K-12 Educator Resources
Connect your classroom with University of Iowa programs, field trips, classroom materials, outreach opportunities, and professional learning experiences.
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Field Trips
High School Group Visit — The Office of Admissions offers structured campus visits for groups of 10 or more high school students. This is a strong, scalable option for counselors, college access teams, and districts that want a guided introduction to admissions, student life, and college-going. It is especially useful as an anchor experience for schools trying to build an Iowa visit day or a broader college awareness experience. Audience: High school. Delivery: On-campus. Contact: 1-319-335-3847. URL: https://admissions.uiowa.edu/high-school-special-group-visit
Health Sciences Outreach Opportunities – Partner with UI Health Care STEM Education for classroom visits incorporating hands-on STEM activities related to health literacy and careers in health care. Audience: K through 12. Delivery: Varies; in-classroom, school fair, and community opportunities available upon request. Contact: 319-384-7448 or stem-education@uiowa.edu URL: https://uihealthcare.org/education/ui-health-care-stem-education
Stanley School Programs — The Stanley Museum of Art offers tailored K-12 tours led by trained docents or museum staff. Visits are designed to build observation, discussion, and critical-thinking skills around works of art and can be paired with pre-visit guidance and coordinated visits with other campus units. This is one of the university’s strongest museum-based field trip options for teachers seeking arts-integrated learning. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-campus. Contact: Stanley Museum of Art, 319-335-1727, stanley-museum@uiowa.edu; K-12 tour questions may be directed to Joshua Siefken. URL: https://stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/education/stanley-school-programs
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History Group Visits and Tours — The museum offers self-guided visits, in-person guided tours, and guided virtual visits for K-12 groups. K-12 educational tours are clearly listed as free, and the content centers Iowa natural history, museum collections, and science communication. It is especially strong for science, environmental studies, and elementary or middle school enrichment. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-campus or virtual. Cost: Free for K-12 educational tours. Contact: Make reservations for tour online or use staff directory for additional questions. URL: https://mnh.uiowa.edu/visit/group-visits-tours
Old Capitol Museum Group Visits and Tours — Old Capitol offers self-guided, in-person guided, and guided virtual visits specifically for K-12 groups. Educational tours for K-12 students are listed as free, and the museum’s content supports civics, Iowa history, state government, and university history. The virtual option is particularly useful for districts that want a live history experience without travel. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-campus or virtual. Cost: Free for K-12 educational tours. Contact: Make reservations for tour online or use staff directory for additional questions. URL: https://oldcap.uiowa.edu/visit/group-visits-tours
School Visits at University of Iowa Libraries — UI Libraries welcomes K-12 classes and National History Day groups and offers school visits that can include tours, instruction, research help, database access, and use of library classrooms. This is especially valuable for secondary teachers teaching research, source evaluation, inquiry, or project-based learning. It is also a strong fit for classes preparing for National History Day. Audience: Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-campus. Cost: Unknown. Contact: janalyn-moss@uiowa.edu for National History Day visits; elizabeth-riordan@uiowa.edu for Special Collections and Archives visits; max-radl@uiowa.edu for other visits. URL:https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/instruction/school-visits/
Bring a Class to Special Collections and Archives — Special Collections and Archives explicitly welcomes K-12 classes and community groups for in-person learning with rare books, archives, manuscripts, and other primary sources. This is a particularly high-value option for history, civics, language arts, and inquiry-driven projects. The invitation to K-12 groups is stated clearly and publicly on the service page. Audience: Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-campus or arranged instructional service. Cost: Unknown. Contact: General department contact appears through Special Collections channels; see service page and Libraries contacts. URL: https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/bring-a-class/
College of Engineering Group Visits — Engineering hosts group visits for school and community groups interested in Iowa engineering programs, engineering work on campus, and the experience of becoming an engineer at Iowa. Visits are designed for groups of 10 to 40 students and can support STEM clubs, CTE pathways, counselor-led campus days, and district college-readiness efforts. Audience: Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-campus. Cost: Unknown. Contact: engr-admissions@uiowa.edu. URL: https://engineering.uiowa.edu/future-students/visit-college-engineering
Iowa Raptor Project Private Tours — Private tours at the Iowa Raptor Project include a guided experience through the Raptor Center and an up-close raptor program customized to group interests. This is one of the most distinctive campus-adjacent field trip experiences in the UI ecosystem and works especially well for science, conservation, and outdoor learning goals. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School, All Grades. Delivery: On-site at the Raptor Center. Cost: $150 minimum. Contact: See UI WILD / Iowa Raptor Project contacts; general UI WILD contacts are also available. URL: https://wild.education.uiowa.edu/iowa-raptor-project/private-tours
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory School Field Trips — Lakeside Lab offers field trips during the school year, aligned with NGSS and Iowa Core standards, on topics such as water quality, ecosystem services, animal adaptations, and outdoor recreation. The page clearly states these experiences are available at no cost to school districts and homeschool co-ops, making them one of the strongest public science field trip offerings in the UI orbit. Audience: Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: On-site at Lakeside Lab. Cost: Free for school districts and homeschool co-ops. Contact: Ashley Scheve, Education Coordinator, ashley-scheve@uiowa.edu, 319-335-2803. URL: https://iowalakesidelab.org/youth-programs/school-field-trips
Arts Share High School Theatre Workshop and Performance Day — Arts Share’s annual theatre workshop day brings high school students to campus to see a live performance and participate in acting, playwriting, and design workshops taught by UI graduate students. It is a strong performing-arts field trip model because it combines audience experience, skills-based workshops, and direct contact with university artists. Audience: High school. Delivery: On-campus annual event. Cost: Unknown. Contact: artshare@uiowa.edu; leslie-finer@uiowa.edu. URL: https://engagement.uiowa.edu/arts-share-annual-events
The Operator Performance Laboratory - OPL is a flight test laboratory that conducts research on human-in-the-loop and intelligent autonomous systems to increase efficiency, inter-operability, and safety. OPL has 11 instrumented aircraft (six manned, five unmanned) and six flight simulators. Systems of particular interest include flight decks, airborne sensor systems, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems, and automotive user interface systems. Audience: Middle School, High School. Delivery: In-person - Iowa City Municipal Airport Cost: Free Contact:. https://opl.lab.uiowa.edu/form/contact-opl
Outreach
Health Sciences Outreach Opportunities – Partner with UI Health Care STEM Education for classroom visits incorporating hands-on STEM activities related to health literacy and careers in health care. Audience: K through 12. Delivery: Varies; in-classroom, school fair, and community opportunities available upon request. Cost: Free. Contact: 319-384-7448 or stem-education@uiowa.edu URL: https://uihealthcare.org/education/ui-health-care-stem-education
Arts Share — Arts Share is one of the university’s most scalable statewide outreach mechanisms. It coordinates 300-plus events each year and makes artists from Performing Arts at Iowa, the Writers’ Workshop, International Writing Program, School of Art and Art History, Cinematic Arts, and more available for workshops, performances, and public art commissions in communities across Iowa. Audience: All Grades. Delivery: In-school, community-based, and online. Cost: Unknown. Contact: artshare@uiowa.edu; leslie-finer@uiowa.edu. URL: https://engagement.uiowa.edu/arts-share
School of Music Outreach and Public Engagement — The School of Music’s outreach page is an umbrella entry point for school and community-facing music programming across Iowa. It positions the school as a public-facing partner for performances and presentations and also points educators toward community programs such as the UI Youth Chorale and Iowa Summer Music Camps. Audience: All Grades. Delivery: In-school, community, and performance-based outreach. Cost: Unknown. Contact: 319-335-1315, music@uiowa.edu. URL: https://music.uiowa.edu/outreach
Theatre Arts Outreach and Public Engagement — Theatre Arts publicly highlights outreach through departmental programs, Darwin Turner Action Theatre, and Arts Share. This makes it a useful entry point for schools looking for theatre-based outreach, socially engaged performances, or arts-integrated residencies. It also reinforces that theatre should be surfaced in the hub as a school-outreach partner, not just a campus performance unit. Audience: All Grades, strongest for secondary. Delivery: In-school and community outreach. Cost: Unknown. Contact: theatre@uiowa.edu or clas-performing-arts@uiowa.edu. URL: https://theatre.uiowa.edu/outreach
Dance Outreach and Public Engagement — The Department of Dance participates in community outreach through the UI Dance Company and Arts Share. That makes dance a viable option for schools seeking workshops, demonstrations, performances, or broader arts engagement. It is especially useful if the hub wants stronger representation from movement-based and embodied arts learning. Audience: All Grades. Delivery: In-school and community outreach. Cost: Unknown. Contact: Department of Dance contact through site; general department page is public. URL: https://dance.uiowa.edu/outreach
FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is a team-based robotics program, which has been a strong outreach program for the University of Iowa since 2009. FTC encourages partnerships with schools, youth-based organizations, and individual volunteers. FTC encourages students (typically grades 7–12) to design, build, and programming robots to compete in alliance-based events, while also engaging in engineering design processes, documentation, and presentations that highlight innovation, teamwork, and real-world problem solving. FTC is a platform for experiential learning, collaboration, and community engagement in technology education. Audience: Youth in grades 7-12. Delivery: In-school, out of school and community programs. Cost: $2000 for a season. Financial support may be available. Contact: FIRST-TECH-CHALLENGE@uiowa.edu URL: https://engineering.uiowa.edu/about/first-tech-challenge
Iowa Raptor Project Traveling Programs — The Iowa Raptor Project will visit schools or organizations with live raptor presentations and tailor each session to the group’s needs. This is one of the clearest public “university comes to you” offerings in the UI ecosystem and would likely be popular in science units, assemblies, environmental programming, and family engagement events. Audience: All Grades. Delivery: In-school or community visit. Cost: Cost starting at $300, depending on distance. Contact: 319-335-5976, coe-irp@uiowa.edu. URL: https://wild.education.uiowa.edu/iowa-raptor-project/traveling-programs
School of the Wild — School of the Wild is a statewide initiative that partners with Iowa schools, county conservation boards, and other organizations to bring multi-day outdoor learning experiences to elementary and middle school students. Because it works through partnerships and local implementation, it is both an outreach program and a systems-level school partnership model that district leaders should be able to find easily in the hub. Audience: Elementary, Middle School. Delivery: School partnership / place-based outdoor outreach. Cost: Unknown. Contact: COE-SOW@uiowa.edu. URL: https://wild.education.uiowa.edu/school-wild
Library Instructional Services — UI Libraries states clearly that instructional services are available to local area K-12 schools and can be delivered in classrooms, online, or at the library. Librarians provide instruction in information literacy, library resources, and discipline-specific topics, making this a flexible and valuable outreach resource for teachers seeking stronger research and literacy support. Audience: All Grades, especially upper elementary through high school. Delivery: In school, online, or at the library. Cost: Unknown. Contact: Request through Libraries instructional services. URL: https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/instruction/
Guided Virtual Tours at the Museum of Natural History — While this tour offering appears on the field trip page, it also functions as a true outreach or virtual-delivery resource because classes can experience docent-led museum learning from their classroom. This is a strong option for rural districts and teachers who want science-rich cultural programming without transportation barriers. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: Virtual. Cost: Free for K-12 educational tours. Contact: 319-335-0480, uimnh@uiowa.edu. URL: https://mnh.uiowa.edu/visit/group-visits-tours
Department of Physics and Astronomy: Hawk-Eyes on Science and Hawk-Eyes in Space — Hawk-Eyes on Science and Hawk-Eyes in Space are outreach programs led by the Department of Physics and Astronomy that connect K–12 students and educators with hands-on science learning, astronomy activities, and interactions with university scientists. These programs help bring STEM concepts to life and strengthen engagement with physics, astronomy, and space science across Iowa communities. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: School outreach, community programs, and educational events. Cost: Unknown. Contact: Department of Physics and Astronomy Outreach. URL: https://physics.uiowa.edu/outreach
Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center STEM K-12 Education — The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center provides STEM education programs and resources that connect K-12 students and educators with cancer research, health sciences, biomedical careers, and hands-on learning opportunities. Through classroom resources, outreach activities, educator partnerships, and career exploration experiences, the program helps students engage with real-world science while increasing awareness of health and biomedical career pathways. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: Classroom resources, outreach programs, events, and educator engagement opportunities. Cost: Varies by program. Contact: Carey Dieleman, Cancer Center Statewide STEM Educator, carey-dieleman@uiowa.edu, 319-467-8037. URL: https://holden.uihealthcare.org/education-training/k-12-stem-education
Department of Dance: Youth Ballet — Youth Ballet provides high-quality dance instruction and performance opportunities for young dancers through the Department of Dance. The program emphasizes technical training, artistic development, and engagement with university dance faculty and students, creating a pathway for youth participation in the performing arts. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: Ongoing instructional program and performances. Cost: Fee-based. Contact: Department of Dance Youth Ballet program staff. URL: https://youth.dance.uiowa.edu/
Iowa High School Speech Association Partnership — University of Iowa faculty members regularly serve as judges, clinicians, and adjudicators for Iowa High School Speech Association events, supporting speech, debate, interpretation, theatre, and communication education statewide. The university also maintains a longstanding partnership with IHSSA through faculty expertise, educational outreach, and support for student communication and performance opportunities. Audience: High School students and speech educators. Delivery: Statewide competitions, adjudication, and educational support. Cost: Not applicable. Contact: Iowa High School Speech Association. URL: https://www.ihssa.org/
School of Journalism and Mass Communication: Iowa High School Press Association — The Iowa High School Press Association (IHSPA), housed in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, supports student media programs across Iowa through contests, critiques, workshops, conferences, and professional development opportunities. The organization provides a longstanding connection between the university and high school journalism programs and offers meaningful opportunities for students and advisers to strengthen reporting, writing, editing, design, broadcasting, and media leadership skills. Audience: High School students and journalism advisers. Delivery: Conferences, workshops, contests, critiques, and outreach programming. Cost: Varies by program. Contact: https://www.ihspa.org/about-us/contact-us/. URL: https://www.ihspa.org/
Classroom Materials and Activities
Iowa Reading Research Center - The IRRC offers professional learning opportunities on topics related to K-12 literacy learning. These include in-person, synchronous events, such as the Iowa Science of Reading Summit; virtual, synchronous learning through webinars; and virtual, asynchronous learning through eLearning modules. Audience: K-12 educators. Delivery: In-person, online, webinar. Cost: Mixed / depends on offering. Contact: ask-irrc@uiowa.edu. URL: https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/professional-development
K-12 Teacher Resources at the Stanley Museum of Art — The Stanley’s teacher resources page includes post-visit resources, videos, and art-based lesson supports organized by specific themes and grade bands. It is one of the strongest classroom-resource pages in the entire UI ecosystem because it is clearly teacher-facing and built for direct instructional use. Audience: Elementary through High School, depending on resource. Delivery: Online resource. Cost: Free. Contact: Stanley Museum of Art, 319-335-1727, stanley-museum@uiowa.edu. URL: https://stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/k-12-teacher-resources
Museum of Natural History Guides and Activities — The museum offers printable guides and activities, including scavenger hunts, multilingual guides, and other self-guided tools teachers can use before, during, or after a visit. This is a practical resource for teachers who want a low-prep, standards-friendly way to extend museum learning into the classroom. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: Online printable resource. Cost: Free. Contact: 319-335-0480, uimnh@uiowa.edu. URL:https://mnh.uiowa.edu/learn/guides-activities
Discovery Trunks from the Old Capitol Museum — Discovery Trunks are traveling teaching trunks with objects, artifacts, books, DVDs, activities, and lesson plans tied to Iowa cultural and natural history. Because they are explicitly described as ideal for educators who want hands-on materials aligned with core teaching goals, they should be prominently featured in the classroom materials section. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School. Delivery: Borrowable classroom resource. Cost: Unknown. Contact: Old Capitol Museum / Pentacrest Museums. URL: https://oldcap.uiowa.edu/learn/discovery-trunks
KidInnovator Curriculum Toolkit — KidInnovator is a curriculum toolkit for upper elementary and middle school educators focused on innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship through problem-based learning. It is clearly built for classroom, after-school, camp, and homeschool use, and the page notes that Iowa educators can access the paid toolkits for free. Audience: Upper elementary and middle school. Delivery: Classroom / digital curriculum toolkit. Cost: Free for Iowa educators; fee-based for others. Contact: jacobson-institute@uiowa.edu. URL: https://jacobsoninstitute.org/kidinnovator
BizInnovator Startup Curriculum Toolkit — BizInnovator is a turnkey entrepreneurship curriculum for high school teachers, with modules, slide decks, activities, web resources, and assessments. It supports both in-person and virtual delivery and is a strong example of a polished, scalable university-created curriculum that belongs front and center in a teacher hub. Audience: High school. Delivery: Classroom / digital curriculum toolkit. Cost: $149 annually. Contact: jacobson-institute@uiowa.edu. URL: https://jacobsoninstitute.org/bizinnovator/bizinnovator-curriculum-toolkit
Invent It Kit — Invent It Kit is a lighter-weight invention resource for science, math, technology, arts, after-school, camp, or homeschool settings. It walks students from idea to prototype and prepares them for invention competition participation. This is a good fit for teachers who want invention education without adopting a full entrepreneurship curriculum. Audience: High school, adaptable elsewhere. Delivery: Classroom / digital toolkit. Cost: Free for Iowa educators; $49 annually for others. Contact: jacobson-institute@uiowa.edu. URL: https://jacobsoninstitute.org/invent/invent-it-kit
HEAR (Helping Educators use Art to Reduce Bullying) Toolkit — Researchers from the Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC) and members of The Working Group Theater developed the HEAR Toolkit to help educators address bullying through arts-based learning and engagement. The toolkit provides practical resources and activities that use theater and creative expression to build empathy, strengthen communication, and support positive school climates. It is a valuable resource for educators seeking innovative approaches to bullying prevention and social-emotional learning. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School educators. Delivery: Online toolkit and classroom resources. Cost: Free. Contact: Injury Prevention Research Center. URL: https://hear.public-health.uiowa.edu/
Protecting Young Agricultural Workers Training Resources — The Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest provides online training resources for supervisors, parents, and educators focused on protecting young agricultural workers. The trainings address workplace safety, injury prevention, and strategies for supporting youth employed in agricultural settings. These resources are especially useful for schools, agricultural education programs, and community organizations working with young workers. Audience: Educators, parents, supervisors, and community organizations. Delivery: Online training modules and resources. Cost: Free. Contact: Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest. URL: https://hwc.public-health.uiowa.edu/protecting-young-ag-workers/
Flat Farmers Activity Kit — Developed by the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health, Flat Farmers is an interactive educational activity that helps children and adults identify appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for farming and other rural work tasks. The program includes downloadable files and instructions for creating custom Flat Farmers figures. It is a practical, hands-on resource for teaching agricultural safety and workplace hazard awareness. Audience: Elementary, Middle School, High School, and community learners. Delivery: Classroom activity and downloadable resources. Cost: Free downloadable materials. Cost: Free downloadable materials; physical kits available. Contact: Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health. URL: https://gpcah.public-health.uiowa.edu/flat-farmers/
Professional Development and Continuing Education
Educator Programs at the Belin-Blank Center — Belin-Blank’s educator page is the main public gateway for professional learning in gifted education and talent development. It includes webinars, workshops, coursework, on-campus experiences, and Iowa licensure renewal opportunities. For this hub, it should anchor the gifted-and-advanced-learning professional development area. Audience: Educators, school leaders. Delivery: In-person, online, webinar, coursework. Cost: Mixed / depends on offering. Contact: Belin-Blank Center contacts via site. URL: https://belinblank.education.uiowa.edu/educators/
Belin-Blank Talent Development Fellowship — This fellowship supports a small cohort of teachers, nominated by their schools, in receiving specialized training in gifted education and talent development. It stands out because it is school-supported, immersive, and explicitly designed to build educator capacity for serving advanced learners. Audience: Educators. Delivery: Fellowship / summer residential professional learning. Cost: Unknown. Contact: Belin-Blank Center via fellowship page. URL: https://belinblank.education.uiowa.edu/educators/fellowship/
Iowa Reading Research Center - The IRRC offers professional learning opportunities on topics related to K-12 literacy learning. These include in-person, synchronous events, such as the Iowa Science of Reading Summit; virtual, synchronous learning through webinars; and virtual, asynchronous learning through eLearning modules. Audience: K-12 educators. Delivery: In-person, online, webinar. Cost: Mixed / depends on offering. Contact: ask-irrc@uiowa.edu. URL: https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/professional-development
Graduate and Continuing Education — The College of Education’s graduate and continuing education hub is a strong umbrella page for practicing teachers seeking advanced degrees, certifications, and professional development. It should be included because it is broader than any single program and can help educators quickly see the university’s continuing-education ecosystem. Audience: Educators, administrators, counselors. Delivery: In-person, hybrid, and online depending on program. Cost: Fee-based / tuition-based. Contact: College of Education. URL: https://education.uiowa.edu/graduate-and-continuing-education
Global Education Institute for Teachers — International Programs’ Global Education Institute for Teachers is a professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers and awards a license renewal credit. It is an excellent fit for social studies, language arts, global learning, and social justice-oriented curriculum work, and it also illustrates how the hub can surface programs beyond the most obvious K-12 units. Audience: K-12 educators. Delivery: Professional development institute. Cost: Unknown. Contact: International Programs / institute registration page. URL: https://international.uiowa.edu/about/outreach/campus-community-programs/global-education-institute-teachers
Scanlan Center for School Mental Health — The Scanlan Center combines professional development, clinical services, resources, and outreach for school mental health. Its homepage explicitly states that it works through research, training, professional development, and clinical services, and it reports engagement with K-12 educators statewide. For the hub, this should be the anchor listing for school mental health learning and support. Audience: Educators, counselors, administrators, school staff. Delivery: Professional learning, training, clinical services, resources. Cost: Unknown. Contact: Scanlan Center main site. URL: https://scsmh.education.uiowa.edu/
BizInnovator Professional Development — The Jacobson Institute’s BizInnovator professional development certifies educators to use the entrepreneurship toolkit more effectively and enables eligible teachers to offer students college credit and an industry-recognized leadership credential. It is one of the strongest programmatic links between educator learning and student outcomes in the UI K-12 landscape. Audience: High school educators. Delivery: Professional development / certification. Cost: $299, plus toolkit if needed. Contact: jacobson-institute@uiowa.edu. URL:https://jacobsoninstitute.org/bizinnovator/professional-development