Field Trips Taught at the Nature Center

Before arriving at the Nature Center, please follow this link to learn about how to prepare your students for a fun, educational experience.

The following programs directly correlate with Connecticut’s Core Science Curriculum Framework. Expected Performance Standards are referenced for each program.

Kindergarten:

Sensing Nature

Students will be encouraged to use their five senses as they explore the surrounding wetlands and woodlands. Students will then go into the Nature Center to meet several different animals and discuss how those animals use their senses and find shelter in order to survive.

Key concepts: senses, living, non-living, reproduction, movement, shelter

Content standards: K.1, K.2, K.4.

First Grade:

Amazing Adaptations

Students will discover some amazing ways that plants and animals have adapted to survive by hiking on the Nature Center’s many trails and seeing these plants and animals first hand. they will also meet several live animals and examine the characteristics that make them uniquely suited to survive in their specific environments.

Key concepts: survival, adapations, locomotion, organism, plant, animal, photosynthesis, classify

Content standard: 1.2

Life Cycles

Students will analyze various lifecycles by exploring both terrestrial and aquatic environments. We will do a pond scoop to explore some unique lifecycles of the pond. Our hike will immerse students in the changes happening in the surrounding forest and along the way, we will investigate predator-prey relationships. Students will be introduced to several animals in different stages of growth.

Key concepts: metamorphosis, predator, prey, life cycles, offspring, reptile, insect, mammal

Content Standards: 1.3, 1.4 

Second Grade:

Plant Life Cycles

In this program students visit a forest, wetland and pond to see several different types of plants up close. We will discuss their lifecycles, how each disperses its seeds and how they protect themselves. Students will participate in a seed dispersal game and will see some exotic plants of the carnivorous nature.

Key Concepts: life cycle, soil, germination, seed dispersal, adaptation

Content Standards: 2.2, 2.3

Third Grade:

Animal and Plant Adaptations 

Students will hike through the different habitats at the Nature Center and explore how plants and animals are uniquely adapted to living in these environments. They will be able to examine furs, skulls, feathers and seeds along the way. We will also discuss habitat destruction and why it is the #1 reason for species becoming extinct. Students will then meet several live animal from each of the habitats found in Connecticut and will be introduced to one of Connecticut’s threatened species.

Key concepts: habitat, adaptation,  habitat destruction, camoflauge, hibernation and migration

Content Standard: 3.2

Geology / Stone Wall stories

This program focuses on Connecticut’s geological history by exploring the stone walls found all around the Center. Students will perform a hands-on simulation of glacial erosion. On our hike we will explore the stone walls at the Nature center and discuss how these walls came to be and the importance of these walls to our native animals.

Key concepts: rock properties and formation, effect of ice on rock upheaval, CT geological history, measurement as a tool for wall dating, stone wall ecology, igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, minerals and crystals

Content Standards: 3.3

Fourth Grade

Let it flow

This program analyzes the flow of energy in the food webs and the vital role that plants play in the survival of all animals on earth. Students will hike and explore several food webs and meet animals important to each. We will also explore the human impact on these systems and why habitat destruction is the #1 reason for species extinction.

Key concepts: energy flow, distruption of habitats, food web, abiotic, living, non-living

Content Standard: 4.2

Water, Water Everywhere

Students will learn about the water cycle and how water has shaped the landscape. We will tour our man-made pond and dam and discuss how humans and learned to control the flow of water and examine the ecological impact. We will also tour wetlands where students will learn the importance of wetlands in: water quality, providing nesting sites and protection for animals and controlling run off. Students will participate in a hands-on demonstration which will compare an area that has been completely eroded to a wetland and study how water quality is effected in each case.

Key concepts: water cycle, erosion, wetlands, water quality, evaporate, precipitation, condensation

Content Standard: 4. 3

Fifth Grade:

Nocturnal Animals

Students will learn how animals respond to certain stimuli in their environment through interactive experiments and live animal presentations. We will also discuss how the highly adapted features of nocturnal animals allow them to hunt at night. Students will set up a night vision camera on the grounds of the Nature Center. Photos captured by the camera overnight can be viewed online in the classroom the next day.

Key concepts: nocturnal, light, wavelength, compound eyes, frequency, sound, stimuli, pitch, volume and vibration 

Content Standards: 5.1 and 5.2

Sixth Grade:

Meet the Natives

Students will meet several different native animals and learn about their natural history and their amazing adaptations that help them survive. On our hike, students will explore several different food webs found in Connecticut and the effect of non-native species on these systems. We will also use various skulls to discuss predator / prey relationships.

Key concepts: native and exotic species, food webs, producers, consumers, decomposers, predator / prey, biotic, abiotic

Content Standard: 6.2

Water Exploration

Students will explore the pond and wetland ecosystems on the Nature Center’s grounds by conducting net and water sampling. We will test for temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH. They will explore the effect of humans on these fragile systems. If possible, students will put on waders and go into our stream and wetland to conduct tests.

Key concepts: ecosystem, food web, predator / prey, water testing, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, photosynthesis, point and non-point pollution

Content Standard: 6.4

Additional Programs:

We have lots of other great programs. Follow this link to learn about additional programs that we can modify for any age group.

As always, we are available for custom tailored programs to fit your classroom’s needs. Please call to discuss!