Introduce the concepts of museum, exhibit, and collections.
What are museums?  What do they do?  What kinds of museums have you visited?  What kinds of things would you expect to see in a museum?

Given only the name "Naval Undersea Museum," solicit guesses about what the students expect to see at this museum.  Perhaps they could make a drawing or collage about what they might see at the Naval Undersea Museum.

Discuss the idea of collections.
Relate the student's personal and family collections to the museum collections.  Have them bring in samples of their own collections and write about what they collect, what is special about the objects, how they organize the collection, how they care for the collection, and how they feel about their collections.

Create a classroom museum where students can bring objects from home.
Suggest that the objects hace some connection to their personal or family history.  Students might bring baby pictures, books, letters, greeting cards, or other meaningful items.  Objects for your classroom collection also might include natural objects such as leaves, stones, sea shells, or feathers.

Have your students classify the objects in their collections as one of the following types:

Specimens:  These come from nature and may include fossils, rock, and preserved and live animals.

Artifacts:  These objects are made or modified by people.  Artifacts may represent the everyday experiences of ordinary people or may be associated with an extraordinary person or event.

Art Works:  These are works such as painting, sculptures, photographs, collages, and prints that are made by people and have aesthetic value.

Books about Collections: 
Hannah's Collection - Marthe Joycelyn
Motel of the Mysteries - David Macaulay