Additional Class Programs
We offer the following additional suggestions for School Field Trips. They can be adapted for any age group.
Digging for Dinosaurs! – Learn about what happened to the Dinosaurs, and who among us are their closest relatives. We’ll meet some lizards that may look a lot like dinosaurs, and it’s surprising that those cute little birdies at the feeder are even more closely related to a T-rex. Discover how we think dinosaurs looked, lived, and sounded by what we know of reptiles and birds today. Dig for dinosaurs in our sand pit and hunt for footprints while hiking on our trails. Topics – Fossils, evolution, extinction, reptiles, birds, dinosaurs, adaptation, coloration, communication, anatomy, endothermic (warm blooded), exothermic (cold blooded), herbivores, carnivores, omnivores
Sensing Nature – Did you know that insects smell with their antennae, or that snakes hear with their entire bodies? Learn using live animals the amazing ways that the Animal Kingdom makes use of the same five senses that we have. Topics – Taste, smell, sight, touch, hearing, adaptation, anatomy
Skin and Bones – Reptiles shed their skin, do we? Which animals have hollow bones, or who has them on the outside of their body? Learn about the different insides and outsides of the Animal Kingdom through live and mounted specimens. Topics – Anatomy, adaptation, feathers, fur, scales, slime, exoskeleton vs. endoskeleton, molt, shed, chitin, endothermic (warm blooded), exothermic (cold blooded)
Predators and Prey in the Food Web – Who are the hunters and who are the hunted? Meet some animals with amazing adaptations that help them hunt, hide, or defend themselves. Learn about mimicry, camouflage, chemical defenses, venom, bluffing, and other concepts that help to determine where everything lies in the food web. Gain an understanding of where we fall in the food web and how we can help to sustain or collapse it. Topics – Adaptation, predator, prey, camouflage, ambush, venom, chemical defense, mimicry, bluffing, food web-chain, omnivore, herbivore, carnivore
Meet the Natives – The rainforest isn’t the only place where you can find some incredible animals. Find out who might be living right in your back yard, and what you can do to help them. Learn about our local habitats and where to look for some of the most interesting natives. Topics – Animal classes, indigenous vs. exotic, habitat, ecosystems
Pond Study – Come and do a scoop! With over a hundred acres of wetland and our pond, we have many places to take samples of some of our more invisible friends. We’ll drag a net through the muck and bring up some of the pond’s inhabitants for viewing with magnifying glasses and microscopes. It’s muddy, hands-on fun! Topics – Insects, amphibians, arthropods, fish, life cycles, wetlands, microscopes, decomposition, habitat, ecosystem
Stone Wall Stories – Why do we have so many stone walls in New England? Come and take a hike around our stone walls and learn their stories. They will tell us an ancient story of our glacial geological past, an historic story of the farmers who persevered to build the walls, and today’s story of Mother Nature’s reclamation to provide habitat for many of our local species. Topics – Geology, history, glaciers, erosion, habitat, erratics
Native American Games – When there weren’t books, how did you learn? Games! The games that Native American children made and played weren’t just for fun, but they taught them the skills necessary for survival in a wild world. So come play and learn all about them. Topics – History, habitat, tool making, hunting and gathering, hand-eye coordination, education, survival
Tree ID – Come see and I.D. the trees. We’ll take a hike and learn about the different levels of a forest, and which trees inhabit those levels. We’ll learn to identify trees by their leaves, bark, and shape. Each species has a role in the forest and for us, whether it is for medicine, building, or producing food. Find out how they are all important. We’ll even learn how to read about the past through a tree’s rings. Topics – Forestry, canopy, understory, tree anatomy, habitat, deciduous, coniferous, history, seasons
Endangered Species – The rainforest isn’t the only place with species in trouble. Connecticut has its own list of Special Concern, Threatened, or Endangered species of plants and animals. Learn the meaning of these terms, who some of the species are, and what we can do to help. Topics – Habitat, conservation, protection, extinction, evolution, recycling, food chain-web
Scattering Seeds – (Fall) In the struggle to continue life, the plant kingdom has developed some incredible technologies to gain an advantage in the spread of their seeds. Come take a hike to see the different strategies employed by the plants and trees. Some seeds explode, some fly, some use animals, but all have the same goal, to propagate life. In addition, we will discuss why the fall is the optimum time for all this magic to take place. Topics – Competition, adaptation, plant life cycles, germination, propagation, habitats, decomposition, seasons
Leaves, Leaves Everywhere – (Fall) Every Fall Mother Nature graces us with the beauty and splendor of color floating down from the trees. Collect some leaves with us to learn why they change the colors that they do, and why they fall from their lofty perches before the winter. Topics – Chlorophyll, sugars, coniferous, deciduous, decomposition, dormancy, seasons
Winter Survival and Hibernation – (Fall) The temperature is dropping and the animals are getting ready for the big freeze. Some will grow thick warm coats, some will gain fat, some will go south, some will stay and stock up, while some will just sleep. Gain an understanding of hibernation, migration, extinction and why the animals do what they do to survive. Topics – Temperature, hibernation, migration, extinction, adaptation, endothermic (warm blooded), exothermic (cold blooded), decomposition, insulation, seasons
Winter Pond Study – (Winter) Take a trip onto the ice with us as we drill a hole and find out if anyone is still awake down there. We’ll take some temperature readings at the top of the ice and down at the bottom of the pond to find the best place for the animals to stay. We’ll talk about the physical properties of the ice, why it floats, and where those bubbles in and underneath the ice came from. Topics – Temperature, decomposition, dormancy, density, ice, life cycles, seasons
Animal Tracks and Signs – (Winter) The snow and the mud of winter give us an ideal canvas to view who has been traveling where and to do what. Come and play detective as we take a hike to identify and interpret the tracks at the nature center so that you can test your knowledge on those at home and at the schoolyard. Winter tracks allow us to see those animals that only come out at night, and thus remain invisible to us for most of the year. Topics – Nocturnal, diurnal, adaptation, predator, prey, tracking, interpretation and deduction, seasons
Winter Survival – (Winter) Similar to the “Preparing for Winter” program, we will discuss the topics of hibernation and migration, but we will go more in depth regarding the quest for food and warmth. Who hunts, who hides, who forages, who sleeps, who stores? And why? Topics – Adaptation, hibernation, dormancy vs. semi-dormancy, life cycles, migration, foraging, insulation, decomposition, habitats, predator, prey, camouflage
Spring Awakenings – (Spring) It’s that time of year for the plants and the animals. Come for a hike to see how everything is waking up from the cold winter and getting down to the business of growing and having families. Topics – Seasons, life cycles, courtship, nesting, competition, pollination
