End of the Year: Night at the Museum

There are some movies that work really well for history classes, and some that do not. After watching a Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum 2 this weekend, I put it in the category of works really well.

I did not find really any discrepancies with historical fact in either movie. The only non factual part I could think of would be the T-Rex acting as a playful pup. Sorry for those that haven't seen the movie.

I can see many possible activities to base off of the movie. Have students create a list of the people in the movie and the facts about them. Winner has the most information. For younger students the teacher can supply the list of characters. Or have students pick one interesting character and look up more information on them. Or if you are really ambitious, create your own museum. Have pictures of the different characters, students or groups of students will research them and have information by them. Then have a tour of your museum. You could also put the museum online.