-Guided Early Opportunities Program

• K-2nd Grades
• First and third Wednesdays and Thursdays of the month
• 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
• 30 students per hour

Led by our trained museum docents, your young students will investigate replica artifacts and role-play to discover the history of Western communities, Plains Indians, and cowboys and cowgirls.

Self-Guided Visit

• K-2nd Grades, 3rd-6th Grades, 7th-12th Grades
• Tuesday–Fridays
• Beginning at 12:15 p.m.
• 120 students per hour

Teachers who wish to spend additional time in the museum or who want to explore on their own may reserve a self-guided visit. For self-guided visits, we require one chaperone for every eight students. 

Docent-Guided History of the West Highlight Tour

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
• 120

Experience the stories behind the artifacts of the vast Autry collection as our docents highlight the history of the West, sharing their knowledge with your students in small groups and enhancing their understanding of history.

Eureka! The California Gold Rush

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

Students will use primary and secondary sources to solve a history mystery about the diverse peoples of the California gold rush. PLEASE NOTE: The gold panning portion of this program will not be available until September 3, 2019 due to renovations to the gold panning interactive exhibit.

Adventures on the Oregon Trail

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Fridays
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

Inspire the pioneer in your students! In this simulation, a museum teacher acts as a trail guide for your students while they learn about the hardships of traveling west. Students will work in small groups, using critical thinking to make tough decisions about survival as they encounter trials and triumphs on the trail.

Encounters: The Fur Trade

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

Your students will develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of the 19thcentury fur trade system through historical role-play in which they trade food, animal products, and manufactured goods. Students will work in groups for this simulation to determine if trading is an effective way to conduct business.

Self-Guided Visit

• K-2nd Grades, 3rd-6th Grades, 7th-12th Grades
• Tuesday–Fridays
• Beginning at 12:15 p.m.
• 120 students per hour

Teachers who wish to spend additional time in the museum or who want to explore on their own may reserve a self-guided visit. For self-guided visits, we require one chaperone for every eight students. 

Native Californians and the Environment

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

Students will work in small groups as they explore our ethnobotanical garden to investigate the relationships Native Californians have with plants. The outdoor portion of this program is weather dependent.

American Indians of the West

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

Museum teachers will use our replica collection to introduce students to the varied Indigenous cultures of the Southwest, Northwest Coast, and Great Plains. Students will compare tools, foods, and customs to understand how the natural environment contributes to the development of cultures.

Discover 1890: Communities in the American West

• 3rd-6th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

Students will become historians as they use replica artifacts and primary sources to uncover stories about individuals from various communities in the American West of 1890.

Docent-Guided History of the West Highlight Tour

• 7th-12th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

Experience the stories behind the artifacts of the vast Autry collection as our docents highlight the history of the West, sharing their knowledge with your students in small groups and enhancing their understanding of history.

Day of Deliberation

• 7th-12th Grades
• Second Wednesday and Thursdays of the month

This program is designed to engage students in decisions about the past, present, and future of California through deliberation and civil discourse. Students will learn about the legislative process, water rights in California, the National Park Service, and the conservation movement in the United States by examining the use of Yosemite National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley in 1913. The program includes pre- and post-classroom activities; a 90-minute, moderated deliberative forum held at the Autry; and a self-guided tour of the galleries. For more information, please e-mail deliberation@theautry.org.

Curriculum

Student Issue Guide

Teacher Guide

• Stakeholders Graphic Organizer (Handout A)
• San Francisco Examiner Article (Handout B)
• San Francisco Examiner Article (Images)

Westward Expansion: Community and Opportunity

• 7th-12th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

In 1890, the West was a cultural crossroads of people from different backgrounds looking for opportunity. Was the West a place of opportunity for everyone in 1890? Your students will investigate this question through historical inquiry and collaborative group work using primary sources in our permanent galleries.

California Continued

• 7th-12th Grades
• Tuesday–Friday
• 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.
• 30 students per hour

This program explores the ongoing and interdependent relationship between people and the natural environments of California. After investigating primary and secondary sources, students will deliberate on a solution to an environmental dilemma currently affecting the deserts of Southern California.

Self-Guided Visit

• K-2nd Grades, 3rd-6th Grades, 7th-12th Grades
• Tuesday–Fridays
• Beginning at 12:15 p.m.
• 120 students per hour

Teachers who wish to spend additional time in the museum or who want to explore on their own may reserve a self-guided visit. For self-guided visits, we require one chaperone for every eight students.