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Education
All of the programs below are available at the Myrick
Conservation Center.
Elementary School |
Middle School | High
School
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Adventure Team
Grades 4-5; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Can you untangle a
human knot? Can two groups create an identical piece of art
while whispering down the lane? Students will participate in a
variety of problem solving experiences that require group
cooperation and physical activity. Activities are designed to
break down barriers, foster teamwork and identify leadership
potential among students. This program is recommended at the
beginning of the school year or prior to group projects or
problem-solving activities.
All About Owls
Standards:
3.3.4/3.3.7/4.7.4/4.7.7
Grades 3-6; 1 hour;
$5.25/participant OR 2 hours; $8.50/participant with owl pellet
dissection (one pellet per student included)
What makes an
owl a great nocturnal predator? Can an owl really turn its head
all the way around its body? Learn about the fascinating lives
of owls through an exploration of their amazing adaptations.
Get a close look at taxidermy mounts of at least two different
species of owls that live in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Amazing Adaptations
Standards:
3.3.4/3.3.7/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 3-5; 2 hrs; $6.25/participant or 1.5 hrs;
$5.50/participant
Observe a variety
of structural and behavioral adaptations of plants and animals
at the Myrick Center or other location of your choice. Students
will play games and go on a hike to see examples of how plants
and animals have adapted in order to survive.
At Home in Your Habitat
Standards:
4.3.4/4.4.4/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades K-3; 1.25
hours; $5.25/participant
Search for signs of
wildlife while learning the four basic components of a habitat.
Students discover a variety of animal homes while understanding
how specific habitats provide food, water, shelter and space.
Backyard Farming
Standards:
3.6.4/4.4.4/4.5.4/4.6.4/4.8.4
Grades 2-5; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Available Sept.3-Oct.19, April 14-Oct 17
Learn about the life
cycle of plants and insects while exploring the Myrick Center's
organic vegetable garden and greenhouse. Students will test the
soil, search for insects and help plant and harvest vegetables
as the season permits. Produce is donated to local food
cupboards. See "Growing, Growing, Gone" for a Double program
option.
Bug Basics
Standards:
3.2.4/3.3.4/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 2-5; 1.5
hours; $6.25/participant
Learn the basic body
parts of an insect and which surprising parts are used to smell
and taste. Study the stages of an insect's life and examine
preserved insects. Perform a simple experiment to determine how
different types of insect mouthparts enable insects to feed on
different foods. Read clues on a pollination path to figure out
the mystery pollinator and get a closer look at insects using a
video microscope.
Common Sense
Standards: 4.7.4
Grades K-4; 1.25
hours; $5.25/participant
Test your sense of
touch, smell, sight and hearing in the outdoors during an
exploratory walk. Students will learn to use their “tools” to
become more aware of the world around them.
Communities at Work
Standards:
3.1.4/3.1.7/3.3.4/3.3.7/4.1.4/4.2.4/4.3.4/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 4-5; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Explore a
pond, stream or field/forest community while discovering how its
inhabitants interact and adapt. During each community study,
students collect organisms and examine their interdependency
through the transfer of energy. Small groups may request which
community they would like to explore. Due to property
limitations, large groups will need to be divided so that each
student explores only one community.
Digging Dirt
Standards:
4.4.4/4.6.4
Grades 2-4; 1.5
hours; $5.50/participant
Do all soils feel
the same? Smell the same? Look the same? Students will use
their senses to distinguish different types of soil. Learn what
ingredients make up soil and what animals use it through
hands-on exploration.
Findings of Fall
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades K-2; 1.25
hours; $4.50/participant
Available Sept.3-Nov.16
Discover how
plants and animals change in the fall to prepare for the
upcoming winter. Observe the beautiful variety of autumn
colors; learn how different animals plan ahead, migrate, and
hibernate and investigate the adaptations of special seeds.
Geology and Landforms
Standards:
3.5.4/3.5.7/4.2.4/4.8.4
Grades 3-5; 1.5
hours; $5.50/participant
Explore a
rock outcropping that was quarried in the 1800’s and go through
the tests geologists use to identify rocks. Discover connections
between the rock and soil cycles using a scavenger hunt. Observe
how humans and nature impact these cycles. Discover how weather,
water and plants affect landforms.
Growing, Growing, Gone
(DOUBLE PROGRAM)
Standards:
3.6.4/4.4.4/4.5.4/4.6.4/4.8.4
Grades 2-5; 2
lessons (approx. six weeks apart) -- 2 hours per lesson; $11.75
total/participant
Available Sept 3-Oct. 19, 2007 and April 14-Oct. 17 2008
Learn about the life
cycle of plants and insects while exploring the Myrick Center's
organic vegetable garden and greenhouse. Students will test the
soil, search for insects and help plant and harvest vegetables
as the season permits. Produce is donated to local food
cupboards. During this double program, students will start
seeds during the first program and transplant/harvest those
plants during their return visit approximately six weeks later.
Students will also participate in extension activities to build
and expand upon their initial visit. Students will plant a seed
their first visit and take a seedling home at the end of their
second visit.
Insects in Winter – Where Have They Gone?
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 2-4; 1.25 hours; $6.25/participant
Insects use a
variety of strategies to survive the winter. Some insects
migrate, others form clusters to stay warm, and others even
produce anti-freeze to keep their bodies from freezing during
the cold winter months. Learn about insect galls and explore a
natural area in search of signs of insects.
Inspect an Insect
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4/4.8.4
Grades 3-5; 1.5
hours; $5.50/participant
Available Apr.14-Oct.17
Collect fascinating
insects in a sweep net. Learn the characteristics of insects and
observe the similarities and differences between the various
insects and other invertebrates collected at the Myrick Center.
Compare and contrast the adaptations of insects that live on the
land with those that live in water.
Lenape Lore
Standards:
4.2.4/4.6.4/4.7.4/4.8.4
Grades 4 & 5; 2.5
hours; $7.00/participant
Explore the ways
of ‘pre-contact’ Lenape, our local Native Americans. Experience
and learn about home life, hunting, foraging, fishing and games
while doing hands-on activities in our Lenape Village. Find out
about giving back to the earth and taking only what you can use.
Maximum 75 students. Minimum 25 students
Lenape Sense
Standards: 4.7.4
Grades 2-3; 1.5
hours; $5.25/participant
This lesson is
designed as an introduction to the 4th grade Lenape Lore
program. Students travel back in time and imagine the life of
the Lenape. Students use their five senses to sharpen their
observational skills and gain a better understanding of how
animals and people use their senses to survive. Various games
and hands-on activities are used to connect students with the
ways of the Lenape. The lesson emphasizes how indigenous peoples
lived in harmony with nature and why this is important for us
today.
Pebbles, Sand and Silt
Standards: 4.6.4
Grades 1-3; 1.25
hours; $5.50/participant
Based on the FOSS®
kit of the same name, this program brings the inquiry based
approach outside. Students will observe rocks and other earth
materials interacting with water in a stream, learn about some
of our local rocks and sort a river rock mixture by particle
size. Students will also learn what soil is comprised of by
dissecting it using soil sorter charts. Use this program as an
introduction to the kit or as a general overview of earth
materials!
Pond Sense
Standards:
4.1.4/4.7.4/4.8.4
Grades K-2; 1 hour;
$5.00/participant
Complete a sensory
journey around the pond. Discover how a frog is adapted to
survive in a pond and learn the different stages of its life.
Collect and look at other animals and plants that live in
ponds. Compare animals and plants that live in the pond to
those that live around the pond.
Seeds Please
Standards:
4.2.4/4.7.4
Grades 3-5; 2 hours;
$6.50/participant
Available Sept.3-Nov.16
Explore the life
cycle of a seed by dissecting a flower, playing a game about
pollination and collecting seeds. Examine your seeds to figure
out how they are dispersed. Learn about the importance of seeds
as food for wildlife and people.
Signs of Animals in Winter
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades K-5; 1 hour;
$6.00/participant
Look for signs
animals leave behind in winter, the clues about how they adapt
to the conditions of this harsh, cold season. Search for
tracks, birds and animal homes while learning about habitat,
migration and winter survival strategies such as hibernation and
migration.
Signs of Spring
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades K-2; 1.25 hours; $4.50/participant
Available
Mar.24-June 20
Watch spring unfold
as buds and wildflowers pop up, hibernators emerge from their
winter shelters and activity picks up again as the days grow
longer and warmer. Students will learn how and why plants and
animals change with the season.
Skulls and Bones
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4/4.8.4/4.9.4
Grades 3-5; 2 hours;
$7.00/participant
Can you tell if an
animal is a predator or prey based on its skull? Discover the
adaptations of local animals by examining skulls, bones,
feathers and furs. Learn what laws and agencies protect them.
Explore your schoolyard in search of animal tracks and hiding
spots.
Stream Sense
Standards:
4.1.4/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades K-3; 1.5
hours; $5.00/participant
Practice using your
senses as you explore a stream and its surroundings. Students
will discover what lives in and near a stream and how the plants
and animals that live near a stream are different from those
that live in a field.
Stream Study
Standards:
3.3.4/4.1.4/4.3.4/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 4-5; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Explore a stream
community while discovering how its inhabitants interact and
adapt. Students will collect and identify organisms and examine
their interdependency through the transfer of energy.
Terrific Trees
Standards:
4.2.4/4.6.4
Grades 4-5; 1.5
hours; $6.50/participant
Explore the terrific
and complex world of trees by examining their seeds, adopting
trees and building a human tree. Students will learn to
identify trees by their leaves and bark using a tree
identification guide. We will provide ideas for adopting trees
back at school.
Weather Whys
Standards:
3.5.4/4.1.4/4.6.4
Grades 4-5; 2 hours
; $6.25/participant
Explore the Myrick
Center, or other natural area while learning about weather.
Learn how to identify clouds and take basic meteorological
measurements, such as temperature, wind speed, and relative
humidity. Discover microclimates as you go on a heat hunt.
Figure out how weather impacts plants, animals and rocks.
What's Bugging You?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Standards:
4.3.4/4.4.4/4.5.4/4.6.4
Grades 3-5; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant Available May 5-Oct.10
Explore the Myrick
Center's organic garden to see different ways of monitoring pest
populations and various IPM tactics to deal with these pests.
Students will work in teams to collect and identify garden
insects to determine which ones are harmful to plants and which
ones are beneficial in the garden. Students will play a game to
learn how pesticides and other chemicals bioaccumulate in the
food chain.
Winter Adaptations and Tracking
Standards:
3.3.4/3.3.7/4.6.7/4.7.4/4.7.7
Grades 2-6; 1.5
hours; $6.50/participant
How do animals
survive the winter season? Learn about migration, hibernation
and winter adaptations. Examine the furs and bones of local
animals. Play games to learn basic tracking skills and search
for insect galls and tracks, animal browse sites and other signs
of animal activity a natural area.
Winter Exploration
and Experimentation
Standards:
4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 4-8; 1.5
hours at $6.50/participant or
2 hours at $7.00/participant
How do animals
protect themselves from winter temperatures? Some animals build
nests, burrows or other structures to stay warm. We will conduct
an experiment using different materials to insulate a cup of
water, record how the temperature drops over time, and determine
which material was the best insulator. Search for birds, tracks
and other signs of animals while learning about habitat,
adaptations and winter survival mechanisms.
Wonderful Wetlands
Standards: 4.1.4
Grades 3-5; 2 hours;
$6.00/participant
Take a wetland walk
along a stream corridor and participate in hands on activities
to see how wetlands soak up water, act as filters and help to
slow runoff. Search for animals and their signs and discover the
unusual adaptations of wetland plants. Discover the biological
diversity of the wetland environment and why the protection of
wetlands is important.
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Amazing Adaptations
Standards:
4.6.7/4.7.7
Grades 5-6; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Observe a variety of
structural and behavioral adaptations of plants and animals at
the Myrick Center or other natural area. Students will learn
about the color of worms, play games to learn about adaptations
and go on a hike to see examples of how plants and animals adapt
to survive.
Backyard Farming
Standards:
4.4.7/4.5.7/4.6.7/4.8.7
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Available Sept 3-Oct 19, April 14-Oct.17
Learn about the life
cycle of plants and insects while exploring the Myrick Center's
organic vegetable garden and greenhouse. Students will explore
the soil, search for insects and help plant and harvest
vegetables as the season permits. Produce is donated to local
food cupboards. Call for details about a double (two visit)
program option.
Bugs in the System
Integrated Pest
Management (IPM)
Standards: 4.5.7
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Available May 5 - Oct. 10
Explore the
Myrick Center's organic garden to see different ways of
monitoring pest populations and various IPM tactics to deal with
these pests. Students will work in teams to collect and
identify garden insects and determine which insects are harmful
to plants and which insects help the garden. Students will play
a game to learn how pesticides and other chemicals bioaccumulate
in the food chain. Maximum: 40 students.
Communities at Work
Standards:
4.1.7/4.3.7/4.6.4/4.7.4
Grades 5-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Explore a pond,
stream or field/forest community while discovering how its
inhabitants interact and adapt. During each community study,
students collect organisms and examine their interdependency
through the transfer of energy. Small groups may request which
community they would like to explore. Due to property
limitations, large groups will need to be divided so that each
student explores only one community.
Human Impact on the Environment
Standards:
4.2.7/4.3.7/4.8.7/4.9.7
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.50/participant
Learn about natural
resources and play games about population change and carrying
capacity. Use aerial photographs to see how the local area has
changed over time. Compare American use of natural resources and
waste generation with other parts of the world.
Indoor Out School
Standards:
4.1.7/4.3.7/4.6.7/4.7.7/4.8.7
Grades 6-8; 3-5
days/ call for pricing information
Indoor Out School
is an interdisciplinary, outdoor experience. Each student will
complete community studies of a pond and stream and learn how
land-use impacts our watershed. All students will also
participate in team-building activities. Afternoon electives
include nature photography, nature's math, science and art, and
survival skills. The program culminates with a mock Land-use
Hearing. There's something for everyone! There is a minimum
commitment of three days for this program.
Stream Study
Standards:
3.3.7/4.1.7/4.3.7/4.6.7/4.7.7
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Explore a stream
while collecting, identifying and categorizing vertebrates and
invertebrates found in this community. Evaluate the physical
and chemical parameters of the stream and learn how scientists
determine water quality.
Team Challenge
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
How do you get back
to your base camp if you must first cross an alligator- infested
swamp? Can you get a bucket of nitroglycerin away from the
approaching prairie fire if the only way out is across a
canyon? Students will participate in a variety of
problem-solving experiences requiring group cooperation and
physical activity. Activities are designed to break down
barriers, foster teamwork and identify leadership potential
among students. This program is recommended at the beginning of
the school year or prior to group projects or problem-solving
activities.
Totally Trees
Standards:
4.2.7/4.6.7
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Explore the
complex world of trees! Look at gymnosperms and angiosperms and
learn about tree structure by building a human tree. Look for
signs of transpiration and photosynthesis and learn to recognize
trees using an identification key and treasure hunt. In the
winter, learn to identify twigs as you explore the forest during
the coldest season.
Wetland Field Study
Standards:
4.1.7/4.3.7/4.6.7/4.7.7/4.8.7/4.9.7
Grades 6-8; 2
hours; $7.50/participant
Working as a
scientific team, students will complete a field study in a
wetland. The class will be broken down into small groups
beforehand. Each group will explore aspects of the wetland
(plants, animals, hydrology, soil, and atmosphere/mapping) with
an Environmental Instructor. Data sheets will be filled out
on-site to be reported on in class after the study..
Before
students visit the wetland, teachers can meet with a BVA/RCVA
Instructor to go over pre-and post-activities for the study.
Working Watershed
Standards:
3.5.4/4.1.7/4.3.7
Grades 6-8; 2 hours;
$6.25/participant
Learn about the
water cycle, why water is so precious and why it must be
protected. Students will see how a watershed is defined by
topography and how watersheds are affected by human
development. Students will pollute a water sample and build a
filter to attempt to clean it up.
HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Pond Study
Standards:
3.5.10/4.1.10/4.1.12/4.3.10/4.7.10/4.7.12
Grades 9-12; 3
hours; $10.25/participant
Analyzing the
physical, biological and chemical parameters of a pond, students
will determine the health of the system. They will then
hypothesize how to fix the problem(s). This program can be done
at the Myrick Center or at a pond closer to your school.
Stream Study
Standards:
3.5.10/4.1.10/4.1.12/4.3.10/4.7.10/4.7.12
Grades 9-12; 3
hours; $10.25/participant
Students will
analyze the physical, biological and chemical parameters of a
stream to determine its health. Students will then strategize
how to turn a red stream blue. This program can be done at
BVA’s Saalbach Farm or at a stream closer to your school.
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