School Services
Tours
The tours listed below are led by our docents and are our most popular activities. Allow at least 20 minutes for each of these tours. Optimum size of group will be 10-20 students, depending on age. We are now able to handle up to four groups depending on the space needed for each of the activities chosen.
Biedenharn Home House Tour - Students take a guided tour of the Biedenharn Home with a trained tour guide. This tour can be given for any age group.
Garden Tour - Students take a guided tour of ELSong Gardens with a trained tour guide. This tour can be given for any age group.
Sensory Garden Tour - This tour highlights the five senses as children experience the gardens. This tour is designed for pre-K through 2nd grades, but can be adapted for any age group.
Zoo Garden Tour – This spring/summer tour looks at unique plants that contain animal names. Children receive corresponding stickers and a picture outline of our garden plans to practice mapping as they explore the gardens.
Activities
Video - Eight minute video gives the life history of Emy-Lou Biedenharn—early years, European Music Career and the development of the Biedenharn Museum and Gardens... This is a perfect way to begin your group tour.
Garden Story Baskets - A variety of story baskets combine age appropriate books and puppets for an enjoyable and educational read in the Garden. This activity can be lead by Biedenharn Tour Guides, teachers or parents. These baskets are designed for pre-K through 1st grades.
Plant a Seed - Biedenharn staff will instruct your students as they plant a seed in a peat pot. We hope that children will involve their parents in helping care for the plant when they take it home. Several teachers have taken these back to the classroom to grow in the classroom window. Plants vary according to the season.
Poetry/journaling/drawing/painting in the Garden – The gardens are a great setting for artistic inspiration. Groups are encouraged to spend time in the gardens for this more informal activity. All age groups have enjoyed the gardens for these activities.
Crafts
Once you have toured the home and gardens you may be interested in further activities. This list includes craft projects that promote an understanding of art, science, or nature. Other projects can be organized as requested.
Paper Crafts – Projects include paper layering, paper folding, kirigami, and coloring pages that relate to our collections. Topics that can be discussed are coordinating colors, creative composition, use of art principles such as texture and repetition. Projects will be different according to season and age of school group.
Leaf Rubbings – Activity involves selecting crayon/pencil colors and using size, shape, and texture of leaves to create art.
Peanut Butter Pine Cone Feeders -Learn about attracting and feeding birds in your backyard. Make and decorate a feeder to take home. There is a fee of $3 each for materials for this project.
Papermaking - Students learn how to recycle paper and use the paper pulp to make decorative paper objects. Students can coordinate this activity with class time activities- collecting paper of various colors, tearing it into small pieces, and making the pulp can all be done ahead. Depending on the thickness of paper extended drying time may be necessary. The paper can also be used for future craft projects.
Several techniques are available. Please call ahead to coordinate this activity with your class.
Special Tours
Once you have toured the home and gardens you may be interested in further explorations. The list below contains options available and will be expanded as we develop ideas and receive requests. These tours must be scheduled with staff members and therefore have limited availability. Please call well ahead to schedule.
Fibonacci Numbers – Tour the garden to see how a unique set of numbers can be applied to objects in nature. This concept is closely associated with the golden mean, a ratio defining the most pleasant visual relationship among objects. The growth of a shell is one of the most well known examples of Fibonacci numbers but flowers, leaf arrangements, leaf shapes, fruits and cones can all be used as examples. Even the measurements of many of the parts of the human body can be applied to this concept of defining beauty.
Dare to Dream – What was Emy-Lou really like? Guests can live the experiences of Emy-Lou from riding a trolley car to performing in Europe to creating the Fairyland known as ELSong Gardens. Justin French, Curator of Collections will provide a personal tour of the Biedenharn home for groups of 15 or less. A list of GLE’s are available for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.
Presentations
The list below includes presentations on topics related to our collections. Slideshows will also be available on religious themes include The Bible as Art, The Art of Printing, American and European History of Printing, and our collection of Biblical leaves from 1121 to 1935. These presentations must be scheduled with staff members and therefore have limited availability. Please call well ahead to schedule.
Biedenharn Coke 101 – A highly interactive discussion, including hands on interaction with Coke memorabilia, of the first bottling of Coca-Cola by “Mr. Joe” Biedenharn. This is a brief 20 minute overview that looks at history, marketing and aspects of collecting Coke Memorabilia. This talk can be targeted to the 3rd grade level or higher.
Cokenomics – Want to make economics come alive with real life examples? Look no further than Cokenomics. Justin French, Curator of Collections, will discuss economics using examples from the Biedenharn’s 100 years in bottling Coca-Cola. Programs will be grade and GLE specific and tailored to meet the current needs of the class. This program can be presented at the museum or brought to the classroom and includes hand-on interaction and fun! A list of GLE’s is available for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and Free Enterprise Classes.
What is a Museum? - This questioning activity starts with the large Question “What is a Museum?,” then leads children through the offerings of the Monroe Area’s many museums, takes a closer look at the Biedenharn Museum and Gardens, and finishes with a fun guessing game featuring unusual items from the Biedenharn Collection. This presentation is designed for 1st-3rd graders but may be adapted for older students if requested.
What is an Artifact? – What can we learn from arrowheads, Greek water vessels, and Civil War bullets? More than what you might think. Justin French, Curator of Collections, discusses what makes an artifact an artifact, and what artifacts can tell us about history and culture through hands-on interaction. The program can be easily adapted to fit lessons on such subjects as hunters/gatherers, ancient civilizations, and the Civil War. Programs will be grade and GLE specific and tailored to meet the current needs of the class. This program can be presented at the museum or brought to the classroom. A list of GLE’s for 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades are available.
Animals of the Bible - Powerpoint presentation and interactive discussion of the animals that were mentioned in the bible. Lower Elementary through High School.
Plants of the Bible – Powerpoint presentation and discussion of plants mentioned in the bible (and some that were not), including historical uses and Biblical meanings. High School
The Plants of Christmas – Powerpoint presentation and discussion of the plants used to celebrate Christmas. This talk can be targeted to all age groups.
A Bouquet of Stamps – Powerpoint presentation of postage stamps featuring plants and botanists from 1932-2006. High School
Science and Math in Museums – This talk may be focused on the effects of nature on museum collections, box making and even data logging information that include math concepts. Junior High to High School students.
Ala Carte
Many teachers have adapted the facilities of the BMG for their classes’ special needs. Happily they have shared their plans with us and we are in turn able to share them with you. We even have a study plan by a French Language Class that came to paint in the garden in the impressionist style. We invite you to share your study plans with us so we can in turn share those with other teachers.
Nickel Coca-Cola
As a celebration of its original price, bottled Cokes are available to our visitors, one per visit, for 5 cents each. Make sure to have everyone bring a nickel for this treat.
