Partners in Science

Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT

The Eli Whitney Museum, located in New Haven, CT, is more of a workshop than a museum. The field studies all involve building projects that the students can take home at the end of the day. These projects are multi-disciplinary in nature, incorporating history, math, science and art, and draw upon the work of Eli Whitney and Leonardo DaVinci.

All programs, regardless of the project to be built, follow the same basic format. First, the students are introduced to the history and science behind the project. Then the students are guided through the basic building of the chosen project. Finally, students are given an opportunity to enhance and elaborate on their designs.

The museum has a number of different projects/models that are aligned with the 2004 CT Core Science Curriculum Framework. The staff is continually updating the museum’s programs and will also develop programs to fit the needs of individual schools. This list is not intended to be a complete listing and there are additional programs that are not tied to the framework but support other curricular areas. For complete descriptions, visit their webpage: www.eliwhitney.org

Teacher Preparation:

No specific teacher preparation is required though the staff will work with teachers to pick the appropriate project to support their curricula. In addition, these programs can be brought to the classroom of interested teachers if that is more appropriate.

To view aligned field trips at the Eli Whitney Museum, visit our
Science Framework Resources Database