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Culture Cases
Tours and Field Trips
NACI Lesson Plans
Culture Case Web Banner

Culture Cases

Available to borrow at no cost. Each case includes artifact replicas, a guidebook with cultural background information and suggested activities, and other books, objects, and posters to use in your classroom.

Contact our Education Office at 801-422-0022 or mpc_programs@byu.edu for availability and to place a reservation. See below for details.


  • This case has objects from Native American tribes such as the Fremont, Shoshone, and Ute, including things like a cradleboard, pottery, jewelry, and clothing. *Pair this case with a field trip to see the museum's exhibit on Utah Valley.

  • The American Southwest covers present-day Arizona and New Mexico, as well as regions of Utah, Colorado, Texas, California, and Mexico. This case includes objects like projectile points (arrowheads), baskets, and pottery from tribes such as Ancestral Puebloan (formerly Anasazi), Navajo/Dine, Hohokam, Hopi, and Zuni.

  • Polynesia is comprised of many different islands, including, Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, and Hawaii. The objects in this case include a tapa cloth, conch shells, poi balls, and various musical instruments from these beautiful islands.

  • Mesoamerica is a region extending south and east from central Mexico including parts of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This case features objects from the Maya and the Aztec civilizations, such as beautifully woven textiles, a metate for grinding corn, and projectile points (arrowheads).

  • Ancient Egypt is the north-eastern part of Africa. This case includes objects such as papyrus, a replica of the Rosetta Stone, and Egyptian funerary goods.

  • Ouelessebougou is a town located in the West African country of Mali. This culture case was made by the Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance, and features instruments, jewelry, soap, and more!

  • Ancient Greece and Rome are in the Mediterranean and are the base of western civilization. This case includes a Roman oil lamp, Greek playing marbles, coins, tiles, and more.

  • The Andes were home to many of the greatest civilizations in the Americas, including the Inca. The objects in this case include llama wool, clay dishes, and ceremonial objects figurines.

One week is the standard length of a loan, but when you contact the Education Office to make a reservation, we will adjust as needed and confirm the dates with you. You may pick up/drop off your reserved case at the front desk during our hours of 9-5 on the day of. A museum employee will verify your reservation, then have you sign an agreement to assume responsibility for the case and its contents.
Please note the museum closes at 5:00pm.

Request a Tour or Field Trip

Please reach out to us by calling 801-422-0022 or emailing mpc_programs@byu.edu to schedule your group. Include helpful information, such as the age(s) or grade(s) of your students, total number of adults and kids (an estimation is fine), and any expectations you have (is there a specific exhibit or topic you want us to focus on, or an activity we can prepare for your group?)

Note that we are unable to accommodate very large groups all at once, and suggest that you divide (by class, or grade, or chaperone, etc.) and rotate among the other BYU museums. This is a great way to see multiple museums on campus in one field trip to Provo. Consider contacting the paleontology (dinosaur) museum, Bean Life Science museum, and Museum of Art, to plan your visit with each!

A field trip group in the Maya Weaving exhibit, 2021

Native American Curriculum Initiative Lessons


BYU Arts Partnership has developed many lesson plans as part of their Native American Curriculum Initiative (NACI). This initiative is to "amplify native voices in the classroom, building bridges between Native and educational communities."


These lesson plans are free to download and use! Here at the museum, we even offer the material needed for a few of the lessons. Contact us to check out this material just like you would reserve a Culture Case. Click on the "Culture Cases" tab at the left of this webpage to learn more about the borrowing process.


The lesson plans we currently loan material for are:

Coyote Steals Fire Creative Movement (includes lesson plan, book, and 37 red/orange/yellow scarves)
The Greedy Porcupine Reader's Theatre (includes lesson plan, instruments, and 8 script booklets)