Join our museum’s Gallery Guides for a “drop-in” tour of Lunchtime, our special exhibition on the history and development of school lunch.

Learn about the complicated relationship between food scientists, the government, and the public throughout the last 200 years as ideas about nutrition and education have evolved.

Does school lunch affect student performance? How did innovations in agricultural science lead to the national school lunch program? What challenges do school lunch advocates face today? And why do we have guinea pigs to thank for our understanding of basic nutrition? We will answer all these questions and more!

This tour has an interactive component, too! You’ll have the chance to touch specially chosen artifacts from our handling collection, examine them in detail, and draw connections between your own experiences of school lunch and this fascinating facet of food history.


Drop-in tours are free and no reservations are necessary.

Featured image: Detail of “Metalam Makes Your Meal Complete,” advertisement for Dow Chemical Company, 1963.

More events

ad depicting dancers in neon undergarments under black light
September 5, 2026
Tours

From Nature to Nylons Highlights Tour

Join our museum educators as we explore the history of the materials that fashion our clothes.

September 5, 2026
Tours

Science & Activism Tour

From Rachel Carson to ACT UP, explore how scientists and activists have shaped discovery and created change.

Porter Chemcraft Chemistry Lab featuring Atomic Energy
September 5, 2026
For Families

Stories of Science: Back to School

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

    Republish

    Copy the above HTML to republish this content. We have formatted the material to follow our guidelines, which include our credit requirements. Please review our full list of guidelines for more information. By republishing this content, you agree to our republication requirements.