Apple
Cider Making (if transportation is available)
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.
Endangered NJ
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.
Group Challenges
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)
Students discover what animals, plants, and people need to survive and
what makes a habitat a “home”. Through activities, and games 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
“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.
Incredible Invertebrates
Students
meet several live specimens as they learn what makes an insect
different from other invertebrates By observing life stages and
adaptations, students will learn how unique each creature is and why they are
important to the environment and people alike. If outdoor space is
participants will be taught where to find insects outside and how to
identify them. Extended programs includes more on such topics as how
our attempts to control insect populations affect the environment.
Oogling Owls
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.
Rapp’n with Raptors
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.
Weather or
Not
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
Students will discover how energy flows from the sun through the food
web through games that highlight predator and prey relationships. Your
class will discuss the concept of food chains, population dynamics,
adaptation and change.
Extended programs can include comparisons of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores
by examining different skulls and sets of teeth.