Search for School Programs at Broadmoor

Search along sanctuary trails for tracks and signs of the plants and animals that live there. Observe similarities and differences in body parts, structures, behaviors, and functions as you investigate what it means to be adapted to their home.

Explore field, forest, or wetland habitats to discover the amazing ways plants and animals use their unique adaptations to thrive—from behaviors to deal with changing seasons to structures to disperse seeds or body parts to hunt underwater—and more. Program can focus on animals, plants, or both and explore in different seasons.New program created by Melissa Hansen 2022-04-08 12:40:51

Explore evidence of the short-term and long-term changes in the landscape by examining signs of erosion and weathering, glacial features, and soil composition.

Students will visit the fields, forest, and marsh to identify how organisms relate with one another (predation, mutualism, competition, dependency, and parasitism) and delve into adaptations and trophic levels. We will also discuss and explore the temperate biome communities and patterns of change.

Follow the sun’s energy from producers through consumers and finally to decomposers. Students will conduct an experiment to test if plants transpire, while observing and connecting local plants and animals in a food chain. 

Fall and Spring

On school grounds or nearby natural areas, students will follow the sun’s energy from producers through consumers and finally to decomposers. Students will conduct an experiment to test if plants transpire, while observing and connecting local plants and animals in a food chain. 

Students investigate the forces that shape the earth on a large scale and small scale. They will apply learning by identifying evidence of erosion and weathering in nature or using samples in class.

Students will explore a freshwater environment as an ecosystem, considering biotic and abiotic factors, relationships in nature and how organisms fill various niches. They will use microscopes to look at macro-invertebrates and plants collected from the water, focusing on evolution, adaptations and classification. Students also consider complex avenues for energy to transfer from the sun through living things in this environment.

Have a Broadmoor Teacher Naturalist lead an interactive, hands-on lesson in your classroom, using natural materials, games, movement and inquiry to engage students in learning. May also occur on your school grounds or nearby outside areas.
Our staff can support student learning in life or earth science frameworks: erosion and weathering, shifting plates, renewable and non-renewable energy, or adaptations. We will custom design a program based on the standards you wish to meet.

Have a Broadmoor Teacher Naturalist lead an interactive, hands-on lesson in your classroom, using natural materials, games, movement and inquiry to engage students in learning. May also include exploration and investigation of your school grounds or nearby outside areas.
We will custom design a program based on the standards you wish to meet in life or earth science frameworks: cycling of water or food energy on earth, and/or the functions and structure of plants. 

Students sweep net in a meadow, turn logs in the forest and observe wetlands to find plants and animals that meet their habitat needs for food, water, shelter and figure out why that environment is the best space.

Fall, Winter, Spring

Discover what animals and plants need to live and why their habitat is the best match through a combination of presentation and hands-on explorations of living samples from two different environments.

Explore field, forest, and wetland habitats as you look for tracks and other signs of native wildlife. Search for food, water, shelter, and space that supports the basic needs of the plants and animals that live here.

Exploring a meadow, a forest and a marsh as habitats, children observe signs of life and discover how plants and animals depend on one another, and are linked in food chains.

Fall, Winter, Spring

Have a Broadmoor teacher naturalist lead an interactive, hands-on lesson at your school, using natural materials, games, movement and sensory exploration to engage young children in learning.
Students can learn about almost any life or earth science frameworks, such as living and non-living, seasonal cycles, specific animals or plants, life cycles, etc. We will custom-design a program based on the concepts you wish them to learn.

Use dip-nets and other tools as you explore the unique life cycles of the organisms that live in the water and depend on wetland and upland habitats to survive.

At Broadmoor, this includes a choice of the marsh or vernal pool.

Students will learn to look at the "big picture" and see the marsh as an ecosystem, where mammals, such as the beaver, use the marsh as their habitat. They will look at macro-invertebrates collected from the marsh, focusing on animal adaptations and characteristics. Students also learn how aquatic plants are adapted to live in the water and fill different niches.
Spring

Students will become finches living on the Galapagos Islands. Through the use of hand-puppets, each student "bird" will try to feed on the islands using their specific behavioral and physical adaptations. Depending on success, the birds will decide if they stay or migrate to find the best environment to meet their needs. Through the simulation, students experience the variety of challenges, competition, and success that drive evolution and survival in nature. If time permits, they can also experience the influence of changes in the environment and attempt to be successful enough to reproduce and pass on traits to offspring. 

This lesson requires one location to set up, that provides open space for the islands and an area for students to process data on a worksheet and engage in discussion. Two teacher naturalists faciliatate this program for 1 class at a time.

Students examine plant structures,  behaviors for survival, and reproductive strategies. Depending on what is seasonally available, it includes local  flowers and seeds. 

This program will combine elements of seasonal nature experiences that support the group's interests.

All programs can be customized to your group.

Through science practices and pedagogy specific to outdoor education and methodology based on the Lawrence Hall of Science BEETLES professional learning sessions, participants will build their confidence in instructing outdoors and practice skills they can use with students. Program areas can include observation skills; questioning and discussion strategies; the nature and practice of science, evidence, and explanation; and best practice in teaching and learning, field journaling, and student activities.

Through science practices and pedagogy specific to outdoor education and methodology based on the Lawrence Hall of Science BEETLES professional learning sessions, participants will build their confidence in instructing outdoors and practice skills they can use with students. Program areas can include observation skills; questioning and discussion strategies; the nature and practice of science, evidence, and explanation; and best practice in teaching and learning, field journaling, and student activities.

Through science practices and pedagogy specific to outdoor education and methodology based on the Lawrence Hall of Science BEETLES professional learning sessions, participants will build their confidence in instructing outdoors and practice skills they can use with students. Program areas can include observation skills; questioning and discussion strategies; the nature and practice of science, evidence, and explanation; and best practice in teaching and learning, field journaling, and student activities.

Manipulate different substrates with water and moving air to investigate the effects of wind and water, then work in teams to create and test solutions to prevent erosion.

This program requires stations that classes can rotate through due to the amount of supplies that students can manipulate and resetting between groups.

Students have a hands-on look at erosion on hillsides, trails, and a stream bed. They'll investigate the make up of the soil, visit a volcanic island, find evidence of weathering by ice wedging, root pry, and rusting.

Use dip-nets and other scientific tools to explore wetland plants and animals and their unique adaptations for living in water. Learn to identify specific organisms and understand the special characteristics of different water bodies and ecosystems. At Broadmoor, available wetlands include the marsh, vernal pool, streams, and the Charles River.

Use dip-nets and other scientific tools to explore wetland plants and animals and their unique adaptations for living in water. Learn to identify specific organisms and understand the special characteristics of different water bodies and ecosystems. Wetland availability near your school or at identified natural areas will determine what wetland environments can be explored.

Students explore for organisms in different life cycles stages and can compare those cycles. Investigations can include searching dipped up invertebrates from the water, exploring insects and birds in the meadows, and searching for seeds and plants.

Fall and Spring

Students will be led in hands-on exploration in the schoolyard, investigating science and nature content to support your current curriculum.

COVID-safety:

• Programs are entirely outside.
• Staff and students must be masked.
• Group size, including staff, does not exceed 12 people.