Whether through an immersive synchronous virtual program or a small-group hands-on workshop on our waterfront campus, CBMM’s programs are designed to inspire, challenge, and enlighten students about the Chesapeake’s unique people and places.
Student programs are available throughout the year. We welcome all public, private, and homeschooled students in addition to youth organizations. Reservations are required, and all group guided experiences must be confirmed at least three weeks before the program date. One month’s advance notice is required for custom programming.
Submit the reservation inquiry form here to begin planning a safe, high-quality learning experience for your students. Please email registration@cbmm.org with questions about programs or the reservation process.
Want to learn more about upcoming Education programs? Sign up for CBMM’s Education email here.
ON-CAMPUS TOURS & IMMERSIVE PROGRAMS
CBMM’s on-campus programs and tours are designed to bring the history, environment, and culture of the Chesapeake to life through themed explorations of our 18-acre campus and exhibitions. All programs align with the Maryland State Curriculum, with particular emphasis on science, social studies, and environmental literacy. Through hands-on activities and discussion in small groups, students gain an up-close and personal view of the Bay’s people, places, and creatures.
Choose from self-guided, guided, on-the-water, and custom experiences.
Grades: Pre-K–12 | 100 students/chaperones max
CBMM welcomes self-guided student groups throughout the year to explore our 18-acre campus and 12 exhibition buildings. Maps and supplemental activities such as CBMM’s Campus Challenge are available upon request.
LAND-BASED GUIDED EXPERIENCES
Grades: K–12 | Duration: 1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
In this guided program focused on science and history, participants learn what it means to “follow the water” in every season on the Chesapeake. Students will view the Bay through the eyes of a waterman as they pull crab pots, tong for oysters, climb into an oysterman’s bunk on a skipjack, and hear stories of the techniques and tools used by commercial hunters at the turn of the 19th century.
Grades: K–5 | Duration: 1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
Students learn about Chesapeake geography, biology, and economics by following the blue crab on its journey from the brackish Bay to our picnic tables. The program focuses on the people who earn their livelihood from the crabbing industry. Students will walk in their shoes by working a trotline activity, culling their catch, picking model crabs at a packing house, and ordering from a restaurant on a migrant worker’s wages.
Grades: PK–12 | Duration: 1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
Create your own artistic version of a Chesapeake Bay while exploring CBMM’s Living Shoreline, gardens, and oyster reef critters. Observe the species in our waterfront habitats to learn about how different plants and animals have adapted to survive in specific habitats.
Grades: Pre-K–2 | Duration: 1–1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
Students will learn about the Chesapeake Bay through immersive environments, discussion, and hands-on play. They will imagine themselves as lighthouse keepers as they explore the historic Hooper Strait Lighthouse and assume the roles of captain and crew aboard the tugboat Thor. Customize your program to include one or more of the following: an exploration of the critters that live on an oyster reef; a crab picking role-play activity; climbing aboard a skipjack to learn about the oyster industry; sitting in a dugout canoe to learn about Indigenous American cultures of the Chesapeake.
Grades: K–12 | Duration: 1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
In this hands-on program, students will explore the history of the greatest oyster factory on Earth—the Chesapeake Bay—and how the oyster has shaped the culture, industry, and environment of the Bay and its people. Through maps, activities, and giant oyster shells, they will learn about a time when oysters were thick as stones. Tales told aboard a skipjack will delve into the Oyster Wars and an oyster gold rush. Students will also take an up-close look at an oyster nursery’s crabs, fish, and baby mollusks.
Grades: 2–12 | Duration: 1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
In this STEM-focused program, students will explore how changing technology has impacted people of the Chesapeake for generations. Using tools, touch baskets, and hands-on demonstrations, they will consider the scientific principles behind some great innovations in Chesapeake boatbuilding, navigation, and engineering. Tour stops include CBMM’s working Shipyard and the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse.
Grades: 2–12 | Duration: 1.5 hours | 60 students/chaperones max
This ecology-based program teaches students about the animals, plants, and environment of the Chesapeake through hands-on activity on land and aboard the 1920 buyboat Winnie Estelle. Students will explore the Bay watershed from large to small by exploring a Chesapeake Bay food web, testing water quality, and examining the many organisms that call the Bay ecosystem home. Stations include oyster nursery exploration, shoreline observation, water quality testing, and plankton/Chesapeake Bay food web.
Flat rate per cruise plus group rate per person. Cruises are dependent upon seasonal availability and weather.
CUSTOM EXPERIENCES
Interested in an education program at CBMM but can’t find what you’re looking for? Customized programming tailored to your group’s age, interests, and abilities is available. One month’s advance notice is required for custom programming; email registration@cbmm.org to inquire about options and availability.
Custom Shipyard Tours
For details and pricing, reach out to Shipyard Education Programs Manager Jenn Kuhn at jkuhn@cbmm.org, afad@cbmm.org, or 410-745-4980.
Grades: Pre-K–12 | Duration: 60 minutes | 120 students/chaperones max
Add to your land-based experience by enjoying a scenic Miles River cruise aboard the Patriot. The cruise is a great opportunity to get students on the water to observe the natural surroundings of the Bay’s tributaries. Flat rate per cruise. Cruises are dependent upon seasonal availability and weather.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMS
CBMM is excited to offer diverse virtual program opportunities for student and youth groups.
All virtual programs include:
- 30–45 minutes of live, instructor-led programming timed to fit your class schedule
- your choice of thematic programs to best meet student learning objectives
- active learning for students through interactive investigations and small group discussions
- supplemental lesson plans for pre- and post-program use
VIRTUAL PROGRAM OPTIONS
Grades: 2–12 | 30 students max per CBMM educator
Students track the people and jobs that bring the Chesapeake’s blue crab from Bay to table. They’ll explore different jobs in the industry, what people need to do their work, and how everyone depends on one another. Focus: culture, economy, interconnectivity of industries, science and culture.
Grades: 2–12 | 30 students max per CBMM educator
In this investigation-based program, students will explore a virtual version of the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse in search of evidence about the lighthouse keeper’s disappearance. Along the way, they’ll use evidence to learn how lighthouses work and what life was like for a Chesapeake lighthouse keeper. Focus: history, technology, group mystery solving.
Grades: 2–12 | 30 students max per CBMM educator
What is life like on one of the most diverse habitats in the Chesapeake Bay—the oyster reef? Through observation and discussion, students will investigate the many fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other critters that thrive within this habitat and explore the oyster’s significance to the Chesapeake ecosystem. Focus: ecology, biology, scientific classification systems.
Grades: 2–12 | 30 students max per CBMM educator
Create your own artistic version of one of the Bay’s many habitats. Learn about the plants and animals that live in your habitat, then figure out which are designed to survive in it. Combine your habitats into a big group ecosystem! Focus: biology, ecosystems, art.
RESERVATIONS, PRICING, & FUNDING
We welcome all public, private, and homeschooled students, as well as youth organizations, to participate in student programs. CBMM is committed to equitable access for all classrooms and feels strongly that a lack of financial resources should not hinder any student from engaging in an exceptional experience. Program funding may be available for your group. Complete the form below and a member of CBMM’s education team will reach out to discuss details and schedule your program. All groups must be confirmed through our contract and booking process.
PRICING
All fees include general CBMM admission.
| Maryland public school students | $5 per student | One chaperone for every 10 students admitted free | $5 additional chaperones |
| Private school and out-of-state students | $8 per student | One chaperone for every 10 students admitted free | $8 additional chaperones |
| Add-On: Scenic Cruise | $900-$1200 per cruise | 60 minutes | max 120 students, teachers and chaperones |
| Making Crab Cakes The Lighthouse Keeper is Missing! Life on the Oyster Reef Design to Survive |
$50 per CBMM educator (1–2 educators required per student group) | 30–45 minutes | 15–30 students max per educator |
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
CBMM seeks to provide affordable field trip experiences for students and teachers interested in learning about the Chesapeake Bay. Thanks to funding from the Maryland State Department of Education’s State Aided Institutions program, we are able to offer reduced program prices for Maryland public school students. Through generous support, we are able to provide programming to Talbot County Public Schools students free of charge. This funding is open to public, private, and charter schools that teach students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. Universities and colleges are not eligible. Email registration@cbmm.org to inquire about these funding opportunities.
Bus Scholarships
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum encourages all educators to apply to our bus scholarship program to offset the cost of transportation. The bus scholarship reimburses the school up to $250 per bus for transportation to and from CBMM.
This program is open to public, private, and charter schools that teach students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. Universities and colleges are not eligible. Schools/organizations are responsible for any and all costs above the $250 limit.
Classes are eligible for reimbursement once per school year. Applications for the school year are accepted on a rolling deadline. Funding may be prioritized for any of the following:
- Schools that have not previously engaged in CBMM field trips
- Field trips scheduled between October and April
- Field trips serving more than 30 students
- Title I schools and other underserved audiences
To apply, complete the Reservation Inquiry form at least one month before your requested field trip. Awards will be made on a rolling basis. For questions about bus scholarships, contact Senior Director of Engagement, Learning, and Interpretation Jill Ferris at jferris@cbmm.org.
CBMM is dedicated to teaching students about the rich history and culture of the Bay’s communities and environment. Whether on our campus, in your classroom, or out on the water, our hands-on programs and curriculum units are designed to inspire, challenge, and enlighten your students about the unique heritage of the Chesapeake’s people and places.