Field Trips

We are so excited to host you and your students for an immersive day of outdoor learning.  All outdoor field trips include hiking, hands-on exploration, sensory immersion, and an engineering design project.

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FIELD TRIP THEMES

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HIBERNATION  During this 1 hour program, we put on a 30 minute play with your students based on our book, "A Winter's Tail."  They learn how different animals over-winter and are introduced to the concept of following instincts.  After the play, students rotate through 3 interactive stations to reinforce the topics.

Key concepts:  hibernation, migration, adaptation, instincts

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BIRDS OF A FEATHER  During this 1 hour program, students learn all about the similarities and differences between ducks and chickens.  They rotate through 4 hands-on stations learning about animal structures and adaptations.  They participate in a feather experiment and play a call and response game.  The program ends with a lesson on biomimicry.

Key concepts:  adaptation, biomimicry, anatomy of chicken & duck, domestic vs. wild animals, caring for young

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INSECTS  We will hike nearby the Nature Center, sweep for bugs in our meadow & go on a scavenger hunt.  Students are challenged to build a bug while we learn about insect anatomy, and play our pheromone game (identifying and matching scents, just like bugs do).

Key concepts:  Using all our senses, insect anatomy & communication

 

ECOSYSTEMS  We will hike through our 4 ecosystems:  meadow, forest, stream, & pond exploring the differences and similarities.  Students dip net in the stream, play predator and prey, and build a shelter for an animal.  We provide rain boots for the stream exploration.

Key concepts:  Keystone species, ecosystem interdependence, adaptations in plants and animals, food chain

 

SOILS  We go on our longest hikes during this program.  Students hike to sample our local soil, look for evidence of erosion, search for fossils, play a trash game and use our soil table.

Key concepts:  Decomposition, pollution, water table, importance of soil, erosion, riparian buffer, wetlands

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WATER QUALITY  We dip net in the stream looking for indicators of water quality, engineer a plankton that must float slowly down the water column, look at pond water samples under our microscopes and go on a hike.

Key concepts:  watershed, physical & chemical indicators of water health, aquatic macroinvertebrates, indicator species

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DAY OF YOUR VISIT

• Please arrive 15 minutes in advance of your field trip start.  This will give us time to organize groups and go over safety instructions.

• Please have name tags on the students prior to arriving at Fair Hill (masking tape is fine).

• Buses are to park in the parking lot, where the educators will meet you.  If it’s bad weather, buses may drop the students in front of the Nature Center and proceed to the parking lot.  You may also drop off lunches or other heavy items before proceeding to the parking lot.

• Please remind your students to dress for the weather.  We will be outside!  The Nature Center has some spare gloves and sweatshirts, if needed. During rain, we can supply ponchos and raincoats.

• Students should bring lunch and a water bottle.  PLEASE LABEL LUNCHES/ WATER BOTTLES with student names.  We are happy to refill water bottles, but we do not have cups for every student.  Items brought by the students MUST stay in the Nature Center as they have a tendency to be lost on hikes.

• Bring a trash bag to carry trash from lunch back to your school dumpster (Maryland State Parks are trash-free and the Nature Center does not provide trash bags).

• During lunch, students are permitted to play on our playscape if a teacher is with them.  We ask that you do not send students inside without an adult.

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THINGS TO KNOW

 

• Nature Center educators carry two-way radios. In the case of an emergency, Nature Center staff will call 911 and/or the Ranger on duty. 

• Nature Center staff carry First-Aid kits, but the teacher/chaperone will administer the first aid. 

• There are domesticated and wild animals in the park. Students and staff are encouraged to look but not touch, for everyone’s safety. 

• Nature Center staff are always “trail leaders” while hiking and teachers/chaperones are the “caboose”.

• It is important that teachers/chaperones stay with their group, do not lag on the trail, or use their cellphones during the trip. 

• Bathroom and Buddy System: No adult should be one-on-one with a student. We use the Buddy System. If on the trail and a student needs to come back to the Nature Center to use the bathroom, an adult and two students must go together.

 

If you have any questions or need pricing, please call 410-398-4909 between 9:00am – 4:00pm, or email info@fairhillnature.org at least 48 hours in advance of your trip.