FIELD TRIP OPTIONS
I. GUIDED PLAY (75 min)
- Pre-K — Grade 1: What if? What if I were a builder, ship’s captain, or firefighter? Enjoy 25 minutes in each of three hands on exhibits playing, building, pretending, and learning about trades and local industries.
- Grades 2 — 5: Strategies How are communities built and how do they relate to the nature around them? Observing insects in our curated habitats, crawling through an ant hill, and peering at fossils, students will learn how insects have evolved to work in partnership with their environment. Similarly, they will study how humans have adapted to different climates around the world. Students will use critical thinking skills to decide how to best survive in extreme conditions and learn about explorers who have broadened our knowledge of the Earth’s geography from undersea to rainforests to the tundra. Use dexterity and planning in classic games that have traditionally helped people to connect with others and build skills.
II. GUIDED PLAY + WORKSHOP (75 min)
Best for Grades 2 – 5
- Bugs & Other Insects: Ever wonder how a hissing cockroach got its name? What makes a spider an arachnid and not an insect? Why do scorpions have those pointy tails? What insect is able to taste with its feet? Discover facts about animal mimicry, camouflage, adaptation and insect life cycles. Participate in a build-a-bug workshop and design your bug.
- Great Explorations: How do humans and other animals adapt to living in extreme conditions? Visit the tundra, ocean and rainforest. Learn about the work of oceanographer Sylvia Earle and join in a simulated oil spill clean-up workshop to understand human impact on the environment.
- House About It: Yes you can touch that! Play with and examine simple tools and machines. Stack bricks on a conveyor belt to deliver to a chute and pick up with a crane. Lay bricks for a wall and examine the inside of a framed building’s walls. Collaborate in groups to create your own desktop catapult to take back to school.
III. GUIDED WORKSHOPS
Art Workshops (90 min)
Kindergarten – Grade 5: Create Like One of the Greats
Let us help you select one: Eric Carle, Leo Lionni, Pablo Picasso, or Alma Thomas
Grade 1 – 5: Native American Handicrafts
Hear the Haudenosaunee legend of The Three Sisters, learn about their customs, history, and the importance of adornment. Create a stylized necklace with beads, shells and personalized animal totems.
Grade 2 – 5: Mask Making
Observe and sketch authentic masks; explore the meaning and symbolism of masks and how they are used around the world; then create a mask inspired by the Dan Culture of Africa to take home using tempera paint sticks and mixed media. Themes of identity and transformation are discovered as students create their own paper construction masks using cowry shells and raia.
Science Workshops (75 min)
Grades 2-5: Water, Water Everywhere!
Conduct experiments to explore surface tension, capillary action, wicking and more!
Pre-K- Kindergarten: Tiny Seed – Eric Carle
Review plant propagation and the four seasons through the story The Tiny Seed. Create a collage identifying the parts of a flower and conclude with a movement activity that reviews the key lessons learned.
