Elementary Outdoor Education Program

Blandford Nature Center helps you bring hands-on, natural learning experiences to your students through our many outdoor field trips. We guide environmental learning experiences for students in pre-school through fifth grade, all of which are seasonally based.

We are currently offering (through Feb 19, 2010):

• Winter Explorers (Grades PreK-1)
  Is there life during winter? Explore and discover the beauty of winter, as well as the secrets of animal survival in this cold season. Students compare how they prepare for winter to different animal adaptations. A hike to discover needed food, water, and shelter offers a sensory adventure.
• Log Cabin Traditions (Grades PreK-2, limited to 30 students)
  Explore traditional winter celebrations of Michigan settlers that helped make the long nights a little brighter. Visit the log cabin to hear a story and enjoy a treat from the wood stove. Learn how rural communities came together at the one-room schoolhouse.
• Evergreens in the Snow (Grades 2-3)
  Why do pines, spruces, and firs stay green all winter long? Learn about their special characteristics through activities and use a key to identify trees while walking our Evergreen Trail.
• Wildlife with a Backbone (Grades 2-3)
  Discover vertebrates found in West Michigan and how they survive winter. Students will examine the adaptations these animals have developed, such as hibernation and special body coverings. A visit to our Wildlife Education Center allows a firsthand look at live vertebrates to compare their characteristics.
• Skulls, Skins & Tracks (Grades 4-6)
  In this hands-on program, students will have the opportunity to look for active winter animals, role-play different animal adaptations and look at the population dynamics and predator/prey relationships necessary to maintain balance within an ecosystem. Clues about animal roles will be discovered through observing skulls, skins, and tracks.
  

Register now for our annual Sugarbush programs which run throughout the month of March:

• Sugarbush (Grades PreK-1)                                                    A lively puppet show begins our exciting exploration of maple sugar production. Students will investigate the entire sugaring process, from tree to table, in a program that includes stories, activities, and a short hike to the Sugarhouse.
  
• Sugarbush, Then and Now (Grades 2-6)                            Explore the natural and cultural history of sugaring in North America with this activity-oriented program. Along the trail, students will discover the maple sugar process from tree identification to the boiling down of sap into syrup. Students will also explore historic Native American and pioneer-era methods of sugaring.
  
• For a more personal experience for PreK-1 students, Blandford Environmental Education Program 6th graders (BEEPs) can lead your group through the Sugarbush. Ask for more details when registering.
  

 Winter, Spring and Summer

Every season brings more to learn and experience, and Blandford's Elementary Outdoor Education Program captures this in a series of interactive units. Click here to download the brochure (PDF) for details on each season's field trip program units.

Register your class for a hands-on experience.

We look forward to helping your students discover our local natural environment and learn how they are connected to it. Please email us or call (616) 735-6240 to register for a field trip.

For more information about the Elementary Outdoor Education Program, click here to download the brochure (PDF).