FREE LOAN KITS

Loan Kits are "museums in a box," containing a teacher's curriculum guide, artifacts, reproductions, and activities for students. Share Loan Kits with your team for a comprehensive unit without leaving the classroom.

Available Loan Kits:

Journey Through the Great Depression* Explore one of the most catastrophic events in U.S. history.  This loan kit focuses on how the Great Depression affected residents of McLean County.  Topics include the New Deal, farming issues, and examples of the struggles of daily life.
Grades 6-12

A Parallel Culture* explores African-American culture through stories of integration and segregation, music, and art.  This kit is a great source of local history! 
Grades 3-12

An Essence of Science: The Science of Everyday Life* explores the extraordinary science that occurs in ordinary daily activities.  If features historic and contemporary inventors, inventions, and basic scientific experiments to do in class. 
Grades 4-8

Branch Out: Tracing Family Trees* Introduce students to the field of Genealogy.  This loan kit contains family record charts, a glossary of terms, worksheets, games, and lots of “how-to” information to get your genealogy research started.
Grades 3-8

Downtown Bloomington Architecture* is an introduction to the built environment around us, including how Bloomington was built, who designed it, and how to identify architectural elements in most buildings.
Grades 3-8

Indians of McLean County* focuses on the traditional lifeways of the Native Americans who lived in our county.
Pre-K to 8

Pioneer Life* What did the settles encounter here 180 years ago?  This loan kit helps students discover how life changed by taking them back to the 1830s.
Grades 3-8

To Sustain the Union* features materials detailing soldiers' lives, battle tactics, and home life during the war.  This kit includes many cross-disciplinary activities.
Grades 3-8

Trailblazers: Women of McLean County*Introduce your students to remarkable local women- from pioneers to politicians.  This loan kit features 31 notable and enterprising women from McLean County’s past and showcases how important they were to history in this area.
Grades 5-12

Well Dressed Man About Town presents society and culture through the grooming habits and clothes worn by men from 1920 to 1940.
Grades 3-8

Newer Americans- Study cultures, rituals and struggles of recent immigrants to McLean County featuring East Asian, South Asian, and Hispanic Cultures through dance, clothing games and music.
Grades 4-8

Photo Reminiscences- Historic photos from Bloomington and Normal are brought for participants to examine with background information given about each photo.  This program allows participants to reminisce about what they remember about past events, buildings or places the photos depict from Bloomington and Normal’s past.  **School groups may also enjoy this light program

* Loan Kit requires completion of an outcome-based evaluation form from participating teachers.  Please help us collect this vital information.

To check out Loan Kits

Call the Museum Education Department at 309-827-0428 or contact us at education@mchistory.org.  Reservations are required at least three weeks in advance.  Material may be borrowed for up to two weeks, free of charge.  Teachers must pick up Loan Kits from, and return Loan Kits to, the Museum.