Environmental Education Schedule

Environmental Education Schedule 2018-2019 ~Nature Close to Home~

Programs at the Nature Center: DeGraaf Nature Center offers a variety of programs that will introduce your students to Michigan s native habitats, wildlife, and history with hands-on activities and up-close and personal interactions with live animals. The Nature Center s 18 acres of maintained trails allow students to explore a variety of ecosystems including hardwood forest, wetlands, stream and meadow. Your students can also explore our life-size Pioneer Cabin with our Pioneer Living and Homestead Holiday Programs. Off-Site Programs: The Historic Van Raalte Farm and Saugatuck Dunes State Park are also home to many of DeGraaf Nature Center s programs. Be sure to check the program descriptions for the location in which each program is offered. Additional Programs: If you don t see the program you are looking for, please call us! The DeGraaf Nature Center staff is prepared to provide additional programming to fit your classroom needs. Ideas include, but are not limited to: One of our most popular programs is the Dune Ecology Program held at Saugatuck Dunes State Park. DeGraaf Nature Center staff will meet your class at Saugatuck Dunes to lead guided hikes through one of Michigan s most unique ecosystems. Incredible Insects Michigan Mammals On the Tracks of Animals (3 rd and up) Winter Survival (3 rd grade and up) Traveling Naturalist: Nature in Your Classroom Have a DeGraaf Nature Center Naturalist visit your classroom with both live and taxidermy animals to present programs such as Michigan Wildlife, Michigan Mammals, Birds, Insects, or even a topic of your choice! This is a great way to let your students experience nature without having to worry about transportation. With a Traveling Naturalist program we come to you! Traveling Naturalist Program Fee is $45 for the first program, $35 for each additional program that day. Schools outside of the Holland area will be charged an additional $.50 per mile and must have a minimum of two programs per day.

General Information Program fees include orientation, guided tour, and all program materials. Teachers, aides, and 1 chaperone per 6 students are free. All additional persons (siblings, parents, etc.) must pay the student fee. Programs are presented to a minimum of 10 participants. If your class must eat at the Nature Center, please notify us in advance so we can make arrangements. Picnic facilities are available at Kollen Park along Lake Macatawa, approximately 1 mile from DeGraaf Nature Center. Maps to DeGraaf Nature Center, Van Raalte Farm, and Saugatuck Dunes State Park can be found on our website: www.degraaf.org. Don t forget about our Science and Nature Store! Please allow time for students to shop after the program if desired. Registration Information: To schedule a program please call the Nature Center at 616-355-1057, or e-mail us at degraafnaturecenter@cityofholland.com. Please have the program name, date & time, school name, teacher name, phone number, e-mail address, grade level, and the number of students and chaperones that will be attending your field trip ready at the time of registration. A confirmation e-mail will be sent one month prior to your scheduled field trip. Registrations are taken on a first come, first served basis.

Program Descriptions Arranged by Grade Level Grades: Preschool Length: 1 hour Nature Discovery Max #: 50 Cost: $ 2.50 per student To gain an appreciation for nature, children need to be exposed to the wonderful world around them. In this program we will show and talk about many of the live animals we have at the nature center. The class will also go for a short walk on our trails to discover nature first-hand. Grades: Pre-K, K, 1 st Key Concepts: Plants, animals, senses Sensory Adventures Animals use their senses in their everyday lives to survive. Using live animals from the nature center we will illustrate various animals special sensory abilities. The students will also experience the natural world by using their own senses on our nature trails. Grades: K-4 th Key Concepts: Five senses, observational skills, adaptations Water: Life s Precious Resource Max # of students: 60 Students will learn the importance of water and discover the great diversity of life found in wetlands, ponds, lakes, and rivers. Outside they will explore our wetland areas and have a chance to use dip-nets in the pond. Key Concepts: Water cycle, life cycle stages, adaptations, and the importance of wetlands Seasonal Surprises Grades: K-5th Cost: $3.00 per student Every season brings its own surprises! Your students will learn how plants and animals adapt and change throughout the year. On the trails we will explore for signs of these changes. Key Concepts: Seasonal changes, adaptations, life cycles, hibernation, migrations

Spring Awakenings in the Maple Sugarbush Grades: K and up When: Spring (March only) Students will learn about the early signs of spring such as bird migrations and wildflowers. They will also learn about the parts of a tree and how the trees make sweet sap. Students may tap a tree or help gather sap to take to the evaporator. They will also see the evaporator in action and taste the final product! (Maple candies available for purchase.) Key Concepts: Plant parts, signs of spring, Native American and Pioneer Culture Grades: 1 st and up Fur, Feathers, Scales and Slime Vertebrate animals are the focus of this program. Live animals from the nature center will be used to illustrate the features of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. We will then look for animals of all kinds on our nature trails. Key Concepts:comparing and contrasting observable physical characteristics, classifying animals into groups Grades: 1 st and up Herp, Herp, Hooray! Learn about Michigan s reptiles and amphibians by seeing them up close! We will catch tadpoles in the pond (fall or spring) and explore the trails for turtles, frogs, toads, snakes, and salamanders. Key Concepts: Characteristics of reptiles & amphibians, life cycles, habitat, endangered species Homestead Holiday Grades: 1 st and up Cost: $ 4.00 per student When: Late November-December Students will experience some of the ways early settlers prepared for the holidays. They will visit the log cabin where they will learn about pioneer life and hear a story. Students will also learn about evergreens on a short evergreen walk, hand-dip candles, and make a craft to take home. Key Concepts: Comparison of pioneer and present day life, evergreen and deciduous trees, holiday customs

Wildflowers in Spring Grades: 1 st and up When: Spring (April-May) Come enjoy the beautiful wildflowers that bloom at DeGraaf in the spring. Students will learn about plant and flower parts, plant life cycles, wildflower identification, and the natural history surrounding an amazing variety of plants. Key Concepts: Plant and flower parts and functions, plant life cycles, photosynthesis, pollination Grades: 2 nd and up Growing Up Wild This class will focus on the life cycles of plants and animals. Outdoors the students will collect and observe animals in the field and pond to explore various stages of their life cycles. Key Concepts: Life cycle stages seed, fruit, flower; egg, nymph, larva, pupa, adult Michigan s Native Americans: Life of the Woodland Indians Grades: 2 nd and up Cost: $ 4.00 per student Students will learn about Native American life in Michigan prior to European contact. Students will be able to handle artifacts and learn about tools, housing, foods, hunting, and fire-making. Activities may include games, snowshoeing, and a take-home craft. Key Concepts: Great Lakes Indian tribes Grades: 2 nd and up Pioneer Living Cost: $ 4.00 per student Learn how the pioneers fed, clothed, and sheltered themselves with a visit to our life-size Pioneer Cabin. Students participate in pioneer chores such as carding wool, sawing wood, grinding corn, and cooking over the fire. Key Concepts: How people used and changed their environment Plants on the Move: Seeds and Seed Dispersal Grades: 2 nd and up Cost: $ 3 per student When: September & October Max #: 30 Plants and their seeds need to grow. Seeds spread using a variety of methods so that they do not compete with their parent plant. Students will discover the many different ways that seeds travel through demonstrations, hands-on activities, and a hike. Key Concepts: Plant life cycles, seeds, fruits, flowers, seed dispersal, adaptations.

Birds, Beaks, and Binoculars Max #: 30 Cost: $ 3.50 per student Students will learn about birds and how to identify them by sight and sound. Then they will explore the forests, wetlands, and fields at the Van Raalte Farm to see what birds we can find (binoculars provided). Key Concepts: Characteristics of birds, adaptations, migration, identification Length: 1 ½ hours Habitat: It s Where You Live Students will look for signs of animal life as they explore a meadow and forest at the Historic Van Raalte Farm. We will discuss the four elements of habitat, predator-prey relationships, and carrying capacity. Students will play interactive games to help reinforce these concepts during the program. Key Concepts: Ecosystems, natural communities, habitat, carrying capacity, predator-prey relationships Length: 1 ½ hours Let s Stay Connected All living things on earth are part of the web of life. Students will learn about the connections within the natural world. A nature hike and participation in games will reinforce these concepts. Key Concepts: Producer, consumer, decomposer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, food chains/webs Cost: $ 3.50 per student A River Runs Through It Students will learn about the water cycle, soil permeability, watersheds, and how pollution can affect river ecosystems. Outdoors, they will explore the wetlands at the Historic Van Raalte Farm and look for macroinvertebrates in the river. Key Concepts: Precipitation, evaporation, condensation, groundwater, runoff, filtration, watershed, positive and negative human impacts on earth s water. Introduction to Orienteering Max #: 30 Cost: $ 3.50 per student Students will begin the program by trying to solve a survival problem. This will be followed by a general discussion of water-collecting and proper wilderness behavior. Students will then learn how to use and read a compass, some basic map-reading skills, along with a fun game using compasses! Key Concepts: Survival skills, wilderness ethics, magnetic field of the earth, degrees of a circle, contour lines, map keys and scale, use of a compass

Winter Ecology When: December-February Learn about snowflakes, types of snow conditions, animal adaptations and how wildlife uses snow to survive. Students will learn which animals are active in the winter and how to identify them by their tracks. We ll take a winter hike and look for animal tracks and homes. If the snow conditions are suitable, students use snowshoes on the hike. (Add Winter Survival for $.50/student) Key Concepts: Weather conditions and climate, animal adaptations, 3 states of water, snow crystal formation Our Natural Resources Grades: 4th and up When we heat and cool our homes, drive our cars, and dispose of trash we impact the world around us. This program will look at how we protect the habitat for all living things, live more efficiently, use less energy, and produce less waste to protect natural resources. Key Concepts: Natural resources, energy, recycling, conservation Exploring Dunes Grades: 4th and up Cost: $ 3.50 per student Location: Saugatuck Dunes One of the largest groups of fresh-water dunes in the world can be found along Lake Michigan s eastern shoreline. On this guided hike students will learn about the geology, natural history, and forces of nature that have created this unique environment. Key Concepts: Glaciation, erosion, deposition, succession, adaptations DeGraaf Nature Center 600 Graafschaap Rd. Holland, MI 49423 ~Nature Close to Home~ www.degraaf.org 616.355.1057 Nature Center Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 9:00a.m 5:00p.m. Saturday: 10:00a.m. 5:00p.m. Handicapped-accessible Trails Open Daily: Dawn-Dusk Van Raalte Farm 1076 E. 16 th St. Holland, MI 49423