If your organization is hosting a public program within a 25-mile radius of the Museum, a team of Peabody docents will come to your event with one of three educational interactive kits each with more than 20 hands-on specimens and artifacts for children and adults to touch and explore. The volunteers will engage visitors, and answer questions about natural history, world cultures and the Peabody Museum.
To ask more about the program please contact the Peabody on the Road Program at peabody.ontheroad@yale.edu or (203) 432-3775. E-mail is strongly preferred and will generate a quicker response.
Fax (203) 432-9816
Mailing Address:
Attention: Peabody on the Road Program
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
P.O. Box 208118
New Haven, CT 06520-8118
or download and print a registration form [PDF115 KB] and mail your completed form to the address above.
Click here to get the free Adobe Acrobat Reader® to view the PDF file.
Q: I submitted my registration - can I expect to see the On the Road program at my event?
A: Not yet! Once we receive your registration we need to check our schedule to see if the requested kit is available, and then find volunteers willing and able to staff the event. We will send you a Confirmation Form once we are sure we can be at your event!
Q: How far will the Museum send volunteers for a program?
A: Our programs go out to locations within a 25-mile radius of the Museum
Q: What can the event coordinator do to help the Peabody museum with staffing of the event?
A: The event coordinator should fill out and submit the registration form as soon as possible in order to ensure adequate lead time for Peabody museum staff to find volunteers for the event.
Q: What kits are available?
A: We have three kits available to send out:
Touch a replica of a T.Rex tooth
Feel black bear fur
Compare the skulls of a deer, bear and beaver
Look a tarantula in the eyes (you have 2, it has 8)!
Open a tiffin picnic set from India
Try out a shoulder pole from Vietnam
See how Woodland Indian people used a travois
Touch a holder for blow-pipe darts made from monkey skin and bamboo!
Experiment to see which rock can float
Find out what mineral you use each day to brush your teeth
What rock makes your food taste better
Compare a tree branch with petrified wood from millions of years ago
Use a black light to discover natural fluorescence glowing in several rocks
Q: Does Peabody on the Road visit classrooms?
A: We are sorry to say that we are unable to take our program to individual classrooms. However, we can be present at a science night or other school program where the public is invited
Q: How can I become a Peabody on the Road volunteer?
A: Begin by filling out the general volunteer application on this website and indicate your interest in the Peabody on the Road program. Upon successful completion of the application and interview process, your name will be added to a list of people interested in training for either the natural History and Anthropology kits (1 ½ hours) or the Rocks and Minerals Kit (2 hours). Once you have completed at least one training your name is added to those who are ready to take the kit out to events.
Q: I have a confirmed event with Peabody on the Road. My event has been cancelled. What should I do?
A: If 1 week or more before the event, please contact Elizabeth Steele at peabody.ontheroad@yale.edu. Otherwise you must contact the volunteers directly (contact info will be on the Confirmation Form). It is extremely important, especially on the day of the event, as the volunteer may not get proper notice to not arrive.
