Online Educational Resources

Online Lesson Plans

Paper and scissors - arts and crafts at MOPOP

Bring MOPOP to you! Created for easy use in your home, these materials include learning objectives, activities, and projects that link museum content to student learning goals.

Crafting Communities

Suggested Grade Range: 3-8

Explore habitats and natural resources, learn about survival basics, and try your hand at bartering in this real-life, community building game.

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The Hero's Journey

Suggested Grade Range: 5-8

From Harry Potter to Wonder Woman and from Captain Marvel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, heroic stories are everywhere in pop culture! In this lesson, you'll explore Joseph Campbell's hero's journey model and learn how to recognize it in some of today's most popular films and stories.

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Download Story Starter

Fantastic Creatures

Suggested Grade Range: K-8

Combine your imagination with everyday objects to create your own fantasy creatures. Transform real-world objects into fantasy creature specimens, adapt your creature to their habitat, and create a story starring your new fantasy creature.

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There be Dragons

Suggested Grade Range: 5-8

“Beware…there be dragons in the gap!” Images capture single moments or represent a larger story, but how can we use them to inspire our own creative writing? Featuring artwork from MOPOP’s collection as well as contributions from professional artists such as Todd Lockwood, Andre Garcia, Miryam Lumpini, and more, students will explore images and then apply their observations to create their own characters, settings, and stories.

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Can't Look Away

Suggested Grade Range: 9-12

What scares us, and why? Explore the horror genre through pop culture and create your own mini horror story.

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Activities and Discussion prompts

Fantastic Creatures Online Workshop

Suggested Grade Range: 1-8

Become a group of explorers, creating never-before-found species of fantasy creatures! Taking what we already know about animal biology and habitats, we will use our imagination and household items to create and become unique creatures.

PART 1

Scientific Observations Worksheet [PDF]

PART 2

Drawing Conclusions Worksheet [PDF]

PART 3

PART 4

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Can’t Look Away Online Workshop

Suggested Grade Range: 9-12

Horror films are designed to incite fear, panic, revulsion, and dread in their audiences. These films often bring to the surface hidden fears, while also giving audience members a sense of relief from strong or repressed emotions. In Can’t Look Away, we’ll be using the horror genre to explore our own reactions to horror film through analysis of film props, sound, lighting, and design. We’ll then create our own short horror stories, using elements from the museum and your own imagination.

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Story Writing Activity

Suggested Grade Range: 5-8

Learn how to use the three-act story structure in your own creative writing in the story activity outline. Then practice writing stories in different genres and even collaborate with your friends to write a story together using our story building templates.

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story activity Sci-Fi Template horror Template Fantasy template Collaborative Template

Social Action

Suggested Grade Range: 8-12

Using Woody Guthrie’s activist philosophy as an inspiration, you are going to use your own skills and creativity to talk about an issue that is important to you.

What can Woody Guthrie’s guitar teach us about activism and how to use our own skills to spark change in the world? Watch this introductory video and then click the button to download the activity.

You can also access the articles referenced in the video using the links below.

Article on Guthrie’s song “Deportee."
Article on Guthrie’s song “This Land is Your Land.”

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Miniatures Video and Activity

Suggested Grade Range: 6-9

Using math and practical effect techniques, learn how to make your own movie magic with our Tiny Spaceships video and activity! Start by watching the introductory video and then click the button to download the activity. With simple materials and a few filming tricks, we’ll help you discover your own special effects!

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Moving Minds Dance Activity

This special partnership class with Moving Minds Dance and The Music Factory celebrates the discoveries you can make at MOPOP. Bring dance and the museum to your home! Packed with exciting features, from live accompaniment for our entire class to an air guitar lesson, this is an at-home dance class for the memory books. We can't wait to dance with you!

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Costume Design Activity

Suggested Grade Range: Pre-K - 3

MOPOP’s exhibit Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume showcases how costume design is an integral part of storytelling. In this activity, families can practice making their very own hero and villain costumes from all kinds of different materials right at home. You will use your imagination and creativity to design your original take on hero and villain costumes!

Magic Users Design Activity Royalty Design Activity

Free lesson plans & activities

Online Lesson Plans

Activities and Discussion prompts

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