Channel Islands Maritime Museum offers Alternative Educational Tours for small classes or multi-age groups. Alternative tours are a good choice for a home school group or after school program. These interactive tours are 90 minutes long and consist of 3 activities appropriate to the ages of your students. Each tour is custom designed to meet the needs and interests of your group. Activities at the museum are intended for school age children (grades 2-12) and their families. We ask that parents not bring along younger siblings. While at the museum, we encourage families to extend their visit beyond the tour and explore the rest of the exhibits in the museum. Interactive activity guides are available for guided exploration with parental support. Alternative tours are available during museum hours 11-5. Admission is $4 per student or adult and includes hands on materials and take home folders and pencils.
Activities may include 3 from among the following:
Port of Hueneme (Multilevel activities suitable for grades 3-12)
Students explore the exhibit with a partner, searching for information about the Port of Hueneme, which is the largest port on the coast of California between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Students find out that there are products they use and consume on a daily basis that come through the Port of Hueneme, which countries are involved in the import and export of products locally and the vessels that are used. They also learn about the maritime history of the area, how and why the port was developed in a place called Hueneme.
California Coastal Historic Art (Multilevel activities suitable for grades 4-12)
Five works of fine art are shared, each telling a story about a moment in time in California coastal history. Docents teach art appreciation concepts as well as the historical significance of each piece, weaving a story that ties each of the individual masterpieces to tell the greater story. Students then revisit each piece of art, review concepts learned and are encouraged to make predictions
Age of Exploration (Suitable for grades 3-8)
Students are challenged with activities that incorporate geography, critical thinking and creative writing skills.
They will be introduced to early nautical explorers and their contributions to exploration and discovery of North America. Models of the actual ships that the explorers sailed on as well as maps and globes will be shared.
Asiatic Expeditions (Suitable for grades for 4-8)
This portion of the tour focuses on the Chinese treasure ships that sailed between 1405 and 1433. Students engage in an interactive, hands- on exercise to predict cargo items traded by these ships between China and other ancient empires. Students also identify China’s trading partners, increasing their knowledge of the geography of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. A model of the ship, which was the largest wooden ship ever built, is on display for students to view.
Whales and the Art of Scrimshaw (suitable for grades 2-6)
Students become familiar with different types of whales, and then explore the Museum’s collection of authentic scrimshaw artifacts, with a brief history of the whaling industry, the life of a sailor on a whaling ship and the alternative materials used by scrimshaw artists today. Finally, students create their own “fakeshaw” masterpiece.
Boats 101 (suitable for grades 2-3)
Students are introduced to different types of vessels, depending on how they are powered (sails, oars, motor) and different sizes (boats or ships). Then they tour the museum viewing works or art in the form of paintings and ship models, identifying and categorizing each one, as well as time to look out the window at the vessels in the harbor. Finally, they are given a mini art lesson and the opportunity to draw their own seascape using their new knowledge of types of boats.
Art Gallery Search and Find (Suitable for grades 4-8)
Students travel through 3 different galleries exploring both paintings and ship models from the 17th century to modern. Their goal is to find specific details in 6 different pieces of art in each gallery. A docent will guide students to help them on their search and tell them more about each piece of art as they find it.
Upper Deck Scavenger Hunt (Suitable for grades 2-5)
Students hunt for objects on display in several different exhibits, including ship models, shipwreck artifacts, globes and whale bones, searching for answers to specific questions.
Signal Flags and I-Spy (Suitable for grades 2-5)
Students find out that ships “talk “ to each other through signal flags and they learn the universal signal flag alphabet. They “spell out” and “read” words in signal flags and then form a signal flag word of their own or write their own names in signal flags. (Signal Flags)
Become familiar with life in the harbor, different types of animal life and boats and look out the window in search of these items. (I-Spy)
La Janelle Shipwreck (Suitable for grades 6-12)
Students explore some of the remaining artifacts from a ship that sank on its way to Channel Islands Harbor.
Working in small groups or with a partner, the students find out what happened as they search for answers to questions that guide their exploration.
Art Appreciation and Composition (Suitable for grades 4-8)
Students are guided to look at a painting as the docent points out the elements of design and basic artistry techniques (such as, shape, line, texture, horizon line, perspective). Moving on to another painting, students identify and label the same elements, and make their own observations on a line drawing of the painting. Lastly, they look at another painting, imagining that they are an artist in the field and make their own sketch of the scene using the techniques learned.
Channel Islands (Suitable for grades 2-6)
Students explore the geography, topography, plant and animal life of each of the 5 islands with a video and docent explanation. They identify different animals that live on each separate island.