Educator Resources

Homer Lake Interpretive Center, Homer Lake
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

The Field Trip Pack includes many items to assist your children as they explore nature. Hands on equipment includes field guides, dip nets, compasses, trowels, and a whole lot more which will encourage self-initiated learning. This backpack is appropriate for ages 3 and up.

$15 refundable deposit required.

Homer Lake Interpretive Center, Homer Lake

Borrow a rod and reel from the Homer Lake Interpretive Center for FREE! Tackle packets are yours to keep. Poles can be borrowed any day the Interpretive Center is open and must be returned before closing time. Each loan requires the deposit of a current driver’s license or state ID. Ages 17 and up must also show a valid fishing license at the time of check-out; kids age 16 and under are not required to have a fishing license.

Homer Lake Interpretive Center, Homer Lake

GPS units are available to enhance your hiking experience as you search for geocaches; track the distance, speed, and route of your hike; or learn about unique locations at Homer Lake. Staff is available at the Interpretive Center to provide a simple tutorial that will have you out hiking in no time! Borrowing a GPS unit is FREE; a valid credit card or personal check is required.

Homer Lake Interpretive Center, Homer Lake

Amphibians and reptiles are fascinating creatures! This pack has been developed to help you learn about and observe these animals in their natural environment. Binoculars, magnifying glasses, field guides, observation equipment, a headlamp, frog call recordings, and many other hands-on items are included in the pack.

$15 refundable deposit required.

Homer Lake Interpretive Center, Homer Lake

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods, District Headquarters, Lake of the Woods (contact Museum) Do you want to look for insects but don’t know how or don’t have the tools? Come out to the forest preserves and borrow an Insect Backpack! Each backpack contains a how-to guide, insect nets, bug boxes, insect guides, and much more. This backpack is appropriate for all ages.

$15 refundable deposit required.

Homer Lake Interpretive Center, Homer Lake

Explore the health and life of our local waters. This box contains equipment to test and measure the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and nitrogen of the water. Also included are pond dipping nets to investigate the macroinvertebrates of the water, and a binder with indoor and outdoor activities. This loan box is appropriate for ages 10 to adults.

$10 fee plus a $15 refundable deposit required.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Do your students know about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks? Are you looking for fun and educational ways to take their exploration of civil rights to the next level? In this loan kit, you will find picture books about sung and unsung heroes and events in the Civil Rights Movement both in Champaign County and in the United States, and throughout the world. 

Also included are local photos that document the fight for civil rights locally, more than 50 primary source documents from the 2008 election of our nation’s first black President, and primary source photos in poster form. The posters depict the American Civil Rights struggle from the late 1800s to the 1960s. (Interested in studying women’s rights? See the Women’s Rights Loan Kit below.)

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Are you exploring the Westward Expansion with your students? Then why not check out our "Wagon's Ho" learning tub? In the tub you will find books, artifacts and curriculum ideas and activities that bring history to life! For grades 3 through 5.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

In this kit you will find local and national primary source documents from the Civil War. we have included books and lessons that will round out your unit. Artifacts include the everyday provisions for a soldier: replica money, clothing, a soldier's knapsack, dinnerware, and more will bring history to life for your students!

$50 refundable deposit required.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

This outreach kit is based on the publication of the Illinois Quilt Research Project, History from the Heart: Quilt Paths Across Illinois. It includes a copy of the book, study questions, suggested activities, quilt blocks, and story books.

$50 refundable deposit required.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Touch a brain tanned hide and a bison bone, learn what wampum is, and more! This Discovery Kit focuses on the history and culture of Native Americans who once lived throughout Central Illinois. Information on the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Cahokia, Mascouten, and other members of the Illiniwek Confederation from 1650 to 1800 is included, along with complete lesson plans, maps, a variety of hands-on materials, and Illiniwek languages tapes. This kit was created by Dan Hechenberger of the educational group Nipundikan. Funding for this kit was provided by the Ida Haack Trust Fund established by Otto Haack.

$50 refundable deposit required.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Looking for a fun way to integrate reading, science, the arts and social studies? In this new kit you will find several prairie picture books, animal skins, wool carding tools, costumes, and toys! You will also receive links to web quests about the prairie, interactive prairie games and links to websites for further research. Check this loan kit out and watch your prairie project soar!

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Prehistoric mammals, extirpated mammals, and Native Americans and their relationship with nature are all topics you can teach about by using the items in this resource trunk. Targeted grades are PreK-6. Contents include: mammoth and mastodon tooth replicas, species replicas, Native American games, activities, mammoth hair, posters, replica pottery, video, reference books, and natural items used by Native Americans.

$50 refundable deposit required.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Specifically developed for middle and high school use, this kit is about life in Champaign County in the 1950’s is packaged in an authentic Civil Defense barrel! It contains men’s and women’s clothing from the era: fedoras, gloves, and even nylons. Also included are a high school yearbook, popular magazines and books, and DVD/CDs with clips of popular music and early television shows. Lesson plans were developed through the American History Teacher's Collaborative.

$50 refundable deposit required.

Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods

Looking for a new way to explore Women’s Rights or expand your Civil Rights unit to include Women's Rights?  In this loan kit you will find artifacts, books, primary source documents, photographs, and newspaper articles to help explore the Woman’s Rights Movement from the Suffragettes in the early 20^th century to today. 

$50 refundable deposit required. 

Add some fun and history to your inside recess time! Your students will enjoy playing old fashioned indoor games such as marbles, tops, pick up sticks, Jacob's ladder, and cups and balls. Your kit contains several sets of each game. Upon checkout, teachers will receive short educational videos for each game, explaining the history of the game as well as instructions of how to play.

Add some fun and history to recess time! Your students will enjoy playin old fashioned outdoor games such as horseshoes, hoops and sticks, table quoits, graces and jump ropes. Your kit contains several sets of each game. Upon checkout, teachers will receive short educational videos for each game, explaining the history of the game as well as instructions of how to play.

What toys did kids play with in the 60's? How did they listen to music? What things represent the cultural revolution that defined our own era? Check out this kit filled with toys, records, magazines, clothing and other artifacts of the period. Photos of local and national events as well as books are included.