Group Tours

Bus Tours

Bus tours are always welcome to enjoy the history and culture that Behringer-Crawford Museum has to offer. Behringer-Crawford Museum is minutes from downtown Covington or Cincinnati, a short drive through one of the areas scenic vistas. Spend an hour or more engaged in the transportation history of this area with along with the exhibits on pre-history Indians, mammoths and mastodons, Civil War relics, art works from local artist such as Harlan Hubbard and Wolfgang Ritschel and many other interests.

City Nights

Looking for some thing different and educational for a city sponsor event?  Then why not schedule a Museum Day or Evening for your city.  Any time of the year is a great time to plan an event at the museum and during the months of November and December Behringer-Crawford Museum features an interactive “Holiday Toy Train Display.”  The display along with the other exhibits makes your visit an excellent “Family Friendly” event. Contact the Education Department for added activities which could enhance your residents visit.

Senior Tours

Senior groups can enjoy Behringer-Crawford Museum’s approach to the history is through the lens of transportation. The many exhibits help to invoke memories of how it was to board the trolley for the ride downtown or the excitement of boarding the Island Queen for a day at Coney Island. Come enjoy the ride and learn about these and other aspect that has made this area a great place to live.

Community Organization and Group Tours of Any Age

Community Organization and Group Tours of Any Age. Groups of any age are encouraged to schedule a tour at Behringer-Crawford Museum. Tours can be tailored for your group interest and programs are available to enhance your visit. Groups of 12 or more can receive a group rate.

School Tours

BCM welcomes teachers and students of all ages to come and explore our museum. We actively strive to engage students in fun, educational activities that promote the development of their 21st century skills and build upon classroom learning.

Tours and programs can be tailored to meet the needs of individual groups and are aligned to Kentucky Academic standards.

Most programs will last 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the age of students and the content of the programming.

  

Science: Wildlife/Environment

Whoo’s Who? (recommended for grades 2-6)

Have you seen or heard one of these mystical hunters of the night? Let your students discover the owls whoooo call their home Northern KY!

* Activity Extension:Enrich your experience by dissecting an owl pellet. Discover for yourself in this hands-on activity, the types of tasty treats our local owls eat!

                *Additional fee for owl pellets. TBD

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 1-LS1-1 (A), 3-LS4-2

 

How Do They Do That? (recommended for preschool-4th grade)

Explore the different ways that animals adapt to their habitats to survive. Experience for yourself how an animal camouflages itself, how a bug sees or how a bird's beak determines what it eats. Students will engage in collaborative hands-on activities  will use and improve their critical thinking skills.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 1-LS1-1 (A), 1-LS1-1 (D), 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-2, 4-LS1-1 (A), 4-LS1-2

 

Tree Walk (recommended for preschool-6th grade)

Students begin in NaturePlay@BCM, examining the trees and plants, guided by BCM educators. They will learn first-hand how trees develop leaves and how to differentiate between the different types of leaves (compound, simple, alternating etc.) while fostering a sense of environmental stewardship. The walk continues on the Spring House Trail, a quarter-mile loop next to NaturePlay@BCM, to learn about the life cycle of leaves in this educational experience. Students may gather leaves for their own collection.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 2-PS1-1, 2-L24-1, 3-LS1-1

 

Science: Paleontology

Kentucky on Ice (recommended for grades 2-6)

Students will learn about Ice Age geology and the great Ice Age animals that once roamed the Ohio Valley. In addition, students will handle and analyze a variety of real fossils uncovered from Big Bone Lick. Using their critical thinking skills, students determine how an animal's physical characteristics influenced its life. A game about how and why extinction occurs may be played! Just as the first paleontologists thrilled at their discoveries, students will be captivated by this experience.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 2-ESS1-1, 3-LS4-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS2-1 (C) 

 
Who Wants to be a Paleontologist? (recommended for grades 2-7)

As a class, students will take an imaginary voyage into the ancient Ordovician Sea, which covered Kentucky and the Ohio Valley, to discover the strange creatures that lived here 450 million years ago. Today, people from all over the world come to dig for what your students may have in their own yards. By Examining our fossil collection, students will become amateur paleontologists.

* Activity Extension: Fossil Impressions: Students get to make impressions of some Ordovician Sea fossils in salt dough (or the like). Toaster ovens are available to bake the dough before you leave BCM (time permitting). Large groups may need to bake some student impressions at school. Allow at least 21/2 - 3 hours for your combined museum program and craft activity; more if you have a large group of students. 

               * Additional Materials Fee: $3 per person

 Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 2-ESS1-1, 3-LS4-1, 4-ESS-1

 

Science: Archaeology

Dig Up The Past (Urban Archaeology) (recommended for grades 4-8)

Program price is $10 per student.

In this all-day program, students are introduced to the study of archaeology. Taught to understand the influence archaeological discoveries have on the course of history, students engage in important critical thinking processes. Once versed in archaeological theory, students learn proper archaeological techniques in order to engage in an excavation of a staged dig. Unearthing and analyzing artifacts, students work together to place the artifacts in the context of history, The program can be held at Behringer-Crawford Museum. Class size is limited.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 4-ESS1-1

 

Cultural History

American Indian Cultures - Pre-History (recommended for grades K-6)

Before the first European settlers arrived in the "New World,"  American Indians dominated the North American landscape. Handling authentic artifacts from these pre-history civilizations, (Archaic, Woodland, Ft. Ancient,) students will examine different cultural elements nd communicate how those elements influenced American Indian society. Through this program, students develop a greater understanding and appreciation of American Indians, whose way of life in the Ohio River Valley, greatly differed from their own.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards:  Social Studies: Big Ideas, Cultures and Societies 2.16 & 2.17 (first-fifth grades), Economics 2.18 (first-third grades), Geography 2.19 (first-third grades), Historical Perspective 2.20 (first-fourth grades)

 
The Siege that Never Occurred (recommended for grades 4-8)

In this 2-hour program, students engage in critical thinking skills while discussing the Civil War on a local level. Exposed to the political, social, and economic reasons underpinning the Civil War, students learn that decisions made locally impacted the outcome of the war. Specifically, students will investigate the local exploits of the Confederate and Union armies during the year of 1862 as they prepare for a confrontation in defense of Cincinnati.

Students will handle period artifacts and participate in Civil War-era culture to help them envision life uring this period. Students will sing Civil War songs and perform Civil War dances. Integrating the arts into history, this program is both meaningful and memorable to students.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: Social Studies: Big Ideas, Cultures and Societies 2.16 & 2.17 (fifth and eighth grades), Historical Perspective 2.20 (first-third and eighth grades)  

 

Freedom Stations (recommended for grades 1-6)

Although slavery existed and thrived in America, not all Americans supported it. In fact, many brave individuals broke the law and helped guide runaway slaves to their freedom in Canada. In this program, students hear the stories of daring Underground Railroad conductors, including Sojourner Truth, John Parker, Harriet Tubman, Peg- Leg Joe, John and Jean Rankin and others who risked their lives to insure freedom for all people. Students will investigate and create some of the secret codes used on freedom quilts to help escaping slaves on their journey north. Through the investigation of these people, students develop the understanding that an individual's initiative can impact the course of history.

 Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: Cultures and Societies: 2.16 and 2.17 (fifth grade), Historical Perspective: 2.20 (first-third and fifth grades)

 
At Home, at Play (recommended for grades K-5)

Can your students imagine living in the past without modern technology? Let them discover what their lives would be like if they were boys and girls during the 1800s. In this program, students will journey back in time to examine how pioneers once lived. Students pretend to be pioneers engaging in authentic interactive activities fo the time period. Working together to complete pioneer chores and to play old-style games, students will understand how the lifestyles of people have changed over time.

               *The running time of this program may extend up to 1 and a half hours

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: Cultures and Societies: 2.16 & 2.17 (fourth grade), Geography 2.19 (first-third grades), Historical Perspective 2.20 (first-fifth grades) 

 

Transportation

The Settlement of Kentucky (recommended for grades 4-6)

The cries to "Go West!" influenced thousands of Americans to pack up and move their families to the wild frontier. In this program, students investigate and compare the journeys of two families who took separate paths out west. First, students will meet Rebecca and Daniel Boone. Famous for carving out the Wilderness Road, Daniel Boone returned with his family through the Cumberland Gap to settle in Central Kentucky. Next, the class will meet the McClures, a family from Pittsburgh, who traveled down the river on a flatboat. Discussing these historical accounts, both factual and fictional, students will learn how settlement  of Kentucky occurred during the second half of the 18th century.

 Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: Cultures and Societies 2.16 & 2.17 (fourth grade), Economics 2.18 (first-third grades), Geography 2.19 (first-fifth grades), Historical Perspective 2.20 (first-fifth grades)  

History in Motion (recommended for grades 1-5)

Traveling throughout Behringer-Crawford Museum, students investigate the important role transportation played in the local region. Focusing on four themes of transportation: Rivers, Roads, Rails and Runways, students use critical thinking skills to interpret how each mode of transportation influenced the movement of people and goods and affected the development of this region. This program must take place at BCM.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: Economics 2.18 (first-fifth grades), Geography 2.19 (first-fifth grades), Historical Perspective (first-fifth grades)

 

Mathematics

School in Scale (recommended for grades 6-9)

Transform your students into architects and have them explore the world of scale models by using their math skills to build proportional one-room schoolhouse. Viewing the museum's train display and watching a short KET video, your students will learn about the world of scale-model houses and cities. Armed with this information, students get to jump into action. Watch your students collaborate in small groups and engage their critical thinking skills to create their own models. 

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: 6.RP

 

Artistic Heritage

The Beauty of Folk Art (recommended for grades 2-9)

Often referred to as the "art of the common folk," folk art is uncommonly wonderful. In this program, students reflect on the artwork of Covington, Kentucky's "Americana" artist, Mary Bruce Sharon, whose art exhibits an exquisite sense of color and flair for design. Students will discuss the stories of Mary Bruce Sharon's youth in the mid-1800s, as told by this "Grandma Moses" through her paintings. Give your students this opportunity to respond to the ingenuity of homespun art forms in the museum's folk art collection and to gather ideas for their own artistic endeavors

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: VA:Pr4.1 (first and fourth-sixth grades), VA:Pr5.1 (K and second grades), VA:Pr6.1 (first-third, sixth and eighth grades), VA:Pr7.1 (first, fifth and sixth grades), VA:Re7.2 (K and third-sixth grades), VA:Re8.1 (K and second grades), VA:Cn11.1 (K-eighth grades)

Harlan Hubbard: Art of Life, Life of Art (recommended for grades 1-9)

Introduce your class to the life and art of Northern Kentucky artist, Harlan Hubbard. A man in harmony with nature, Harlan Hubbard created art, played music and wrote literature while living on the fringe of society along the Ohio River with his wife Anna. Through an examination of his paintings, students will be challenged to determine how at is influenced by the time, place and culture which the work was created. Give your students the chance to actively engage with the largest publicly owned collection of artstic works created by native Kentuckian Harlan Hubbard and to create a piece of their own inspired by his paintings. 

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: VA:Pr4.1 (first and fourth-sixth grades), VA:Pr5.1 (K and second grades), VA:Pr6.1 (first-third, sixth and eighth grades), VA:Pr7.1 (first, second, fifth and sixth grades), VA:Re7.2 (first and third-sixth grades), VA:Re8.1 (K and second grades), VA:Cn11.1 (K-eighth grades) 

 

American Indian Design (recommended for grades 2-8)

Your students will delve into American Indian culture through the investigation of actual American Indian artifacts. Together they will examine primitive, ceremonial and decorative art pieces  created by the Plains Indians, including woven items, moccasins nd beadwork. Using these handcrafted items, students will study the elements of art and principles of design common in these American Indian art forms.In addition, students may participate in a "Winter Count" activity where they create "story hides," journaling their life's important moments just as American Indians did long ago.

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: VA:Pr4.1 (first and fourth-sixth grades), VA:Pr6.1 (third grade), VA:Pr7.1 (first, fifth and sixth grades), VA:Re7.2 (third-sixth grades), VA:Re8.1 (K), VA:Cn11.1 (K-eighth grades), Cultures & Societies 2.16 and 2.17 (first-fourth grades)

 
Art Through the Ages (recommended for grades 2-8)

Program price $10 per student.

Students explore the changing purposes of art through the centuries, focusing on prehistoric cave
painting, pioneer tin-punching and the paintings of Kentucky artist, Harlan Hubbard. Through an examination of these types of artwork, students will discover the uses of art as ceremonial, utilitarian and as a means of expression. Students will create a sample of each of these artworks to take home, even learning to create paint from charcoal!

               *The running time of this program may extend up to one and a half hours (30 minutes per project per group). 

Fulfills Kentucky Academic Standards: VA:Pr4.1 (first and fourth-sixth grades), VA:Pr5.1 (K and second grades), VA:Pr6.1 (first-third, sixth and eighth grades), VA:Pr7.1 (first, second, fifth and sixth grades), VA:Re7.2 (first and third-sixth grades), VA:Re8.1 (K and second grades), VA:Cn11.1 (K-eighth grades)

 

For more information or to schedule your group, please contact BCM Education Director Kim Gehring-Cook at (859) 491-4003 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

Scout Tours

Scout tours are available during museum hours. The tours can be self-guided or docent led. There are scavenger hunts to help the scouts explore the museum during self-guided tours. The scout will be able to learn more about the exhibits and may be able to actual examine some artifacts up close when the tour is led by a docent. Programs in different areas can also enhance your visit.

Contact Kim Gehring-Cook at (859) 491-4003 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

 

 Six@Six Lecture Series

Six@Six is an annual series of community lectures by NKU’s faculty and students. The series showcases the scholarship and creative work on campus by discussing that work in the community.

 

Six@Six Lecture Series is a community lecture series sponsored by Northern Kentucky University’s Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement. Think of this as your chance to go to college, minus the tuition, the morning classes and the pressure of grades.

We promise:

• Lots of Interaction: These aren’t sit-on-your-hands lectures. Every talk will include time for questions!
• Exciting, engaging evenings: The faculty, students and graduates who signed up for this year’s Six@Six season are pumped. It’s their chance to showcase their scholarship and expertise.
• Join us on a journey of discovery. For more information, click HERE.

The Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement is a department at NKU that works to connect the campus and community. The center’s programming is designed to encourage NKU students and faculty to get involved in the community. Learn more at http://civicengagement.nku.edu.

 

Upcoming 2025/2026 Presentations: 

   

Geopolitical Coverage of the Olympics – April 9, 6 p.m.

Speaker: Reporters from the Associated Press

Location: Griffin Hall Digitorium