• Museum Store Discount
  Teachers receive a 10% discount on educational items in the Columbia River Trading Company with proof of educator status.
  
  
• William G. Dick Library & Educator Resource Center
  Education materials, including curriculum guides, books, and videos may be checked out of our Educator Resource Center located within our William G. Dick Library. Some lending restrictions may apply. Call for hours of operation.
  

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• The Life of Columbia River Salmon

  Grades 4 - 6 45 minutes

  Grades 7 - 12 60 minutes

  
  In small groups students migrate through key exhibit areas and face human and non-human challenges to their survival. Challenge stations emphasize the salmon life cycle, compare the needs of fish and people, and brainstorm strategies for saving the salmon.
  
  
• Animal Habitats in the Gorge
  

  Grades K - 4 35 minutes

  
  Students will look at the diversity of animals and plants within the Gorge and discover how each supports and determines the survival of the other.
  
  
• The Skills of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
  

  Grades 5 - 12 60 minutes

  
  The Corps of Discovery succeeded in their mission because of their problem solving skills, individual strengths, and teamwork. In your students' journey through our exhibits, they will face scientific, mapping and trading challenges and compare how well they would have survived the Lewis and Clark expedition.
  
  
• Weather and Plant Communities of the Columbia Gorge
  

  Grades 5 - 12 45 minutes

  
  Learn what makes the wind blow so hard here and why redcedar and sagebrush have such different circles of friends, practically within sight of one other! Includes basics of Botany, Geography, and Meteorology. Best for grades 5-12.
  
  
• Oregon Trail: Decision at The Dalles
  

  Grades 4 - 6 45 minutes

  
  Students role play a wagon train and examine the "Decision at The Dalles" to gain an appreciation for how heavily pioneers relied upon planning, teamwork, and critical thinking skills during the Great Migration.
  
  
• Early Gorge Inhabitants
  

  Grades 7 - 12 45 minutes

  Grades 6 - 12 60 minutes

  
  Students explore how the lifestyles of Plateau and Chinookan peoples have remained sustainable for 10,000 years. Different versions of this program are available depending on grade level.
  
  
• Geology of the Gorge
  

  Grades 4 - 8 45 minutes

  
  By traveling 40 million years back in time, students will learn how forces of change created the geologic splendor of our area.
  

• Treasures of Wascopam
  

  Grades 3 - 5 45 minutes

  
  This highly interactive game uses all exhibits to show 14 resources or values that humans consider to be Treasures of the eastern Columbia River Gorge. It requires that parent volunteers be comfortable with reading aloud.

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• Taking to the Trail: An Oregon Trail Overview

  Grades 4 - 6 Fee: $10.00 per week

  Ten Unit Curriculum $50.00 refundable security deposit

  
  Recreate an Oregon Trail encampment in your classroom! A ten-unit curriculum guide will walk students along the Oregon Trail and examine why pioneers went westward, how they prepared for the journey, and what challenges they faced along the way. A seven-section map will allow students to move their wagon along the trail as they complete each unit. The Traveling Trunk includes pioneer costumes, craft materials, candle molds and beeswax, pioneer games, pots and pans, and other activities that bring this great migration to life.
  
  
• Wildflower Education Kit

  Grades 3 - 6 Fee: $10.00 per week

  $50.00 refundable security deposit

  
  The Columbia River Gorge is home to over one-fourth of Oregon's total wildflower population. With this kit, students will have fun exploring this abundant resource during the peak of the wildflower season. This Traveling Trunk includes four hands-on activities, hand lenses, plant samples and products, seed samples, geologic time-line cards, and 30 wildflower resource books and posters.
  
  
• Students of Science: Lewis and Clark's Scientific Method

  Grades 4 - 6 Fee: $10.00 per week

  Six Unit Curriculum $50.00 refundable security deposit

  
  Along with their political and economic missions, Lewis and Clark also had scientific goals. Using lessons from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, students explore the scientific process through a five-unit curriculum guide by Observing and Listening, Describing, Collecting, Identifying, and Hypothesizing. The Traveling Trunk includes animal pelts, seed and leaf identifying games, plant specimens, plant presses, microscopes, journals, map making materials and more.
  
  
• Investigate History: Lewis and Clark's Legacy in the Gorge

  Grades 5 - 8 Fee: $10.00 per week

  Six Unit Curriculum $50.00 refundable security deposit

  
  The Lewis and Clark journals provide historians with a baseline that allows scientists, ethnographers, cartographers, archaeologists, biologists, and more to track the shape and population of the Gorge for the past 200 years. By using this trunk students will come to appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of historical investigation and learn how primary documents play a key role in the study of history. A six-unit curriculum guide will use the journals to compare salmon population, human population, economic land use, and recreational land use in the Columbia River Gorge. The Traveling Trunk includes maps of the gorge, soil and water testing kits, archaeology kits, primary resources, videos, and more.
  
  
• Facing the Elements: How Lewis and Clark Used the Land

  Grades 4 - 6 Fee: $10.00 per week

  Six Unit Curriculum $50.00 refundable security deposit

  
  In this unique look at the Lewis and Clark expedition, students will explore how the Expedition viewed their environment and used it as a means of support. A six-unit curriculum will walk students through the elements of Soil, Water, Plants, Animals, and Minerals and the important role they played in the Expedition's success by providing food, shelter, transportation, storage, and scientific knowledge. This interdisciplinary look offers a good introduction to the Expedition or can serve as the starting point for detailed investigation. The interdisciplinary Traveling Trunk includes journals, plant specimens, rock samples, posters, craft materials, and historical reproductions.
  
  
• Culture Contact: Lewis and Clark and Native People Meet

  Grades 4 - 6 Fee: $10.00 per week

  Six Unit Curriculum $50.00 refundable security deposit

  
  Although new to Western knowledge, the area Lewis and Clark traveled has been home to Native People for over 10,000 years. In this six-unit trunk, students will explore the relationship that developed between the Expedition and Native People, as well as the role Native People played in the success of the Expedition. Students will reenact encounters and develop a greater understanding of how language, culture, and personal agendas shaped each exchange. The Traveling Trunk includes journals, trade items, costumes, games, and craft materials.

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