Professional Development Day for Educators

Come to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum for a professional development day. Learn how we can support your lessons with curriculum links in our exhibits, activities, and programs.

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is a great place to take your class. Whether you teach pre-school, high-school, or post-secondary, your lessons can be supported by our exhibits, activities, and programs. Learn about the opportunities available to your school at the museum, and the offerings we have for this year. Receive a tour of the museum designed just for teachers, explore the opportunities in our collections with a scavenger hunt, and test out our programs by trying some of the activities featured in our guided programs.

K-12 teachers and all other educators, including home-learning facilitators, librarians, early learning specialists, and post-secondary faculty, are welcome to attend this professional development day.

Program Schedule

A FREE program for teachers with Teacher Federation or Association ID. Pre-service teachers can show their Student Cards for free entry. Come at any time between 10:00 am - 3:00 pm for programming specifically for you. The museum is open until 5:00 pm so you can give yourself ample time to explore!

• 10:00 am - 2:45 pm | Throughout the museum
  School program and hands on stations are set up throughout the museum collections. There are program stations and scavenger hunts. Field Trip Planning Support Station - stop by for tips and tricks for planning a fantastic field trip.
  
  
• 10:15 am, 11:30 am & 1:00 pm | Under the Whale
  Tour for Teachers
  
  
• 10:30 am & 3:30 pm | Under the Whale
  Discover and get hands-on with treasures from the education collection
  
  
• 10:30 am, 1:30 pm & 4:00 pm | Allan Yap Biodiversity Theatre
  Raising Big Blue Documentary
  
  
• 10:00am-2:45pm | Under the Whale
  Meet our colleagues from LEEF! Lessons is Evolution and Ecology FUNdamentals (LEEF) is a science outreach program run through Let's Talk Science UBC that provides hands-on learning in ecology and evolution to local K-12 students through experiential classroom learning activities developed by trained UBC graduate students and postdocs! If you are interested in the program for your class, come chat with them and you can sign up to be connected with a grad student!
  
  
• 3:00 pm | Under the Whale
  Public Tour: Explore the museum on a tour, featuring stories selected by our museum interpreters
  
  
• 5:00 pm
  Museum and Gift Shop Close

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bring my kids?

Yes you can bring your children and a partner in for free but the activities are created with teachers in mind.

How much does it cost?

Free for all educators - K-12 teachers, home-learning facilitators, librarians, early-learning specialists, and post-secondary faculty are welcome to attend this professional development day. Please bring an ID card (Teacher Federation, Association ID, or employer). If you do not have a card, bring in a paystub or letter on letterhead from your employer or association for free entry. Pre-service teachers can show their Student Cards for free entry.

Is there a set start time?

You can drop-in at any time throughout the day, but there are some scheduled activities. See the list above for start times of tours, activities, and films.

When is the best time to visit?

Most teachers arrive for our open house in the morning. If you prefer to have a quieter experience, we suggest visiting after 12:00 pm, and plan to attend our 1:00 pm tour.

Do I have to register?

Please register if you know you will attend. Registered teachers will get priority access into the museum. Drop-ins will be accomodated as space permits, arrive after noon if you have not registered. If you register and can no longer attend, please cancel your registration so we can pass it to another person.

Are there other workshop options on UBC Campus?

Yes! Make a full day at UBC by exploring other options:

• UBC Physics and Astronomy Teacher Workshop (RSVP required). This workshop covers introducing circuits to students by playing and making. This workshop will cover topics of circuits, voltage, current, and resistance that are part of the BC Grade 9 Science Curriculum, but all teachers who are interested in learning basic electronics are welcome, as some activities would be of interest and appropriate for Grade 4-7 students. See details and RSVP online.

• Pacific Museum of Earth, admission by donation 10am to 5pm, https://pme.ubc.ca/learn/