A Museum-Goer's Bibliography

Looking for information to prepare yourself or your students for a field trip to a museum? Are you planning to create a classroom or school museum? Are your students investigating local history? Want to use more history or archaeology in your lessons?

We've found these references useful. Most are available at your local library or through interlibrary loan. Recently published titles will be available at your bookstore or from the publisher. There is a selection of books for young readers, too. And be sure to check out the classroom activity resources.

General References
for Teachers, Parents and Group Leaders

• Cleaver, Joanne. Doing Children's Museums: A Guide to 225 Hands-on Museums. Charlotte, VT: Williamson Pub., 1988.
• Falk, John H., and Lynn D. Dierking. The Museum Experience. Washington, DC: Whalesback Books, 1992.
• Finn, David. How to Visit a Museum. NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1985.
• Gartenhaus, Alan. Minds in Motion: Using Museums to Expand Creative Thinking (2nd edition). San Francisco, CA: Caddo Gap Press, 1993.
• Green, Bob, and D. G. Fulford. To Our Children's Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come. NY: Doubleday, 1993.
• Greene, Wilma Prudhum. Museums and Learning: A Guide for Family Visits. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement and Smithsonian Office of Education, April 1998.
• Grinder, Alison L., and E. Sue McCoy. The Good Guide: A Sourcebook for Interpreters, Docents and Tour Guides. Scottsdale, AZ: Ironwood Publishing, 1985.
• Hein,George E. and Mary Alexander. Museums: Places of Learning. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 1998
• MacDowell, Marsha (Editor). Folk Arts in Education: A Resource Handbook. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Museum, 1987.
• Mann, Kenny. Observe and Deduce: An Artifacts Game. Creative Classroom, 8(3) (Nov./Dec. 1993), pp.70-72.
• Metcalf, Fay D., and Matthew T. Downey. Using Local History in the Classroom. Nashville, TN: The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), 1982.
• Michigan History for Kids and The Mitten. Published by Michigan History magazine and used in fourth grade classrooms. Previous issues may be purchased from Michigan History or download free PDFs of the issues and teacher's guides online. Contact Michigan History for more information.
• Neal, Arminta. Exhibits for the Small Museum: A Handbook. Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History, 1976.
• Nichols, Susan K. (Editor). Museum Education Anthology,1973-1983. Washington, DC: Museum Education Roundtable, 1984.
• Reed, Elaine Wrisley. Helping Your Child Learn History (with activities for children aged 4 through 11). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement, n.d.
• Schlereth, Thomas J. Artifacts and the American Past. Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), 1980.
• Tunnell, Michael O., and Richard Ammon (Editors). The Story of Ourselves: Teaching History Through Children's Literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993.
• Voris, Helen H., Maija Sedzielarz, and Carolyn P. Blackmon. Touch the Mind, Touch the Spirit: A Guide to Focused Field Trips. Chicago, IL: Department of Education, Field Museum of Natural History, 1986. (Published by the Department of Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605.
• Waterfall, Milde, and Sarah Grusin. Where's the Me in Museum: Going to Museums with Children. Arlington, VA: Vandamere Press, AB Associates, 1989. (Chapter Five--"History Museums: The Saving Place")

Especially for Younger Readers

• Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past by Richard Panchyk. Chicago Review Press, 2001.
• The Archaeology of North America by Dean R. Snow. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1990.
• Collect It! Making collections--from fossils to fakes by Elizabeth Newbery. London: A & C Black, 1991.
• A Day in the Life of a Museum Curator by Judith Tropea. Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates, 1991.
• A Visit to the Sesame Street Museum (A Random House pictureback) by Liza Alexander. NY: Random House/Children's Television Workshop, 1987. (Bert, Ernie and Grover introduce young children to the concept of a museum. Ages 4-8)
• Discover: Investigate the Mysteries of History with 40 Practical Projects Probing Our Past by Katherine Grier. Royal Ontario Museum, 1989; Published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990.
• Diving to the Past: Recovering Ancient Wrecks by W. John Hackwell. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988.
• Do People Grow on Family Trees? Genealogy for Kids and Other Beginners (The Official Ellis Island Handbook) by Ira Wolfman. NY: Workman Publishing, 1991. Ages 4-8
• Ella's Trip to the Museum by Elaine Clayton. NY: Crown Publishers Inc., 1996. (Ella, on a field trip to an art museum with her class, interacts with the paintings and statues in a magical way. Ages 3-8)
• The Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue by Jan Wahl (Bob Doucet, illustrator. NY: Cartwheel Books, Scholastic, Inc., 2000. (The Field Mouse loses his home under one of Sue's bones during the archaeological excavation, accompanies the T. rex's bones to Chicago and explores the Field Museum looking for his special bone. Ages 4-8)
• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. Dell Publishing Co. paperback printed 1997. (1967 Newbery Medal. Twelve-year-old Claudia and her younger brother Jamie discover the Metropolitan Museum of Art, solve a mystery, and grow up a little. Ages 9-12)
• Going to the Getty by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1997. (This creative book about the Getty will give you ideas for new ways to look at any museum! Ages 4-8)
• How to Take Your Grandmother to the Museum by Lois Wyse and Molly Rose Goldman. NY: Workman Publishing, 1998. (Grandma usually takes Molly to "Interesting Places," but this time Molly takes Grandma on a tour of the American Museum of Natural History. Ages 4-8)
• I Can Be an Archaeologist by Robert B. Pickering. Chicago: Children's Press, 1987.
• Inside the Museum: A Children's Guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Joy Richardson. NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1993. Ages 9-12
• Let's Go to the Art Museum by Virginia K. Levy. NY: Henry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988.
• Mastodon Hunters to Mound Builders: North American Archaeology by Peter and Belia Nichols. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1992.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art Activity Book by Osa Brown. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989.
• My Family Tree Workbook: Genealogy for Beginners by Rosemary A. Chorzempa. NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1982.
• Right Here on This Spot by Sharon Hart Addy, illustrated by John Clapp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. (Picture book provides a wonderful introduction to archaeology and concept of history for the youngest readers. Ages 4-8)
• Visiting a Museum by Althea [Braithwaite]. Over, Cambridge, England: Dinosaur Publications, Ltd., n.d.
• Visiting the Art Museum by Laurene Krasny Brown and Mark Brown. NY: E.P. Dutton, 1986.
• Who Came Down That Road? by George Ella Lyon (Illustrated by Peter Catalanato). NY: Orchard Books, 1992. (Picture book explains the concept of history to the youngest child. Ages 4-8)
• Who Put the Cannon in the Courthouse Square? (Discover It Yourself Book) by Kay Cooper. NY: Avon/Camelot Book, 1993. Ages 10+
• Working at a Museum (Working Here Series) by Arthur John L'Hommedieu. CT: Children's Press, 1999. Ages 4-8
• You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum by  Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser (illus.). (No words, just delightful line drawings of museum exhibits and complementary New York City scenes as a little girl tours the museum while her yellow balloon, an escapee from the museum guard, scoots about the city. Ages 4-8)
• The Young Scientist Book of Archaeology by Barbara Cook and Sturand Reid. Tulsa, OK: EDC Publishing, 1987.

Classroom Activities

• Deur, Lynne. A Lumberjack's Story: A Chapter from the Great Lakes Past. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications, 1982.
• Entine, Lynn. Our Great Lakes Connection: A Curriculum Guide for Grades Kindergarten Through Eight. n.p.: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System (UW--Extension Environmental Resources Center), 1985.
• Historical Society of Michigan. Immediately Michigan: Ready-to-Use, Award-Winning, K-12 Michigan Lessons. Available for purchase from The Historical Society of Michigan Center for Teaching Michigan History, 2117 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4599, (313/769-1828).
• Barrett, Katharine, et al. Investigating Artifacts: Making Masks, Creating Myths, Exploring Middens Teacher's Guide. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of Science (Regents of the University of California), 1992 (REV. 1996). (grades K-6)
• McCabe, Jean S. Learning About Michigan Indians: A Study Unit for Early Elementary Grades. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications, Inc., 1981.
• McConnell, David B. Teacher's Guide for Forging the Peninsulas. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational Publishers, 1990.
• McConnell, David B., and Elizabeth B. Dewey. Michigan Activity Masters for Discover Michigan. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational Publishers, 1985.
• Roberts, Patricia L. Literature-Based History Activities for Children, Grades 4-8. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997.
• Rockford Public Schools Fourth Grade Teachers. Explore Michigan: An Adventure Packed Thematic Unit. Rockford, MI: Authors, 1992. Published by the Rockford Middle School, Rockford Public Schools, 397 E. Division, Rockford, MI 49341. (Cost: $100.00)
• Silverman, Jerry. Mel Bay Presents The American History Songbook. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, Inc., 1992. (Songs to sing in the car or bus on your way to the museum and all the way home!)

Go to:

• Teaching Michigan History home page
• Michigan Historical Museum home page
• Michigan Historical Center home page

Contact the Michigan Historical Center.

Updated 05/21/2010