This October, we are so excited to share our brand new traveling trunk! The Lake Placid Olympic Museum’s traveling trunk is a mini-museum packed with excitement, ready to journey straight into your classroom. Filled with artifacts, hands-on activities, and engaging lesson plans, this educational outreach program brings the inspiring history of the Olympic Winter Games to life. The traveling trunk is available for two-week rentals and may be checked out for free. Trunks may be picked up at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum or sent to your school for the cost of shipping. It is available to any and all educators, from traditional teachers to homeschoolers.
Tasked with creating Olympic spirit and spreading modern Olympic values, mascots give the Games a festive atmosphere and help promote the host city’s history and culture. The lessons in this trunk encounter five different mascots: 1980 Lake Placid, 1984 Sarajevo, 1994 Lillehammer, 2010 Vancouver, and 2024 Paris. Trunk activities focus on building students’ critical thinking skills as they examine various forms of media and contemplate how the mascots have influenced the cultures they are a part of.
The “Mythical Mascots” traveling trunk is tailored for students in grades 3rd-5th and aligned with the New York State learning standards. The lessons are interdisciplinary, connecting with social studies, English language arts, and visual arts.