Kindergarten–12th Grade Programs

Kindergarten–12^th Grade Programs
Titles in Blue can be done at your location as an outreach program
We can design programs to reinforce your curriculum. If a subject of interest to you does not appear below, please contact the Education Director for more information

Apple Cider Making (if transportation is available)
Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
Students investigate simple machines and the differences in plant parts, as they use an old-fashioned screw press to make and sample fresh apple cider. In the process, they learn about the history of the cider making from colonial times to the present.
Bird is the Word
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students learn what makes a bird unlike any other animal. Through activities and games, classes will learn what attributes birds share with other animals and which adaptations set them apart from the various avian species. Students will see and touch artifacts before they go outdoors to search for our resident species. A few binoculars are available. Extended programs include an in-depth look at how and why birds have developed different beak shapes. The program concludes with an up-close visit with a live bird.
Endangered NJ
Age recommended: 3^rd- 12^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Learn about the many factors that threaten animals with endangerment or extinction worldwide. Students will use artifacts and LIVE animals to learn how to distinguish between these classifications. Activities are designed to help students understand a little more about NJ’s over 60 endangered species, and learn how they can help prevent the threats to local wildlife.
Forest Ecology
Age recommended: 1^st - 12^th
Time: 1 - 3 hours
Students explore the local forest to learn about the ecology of the plants and animals that live there. Learning to deduce the history of a woodland by “reading the landscape”, students uncover some of the differences between deciduous and coniferous forests by field-testing forest plots, studying the flora and fauna, and making field observations. Extended programs can include topics such as succession and stratification, plant life cycles, classification and tree identification using a dichotomous key. Students will discover the cultural and natural history of plants, particularly trees, as we examine a tree’s life stages, following it’s growth from seed to maturity, finally, to decomposition.
Geology of the Palisades
Age recommended: 3^rd- 12^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students will discover how the Palisades were formed, where it’s rocks and fossils come from, and what they can tell us. Students will learn to identify some household products that come from rocks and minerals, and will practice identifying common NJ rocks. We will discuss examples of erosion and deposition caused by the forces of nature and will reinforce concepts of glaciations, soil formation and landforms.
Group Challenges
Age recommended: 3^rd - 12^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Through problem-solving challenges and group work, this program will help your class recognize their strengths and practice their listening skills. Using both their physical and mental abilities, students will learn how to communicate effectively with each other and cultivate cooperative skills.
Have to Have a Habitat (if schoolyard space available)
Age recommended: K- 6^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students discover what animals, plants, and people need to survive and what makes a habitat a “home”. Venturing into the forest, your class will investigate wildlife homes and diets, and learn to identify signs of various species and how an assortment of factors control wildlife populations.
Heavenly Herps
Time: 1 - 2 hours
“Herps” (reptiles and amphibians) are among the most under-appreciated and misunderstood species of the animal world. This program will introduce students to live snakes, frogs, salamanders and turtles and highlight the characteristics which distinguish between reptiles and amphibians.
Insect Safari
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students examine live insects in an introduction to the vast array of insect life. They will be taught where to find insects outside and how to identify them. By observing life stages and adaptations, students will learn to identify different insects in a variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Extended programs include such topics as how people depend on insects and how our attempts to control insect populations affect the environment.
It’s a Spore World
Age recommended: 3^rd- 6^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students learn why algae, lichen, moss, and fungi are important as they explore the differences between flowering plants and non-flowering organisms. Your class will explore how these non-flowering, plant-like organisms reproduce, discover their roles in succession and decomposition and investigate examples of symbiotic relationships.
Lenni-Lenape
Age recommended: 2^nd- 6^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students learn how early Native Americans utilized the natural resources in New Jersey. Your group will journey into the past, listening to a Lenape story, learning to play classic Lenape games of skill, examing wild edibles and medicines, and learning how Lenapes used the animals they hunted.
Map & Compass
Age recommended: 3^rd- 12^th
Time: 2 - 4 hours
Students learn the different parts of a compass, and how to use it to locate directions. Classes will apply this knowledge outdoors on the trails. Extended program includes instruction in orienteering, map reading different kinds of maps and wayfinding techniques. After each program, students will use their map-reading skills to follow pre-set courses to find "natural treasures" hidden outdoors.
Maple Sugaring (Only offered in late February through early March)
Time: 1 hour
Students learn about the history of maple sugaring in North America by observing a TNC educator tap our Sugar Maple trees. (We encourage sap tasting, if enough has been collected.) We demonstrate both Native American and colonial syrup-making techniques outdoors. We challenge students to try to distinguish between corn syrup and “real thing”, 100% maple syrup, by taste alone.
Oogling Owls
Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
Students learn how these nocturnal raptors have adapted to night flight, as they observe our live resident owl. Your class will learn about NJ’s owls’ status by discussing the pros and cons of human interactions with these powerful and efficient predators.
Outdoor Survival
Age recommended: 3^rd- 12^th
Time: 1.5 - 2 hours
If your students were lost in the woods, would they know what to do? We will teach them to prepare for survival outdoors, using the “rules of three”. Students will have to cooperate and exercise group skills to construct a survival shelter. Extended programs include instruction and practice in applying map and compass skills and a demonstration of how to set and start a campfire.
Pond Ecology
Time: 1 - 3 hours
Using a variety of tools (dip nets, magnifiers, etc.) students will discover aquatic ecosystems and food chains participating in hands-on pond exploration. They will study diversity, adaptations and interrelationships among the organisms they find in the water, and will discuss how human activity impacts aquatic habitats. Extended programs include water testing and a comparison of different kinds of freshwater habitats.
Rapp’n with Raptors
Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
Students will observe several live raptors up close and learn about their behavior, physiology, adaptations, ecological importance and natural history. Hands-on artifacts and demonstrations will capture the imagination of young and old.
Seasonal Discovery
Time: 1 - 3 hours
Students will explore the wonders each season brings to the forest. On a walk along the trails, your class will learn to observe and record temperature, weather, and wind speed. They will learn how each of these measurements, as well as plants and animals, respond to seasonal changes! Your students can bring this knowledge back to the classroom to make their own observations!
Seed Dispersal
Age recommended: 3^rd- 6^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Classes learn to identify and explain the function of different plant parts. Students will discover why plants put energy into producing flowers and seeds. Students explore the reasons plants send seeds on a long journey, and the different mechanisms such as “hitchhiking” and “parachuting” seeds use to travel.
Snakes of New Jersey
Age recommended: 3^rd- 12^th
Time: 1.5 - 2 hours
Students discover the differences between snakes and other species as they learn about the 21 species of snakes that reside in NJ. An interactive slide presentation emphasizes the importance of these legless reptiles by identifying and exploring their adaptations. Artifacts and up-close encounters with several live snakes make this a memorable educational experience.
Soil Ecology
Age recommended: 1^st- 6^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students discover that dirt is an important part of our natural life as they “dig-in” to an in-depth study of soil. Your class will delve into the world of the earth’s top-most layer and learn to identify the components of soil. Using samples from the Nature Center, students will compare different types of dirt and discover that soil is a habitat that supports many forms of life. Extended programs include soil testing (texture, pH, nitrogen, etc.) and investigation of nutrient recycling by examining the forest floor for evidence of decomposition.
Water, Water Everywhere
Age recommended: 1^st- 12^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students help perform demonstrations, experiments and activities as your class is introduced to water molecules and the concepts of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, freezing, surface tension. They will learn how plants and animals recycle water and how some animals live in and on the water. During a guided hike along the Nature Center trails students will play a game are designed to help explain how water is vital to all life forms. Extended programs include such topics as wetlands classification, the importance of a watershed and all of the factors that contribute to it, and discussion of such words such as “topography”, “nitrogen”, and “phosphorus”.
Weather or Not
Age recommended: 1^st- 6^th
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Students learn how sun, air, land, and water each play a role in determining our weather, and how these elements can be used to predict weather patterns. Through demonstrations and experiments, your class will learn how to use several basic instruments to measure and hypothesize future weather patterns. Students will measure differences in air pressure, prove that air has weight, and investigate how and why weather changes.
Web of Life
Age recommended: 2^nd- 6^th
Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
Students will discover how energy flows from the sun through the food web. They will search for living examples of producers, consumers and decomposers in a variety of habitats. Your class will discuss the concept of food chains, population dynamics, adaptation and change. Activities include games to highlight predator and prey relationships and an interpretive hike. Extended programs can include comparison of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores by examining different skulls and sets of teeth.
Wildflower/Plant Walk
Age recommended: 4^th- 12^th
Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
During a walk, students draw plants, learn to distinguish between seed and non-seed plants, and learn the value of plants as living things that interconnect with other organisms.