Creatures of the Night
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
Children will see how the night comes alive while learning all about some of Iowa’s mysterious nocturnal animals.
Egg-citing Eggs
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
What is an egg and what animal lays them? Students will find out that “chickens aren’t the only ones!”
Keep Wild
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
How are wild and domestic animals different? Focus on why wild should stay wild and pets should stay pets. Finally get the answer to “Can I keep it?!”
Snakes Alive
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
We often fear what we don’t understand. Introduce your students to a live snake and learn what makes snakes special.
Super Spiders
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
Explore spiders and why they should not be feared. Learn how they use their webs and how they grow. Go on a spider safari and discover what makes them super.
The Mitten
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
How many animals can fit in the mitten and how do these animals really survive the winter?
Tree Huggers
Grade(s): Pre-K
Length: 45 Minutes
Learn about the biggest plant in Iowa and why we all should LOVE trees. Explore the different parts that make a tree. And celebrate animals that call a forest home.
Animals Prepare for Winter
Grade(s): Kindergarten
Length: 45 Minutes
Students enjoy a puppet show that helps them see what animals do to survive the cold winter months. Then play a game to see just how tough winter survial can be for some of our wild neighbors.
Standards: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1
Birds of a Feather
Grade(s): Kindergarten
Length: 45 Minutes
Discover birds and some of their unique qualities that help them survive and thrive. Explore different eggs, nests, and feet in this fun feathery program.
Standards: K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1
El Coyote' Tales
Grade(s): Kindergarten
Length: 60 Minutes
Explore the characteristics of mammals and hear a few El Coyote stories to discover what lessons we can learn from the animals.
Standards: K-LS1-1
Home Sweet Home
Grade(s): Kindergarten
Length: 45 Minutes
What is the secret to a good habitat? Discover how all animals need the same things in order to survive and thrive in their wild homes.
Standards: K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2
Ants Ants Ants
Grade(s): 1st Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Investigate insects by studying ants. Uncover the secret world of ant colonies and see if you have what it takes to be an ant!
Standards: 1-LS3-1, 1-LS1-2
Happening Herps
Grade(s): 1st Grade
Length: 45 Minutes
Discover the differences and similarities between amphibians and reptiles. Live animals are a part of this program.
Standards: 1-LS3-1, 1-LS1-2
My Woods
Grade(s): 1st Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Explore a special habitat through interactive storytelling. Learn why the outdoors is an important place for animals and people. [observations and evidence, patterns]
Super Critters
Grade(s): 1st Grade
Length: 45 Minutes
See real life super powers in this fun, hands-on program exploring the many wonderful adaptations that help animals survive.
Standards: 1-LS1-1
Dr. Dirt
Grade(s): 2nd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Dr. Dirt cooks up the recipe for Iowa’s million-dollar soils, and students get their hands dirty investigating soil properties. Discuss erosion and why it matters.
Standards: 2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2, 2-ESS1-1, 2-ESS2-1
Extreme Reptiles
Grade(s): 2nd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Through an interactive game, learn what strategies reptiles use to help the survival of their offspring. Students will then get “homework” to develop a model of a new species of reptile able to survive in a unique habitat.
Standards: 2-LS4-1
Polar Plunge
Grade(s): 2nd Grade
Length: 45 Minutes
Dive into the Earth’s polar regions and discover what makes them so unique. Explore the extreme differences from Iowa and why we should take note.
Standards: 2-LS4-1, 2-ESS1-1, 2-ESS2-3
Rainforest Links
Grade(s): 2nd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Explore the form and function of tropical rainforests. Help link rainforest creatures to each other and discover how we are linked as well.
Standards: 2-LS4-1
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Grade(s): 2nd Grade, 4th Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Working together and helping others is important no matter what you are. Discover different ways plants and animals help each other through SYMBIOSIS!
Standards: 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 4-LS1-1
Fabulous Fossils
Grade(s): 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 6th Grade & Up
Length: 60 Minutes
What was Iowa like 400 Mya? Discover what ancient animals lived in Iowa how fossils can form and what scientists learn from them.
This program is designed as a precursor for the Fossil & Prairie Park field trip. However, it can be a stand alone classroom experience.
Standards: 3-LS4-1
Migration Madness
Grade(s): 3rd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Discover the who and why of migration and the madness of how in the challenging game of survival!
Standards: 3-LS2-1, 3-LS3-2
Nocturnal Raptors!
Grade(s): 3rd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Learn about raptors and what makes them unique. Focus on the owls and how hunting at night has equipped them with some extraordinary adaptations!
Standards: 3-LS4-3
Skins & Skulls
Grade(s): 3rd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Investigate who eats what based on the evidence of teeth and skulls. Match structure to function to reveal the identities of eight Iowa mammals.
Stormy Skies
Grade(s): 3rd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Iowa weather is unpredictable and wonderful. Begin to understand the components of weather and discover why tornadoes happen here.
Standards: 3-ESS2-1
Who Goes There?
Grade(s): 3rd Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Be an animal detective! Learn to read the hidden signs animals leave behind in your backyard. Use crafts to discover the mystery of who lives in and around your neighborhood.
Standards: 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2
Circulation Spectacular
Grade(s): 4th Grade, 6th Grade & Up
Length: 60 Minutes
Dive into the circulatory system by comparing yours to other animals. Discover how unique our circulatory system is and find out what we can learn about other designs . Two animal hearts will be brought into the classroom.
Standards: 4-LS1-1, MS-LS1-3
Dem Bones
Grade(s): 4th Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Through games and puzzles learn about the bones and skeletal systems of different vertebrates. Explore the similarities among them all.
Standards: 4-LS1-1
Digestion Discoveries
Grade(s): 4th Grade, 6th Grade & Up
Length: 60 Minutes
Let's digest how we... digest! We will compare how monogastric, ruminant, avian, and hind-gut fermenters process their food and discover why there is so much diversity in digestions.
Standards: 4-LS1-1, MS-LS1-3
Rock It
Grade(s): 4th Grade, 6th Grade & Up
Length: 60 Minutes
Explore the three processes that form rocks; it’s a real treat!
Standards: 4-ESS1-1, MS-ESS2-1
Shocking Developments
Grade(s): 4th Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Seasons: Nov.-March
It’s a shock where electricity can be found in nature! Learn all about what electricity really is. Do some hands-on experiments to discover the different forms and connect how it is used.
Standards: 4-PS3-2, 4-PS3-4
Decomposition Breakdown
Grade(s): 5th Grade
Length: 60 Minutes
Energy is constantly moving. Food chains are tangled into webs. Dive deep into the cycle of life and death. Discover how energy is created and moves through all living things!
Standards: 5-PS3-1, 5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1
Enviroscape
Grade(s): 5th Grade, 6th Grade & Up
Length: 60 Minutes
Hands-on learning about watersheds and water pollution. See erosion in action. Students connect what we do on the land effects our water and how they can make a positive impact on the future.
Standards: 5-ESS2-1, 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3
Team Building
Grade(s): 5th Grade, 6th Grade & Up
Length: 60 Minutes
Seasons: Aug. & Early Sept.
Team building is a fun, interactive way to get to know your class as a whole and as individuals. This program will challenge your students to think as a group and communicate with one another as a team. Because this program is meant to prepare you and your class for the year to come, it is offered during the first few weeks of school.
Standards: 21.3-5.ES.1-4
Not finding the program you need? Have a subject that you are struggling with? We want to offer programs that fit directly into your curriculum. Please contact us to discuss any new program requests or ideas you have. Your class could test a new pilot program and help create the learning environment you want.
