Search for School Programs at Arcadia

Using nets and bug boxes, children will conduct an in-depth survey of the pond with a focus on populations and species identification. While classifying the animals that live in the pond, students will investigate the adaptations needed for survival in this watery habitat.

Students will use the transect, plot, and/or biotic index methods to sample at least 2 different habitats at the sanctuary. They will define biodiversity, identify the living things in their study area, and discuss and relate this to the conservation of Massachusetts species.

3 hours of instruction time however, we encourage you to bring a picnic lunch.

Students will learn how birds meet their basic needs in order to survive through pictures, models, and observing them in the wild.

Students will define climate, explore the impacts of climate change to the maple sugar industry using real local data, calculate their own carbon footprint, and brainstorm ways to positively impact their environment.

This program can be a fiedltrip to Arcadia, which includes exploring the nature sanctuary or can be an in-class lesson, in either one class or a series of classes.

Students will define climate, discover carbon's role in climate change by becoming a carbon molecule or participate in the green house effect, explore the possible outcomes of climate change to local wildlife, and brainstorm ways to positively impact their environment.

This program can be a fiedltrip to Arcadia, which includes exploring the nature sanctuary or can be an in-class lesson, in either one class or a series of classes.

Learn about the national FrogWatch USA community science program. Students will explore the importance of wetlands and amphibians. They will leave with enough information to start monitoring local species to help scientists study and protect them.

Students visit two or three ecosystems to observe, collect and release, and record living and nonliving things. They will then compare the ecosystems and discuss how they can change with the seasons, natural occurrances, and human activities.

Starting with a slideshow, students will learn about endangered and state-listed species as well as reasons for this status. Younger groups will participate in an active game to help understand how species become endangerd and how we can help.
We will include success stories and how we have learned from the past in our management decisions.

Autumn is a time of change in the natural world and a wonderful time to explore the forests at Arcadia. We will divide into small groups and take a forest discovery hike learning about seasonal changes. By observing leaf patterns and looking for similar characteristics, students will begin to learn classification skills. Students simulate squirrels and chipmunks gathering acorns in order to prepare for the long winter months. Students will learn the different winter survival strategies of local animals by playing a game. We will begin and end with a large group activitie. This program is 2 1/2 hours with 30 minutes for students to eat lunch.

Students will visit a forest to observe, collect, and study organisms in their natural environment. They will explore how the parts of a forest are interconnected and have the option to participate in a simulation of the life of a deer in the forest.

In small groups, students will explore a forest habitat and observe plants and animals as well as the relationships between them. Students will participate in a scavenger hunt looking for both living and non-living components of a forest. Students will investigate the layers of a fallen log and learn to properly and safely turn it over to see what can be found underneath. We will have a group sharing and play a game of "Oh Deer" in which children simulate the life of a white-tailed deer.

Come to Arcadia and visit pond, field and forest habitats. Students will begin with a participatory activity to learn some of the plants and animals found in each habitat, and their adaptations. In small groups, students will explore each habitat. Pond exploration will include using small nets to find insects and other invertebrates as well as amphibians. The forest exploration will include a hike looking for animal homes, exploring aging pine trees, and learning what lives in and under a log. In the field, students will use nets to look for grasshoppers, crickets and other insects. To conclude, children will verbally share their discoveries and participate in an active game.
Classes are invited to bring a picnic lunch.

Students visit a meadow and pond and to observe, collect, and study insects in their natural habitat.

This workshop will introduce your students to wildlife in Massachusetts. We'll discuss classification and local wildlife and bring real animal and plant artifacts to help your students understand the complexitiy of life in the state. Additionally, this workshop supports ENVIROTHON teams in the wildlife section of the competition.

Learn about the natural world at night by taking a "night hike." We will learn to let our eyes adjust to the darkness as we develop our night vision. Students will learn about local nocturnal animals and their adaptations. Students will listen for night sounds and enjoy a "sparkle party" at the end. If the weather is inclement, part of this program may be done indoors.

Arcadia staff and Field Walk Leader volunteers will go into the classroom with a nature "mystery bag" with natural history objects that can be found in the schoolyard. Staff will teach several awareness activities before taking students outdoors. Outside students will explore their schoolyard, looking for evidence of animals such as insect life, bird nests, animal tracks, etc. Despite the setting, from urban schoolyard to forested, students will be able to explore and learn what lives in their "neighborhood".

Learn how energy from the sun powers life on Earth, both living processes and the technologies we use to power our communities. Each lesson explores one aspect of the energy cycle; including photosynthesis, consumers, decomposers, renewable, and non-renewable energies, and how we can use alternative forms of energy to power our society without contributing to climate change.

In this unit we will explore the habitats of different types of "minibeasts", or macroinvertebrates, like worms, pill bugs, insects, spiders, and more. Students will engage in outdoor investigations to find out where minibeast live. Students will document their observations in field journals as they explore different habitats in their schoolyard and use models to explain how these habitats may or may not support the needs of invertebrates. Finally, students will apply their understanding and engineer a minibeast habitat.

Trees provide much more than shade or pretty additions to city streets and neighborhood parks. In this unit, students will answer the question: How do trees and other living things depend on each other? Students will explore habitats, adaptations, and life cycles, with trees as a unifying theme. With accessibility to all learners as a priority, lessons highlight the diversity of trees across various Massachusetts habitats, including suburban, urban and rural areas.

Are trees the solution to climate change? Through place-based, inquiry driven investigation, students will study the role of trees in the carbon cycle, and expand their investigation to find out whether forest sequestration, or indeed any one nature-based solution, is enough to fight climate change. Finally, students will explore their own role as a changemaker by planning a collective, climate-positive action.

In this unit, students will get outside and investigate the ways stronger storms impact their communities, specifically through rain and snow. They will identify places of vulnerability and places of resilience in their schoolyard or neighborhood. As a culminating project, they will design solutions to help reduce the impacts of stronger storms in their area and communicate it with members of their community.

Come to your senses at Arcadia! In a large group, students will learn about their five senses and how some forest animals use their senses differently than we do. In small groups, we will take a hike exploring the forest and field using our senses. Students will do a sensory scavenger hunt, which may include both color and shapes. We will use our eyes, ears, hands, and noses to learn about the world around us.

Students will act as detectives on the trails, looking for clues, or evidence, that animals are active at the sanctuary despite the season.

By acting out the parts of a tree, students will learn major components and functions. Outdoors, they will identify several common trees and find the age of a pine tree.
Students may participate in a game of "tree tag" or a "tree scavenger hunt." Students will learn how trees play an important role in many ecosystems. To summarize, students will pass around a twig and state one thing that they learned about trees.

Students will hear a story with a nature theme (habitat, adaptations, or lifecycles) related to the resident box turtle. They will then learn about the turtle and connect her to the story they heard. The program will conclude with an activity related to the theme.

Students will explore a vernal pool using pond nets and collecting bins. They will learn what can be found in a vernal pool, life cycles of common organisms, and how living things meet their basic needs. Students will learn the different zones in a vernal pool as well as adaptations of animals in each zone. To summarize their findings, students will make a large vernal pool mural or participate in an active vernal pool activity.

Students will explore what it takes to survive in the winter; both from a human and wildlife perspective. They will learn about different strategies, work together to find the best hibernation spot, play a game that explores the subnivean layer, and if the conditions are right, build their own survival shelters.