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On the road this season

Mobile Museum & STEM Kits

A traveling exhibit and checkout STEM kits that bring hands-on career exposure to schools, libraries, and community events across Bay and Arenac counties. No field-trip bus required.

The traveling experience

What it is

The Museum on the Move is a traveling exhibit of six hands-on stations, built for grades 3–5. It sets up at a school, library, or community event, so a class that cannot load a bus still gets the experience. Each station is tied to grade 3–5 standards, listed here with it.

  • 3-5-ETS1-3

    Design a Car

    Build a car, test how far it rolls, then change the design and test it again.

  • 3-PS2-3

    Circuits

    Work like electronics technicians, the people who build, test, and repair circuits.

  • 3-PS2-1 · 3-PS2-2

    Wind Tunnel

    Investigate how balanced and unbalanced forces change the way an object moves.

  • 3-5-ETS1-2

    Refinement Zone

    Design, build, test, notice, change, and test again.

  • 3-G4.0.1 · 3-E2.0.1

    Tiny Technology

    Explore Michigan’s major industries and how specialization makes them depend on each other.

  • 3-5-ETS1-2

    Quality Control

    Compare possible solutions against the criteria a product has to meet.

Getting started

How to check out the Museum on the Move

One online form starts it. A check-out runs up to two weeks, or longer with prior approval.

  1. Check your space The exhibit needs a dedicated space and four 6-foot tables, or tables of a similar size. Food and drinks other than water stay out of the exhibit space. The form also asks whether the location has electricity.
  2. Fill out the check-out form Share your organization, a preferred and an alternate date range, how many visitors you expect, and where the event will be.
  3. Hear back from Bay-Arenac ISD Submitting the form doesn’t guarantee availability or confirm a reservation. Bay-Arenac ISD follows up by email or phone to confirm the dates.
  4. Pick it up and set it up Plan to bring the exhibit to your venue. If transportation is a barrier, say so on the form, and the team will help you choose pieces that travel well.

The form starts by asking you to confirm you’ve read the Museum on the Move flyer. Its back page covers pick-up, space, setup time, and group size.

Open the check-out form → Read the flyer (PDF)

Questions first? Call (989) 686-4410.

For teachers

Before and after the visit

Teacher guidePDF, 5 pages

Teacher Guide

Pre-trip prep, the ideas to introduce before the visit, a station-by-station guide with questions to ask, and tips to share with adult helpers.
Teacher guidePDF, 1 page

Pre and Post Activities

Classroom activities that may be completed before or after student interaction with the exhibit: a pre-activity and a post-activity for each station, listed with its standards.
Student workbookPDF, 13 pages

Student STEM Workbook

Recommended for printing before the visit. Students can work in small groups, so print one copy per group or one per student.

In the totes

Exhibit materials

All of these travel with the exhibit. The files are here to replace a missing piece or to look over before the visit.

BannersPDF, 7 banners

Pull-up banners

The welcome banner and one banner for each station, each introducing the people who do that work.
SignsPDF, 11×17

Station challenge signs

Two tabletop signs for each station: the challenge and its steps, and the questions to ask while testing.
CardsPDF, 4 cards

Refinement Zone prompt cards

Four car challenges, from the basic car to the best overall car, each with the requirements to build and test against.
ReferencePDF, 3 pages

Tiny Technology reference images

The step-by-step build of a silicon crystal model and the polysilicon reference card for the Tiny Technology station.

The exhibit set-up instructions and the tote inventory sheet are on the way.

Hands-on at home or in class

STEM kits you can check out

Checkout kits pair equipment with lesson cards and a careers insert, so the activity connects to the people who do that work for a living. Educators borrow them for a unit; families can borrow them too.

The kit catalog is published here once Bay-Arenac ISD confirms the current lineup. Call (989) 686-4410 to ask what is on the shelf and how long you can keep it.

Explore more

Ready to dive deeper into careers?

The Resource Library has videos, lessons, virtual tours, and activities organized by career cluster and grade level. Find what fits your classroom or family.

Browse the resource library →
Students working on a hands-on engineering project with tools and equipment.