Contact Nature's Classroom

Nature's Classroom
Classes and Programs

What is Nature's Classroom?
A Day at Nature's Classroom
Who attends Nature's Classroom?
Curriculum
Registration and fees
Staff

Nature's Classroom Home Page
Ohio Conference Home Page

Classes

Nature's Classroom offers a huge variety of classes 
to meet the needs of any school.  Here's a sampling:

   Top 

Programs

Adventure Team is devoted to creating a cohesive group of students who work together. The students are challenged with various initiatives they must overcome as a group. In addition, the initiatives range from physically to mentally challenging activities. They are encouraged to listen to one another's ideas, to communicate with each other effectively, to think through the task before acting and to help each person in the group through the activity.

Alpha/Beta - This class was developed by the Peace Corps to prepare the volunteers for their new experience in different cultures. The students are divided into two groups; each group role plays the culture of the planet they represent. During the game, the students are sent to the other "planet" and can experience what it is like to be in a place where the culture is completely different. At the end of class, both groups reunite to discuss: how they felt in the other culture, assumptions they made about the other culture, and the truth about the other culture. This class emphasizes how to avoid stereotyping individuals and reveals methods the students can use to make people who are new to an area feel more welcome.

Camouflage or Death - In this class we'll examine the importance of camouflage adaptation. Whether it's a warning color or a camouflaging color this behavior will discourage a predator. The students learn several defense mechanisms and how they work towards the animal's benefit. Through various activities they become predators and prey to discover the difficulty animals have in surviving.

Compass Treasure Hunt - Compass Treasure Hunt is a class that combines mathematics, compass reading, and a treasure hunt! The students learn how to measure distances using their pace and use a compass effectively. After learning these two important skills, the students go on a hunt all over camp for a hidden treasure.

Countdown - NASA should be this fun! Using water and air pressure, the students will launch 2-liter bottles. Using the scientific method, they can determine how to make them fly farther. They will explore, discuss and graph some of the variables that affect the launch. We laugh and shout a lot--and often get wet.

Dump It! - Of all the environmental problems that we are currently faced with, that of spaces in which to put solid waste is perhaps one of the easiest to ignore. After all, how many people think about their garbage after it has been picked up by the garbage truck? Out of sight, out of mind.  Dump It is a class that encourages the students to think seriously about trash and recycling by giving the students the responsibility of managing their own landfill.

Future Shock! - Have you ever dreamed of being an archaeologist? For the students who have, Future Shock is a must! The learners take a trip into the forest to an old home site where a family from the 1800's actually lived. They dig up various artifacts at the site and use deductive reasoning to learn more about the family.

Geodomes - The Geodesic dome is a fantastic structure developed by Buckminster Fuller in the late 1940's. Today, students can build one with teamwork, logs and rope. In addition to building a Geodome, they learn the history behind it and important geometric principles that enable all the students to climb on top of it.

In Cold Blood - In Cold Blood sounds like a class in murder!  But of course it's not. This class is about our cold blooded animal friends: reptiles and amphibians. The students learn the differences between reptiles and amphibians; how these animals survive in the wild; and how to handle live animals. If they like, they can hold several live specimens and they may get to watch a few animals eat!

Native American Games - How did Native American youngsters have fun? How did they learn important skills for survival? By playing Native American Games! The students learn several games the Native Americans played, the history and the valuable lessons behind them. Then the students play a variety of games that were used by the Native Americans to teach their children how to hunt, how to prepare for ceremonies, how to become warriors and how to have fun. (The war related games have been modified for learners today.)

Newspaper - Students come in contact with newspapers almost everyday, but what's in there that adults find so alluring? In this class students answer this question for themselves because they create their own camp newspaper. The learners use a real newspaper as an example of the different sections they can include in their paper. They conduct interviews of people and classes around camp to place in the paper. They also learn the process of interviewing people by asking: who, what, where, when and why.

Outdoor Cooking - Remember those fond days of cooking marshmallows and hot dogs outdoors over a fire? The Outdoor Cooking class is a little more advanced than cooking marshmallows, but equally as memorable. The students participate in cooking a variety of tasty tidbits over an open fire. The students learn how to be safe around a fire and how to cook over a fire. The students may experience cooking in one or more of the following methods: Dutch oven, solar oven, reflector oven, tin foil, rocks, sticks, iron fry pan, pie irons, grill, or popcorn cookers.

Pond Probe - Pond Probe is a class that looks closely at the unique pond ecosystem. The students learn how animals around and in a pond exist. They learn why water is important to life on earth. The students become familiar with the characteristics a pond, how a pond is created and succession of a pond. The students study the variety of niches in a pond, the animals that inhabit them, their adaptations, and how they use the properties of water to survive. The students then search the pond for critters with nets and collection containers.

Rope Bridges - The title really explains the class: the students build a bridge from heavy ropes. They learn the history behind the Burmese rope bridge. The students also learn several knots used to anchor the bridge between two trees. During the class the students must work together toward a common goal: the bridge. The grand finale is when they get to walk across the bridge they made together. They may even get to see some of their teachers walk across!

Shelters - This is a group cooperation class where several groups of students build a shelter. The students learn several types of shelters, woodland roofing supplies, insulation and some physical hints to follow when building a shelter. The logistics of building a shelter are simple, the hard part may be becoming a cohesive group of students who can work together effectively to accomplish a set goal.

Sunprints/Woodswords - Sunprints and Woodswords is a science and art class with a little creative writing on the side. A sunprint is made by gathering natural items, placing them on blueprint paper, exposing them to the sun and then ammonia to create a shadow-like image of the natural materials. The woodswords portion of the class is devoted to free expression about nature in an outdoor setting. When both portions are finished the students may put them on a colorful background to frame their project.

Tracking Animals - The ability to see wild animals in their own setting is an overwhelming experience. It's amazing to see how they move, what they eat, where their homes are and how attentive they are to their environment. Since animals are so attentive, we rarely get to watch them for long until they bound away. Therefore, we usually see signs of an animal's presence if we are observant. This class teaches students how to be observant to the clues that animals leave behind.

Tree Cruisin' - Tree Cruisin' is devoted entirely to learning more about trees. The students come to realize how dependent we are on trees. The students receive a better understanding of how trees function, the benefits of trees, identification clues, and forest management practices.

Wild Edibles - Picture a student wandering in the woods and becoming more famished with every step. There is no need for them to go hungry! Have them take the Wild Edibles class. Here they learn some of the edible, wild species of plants in middle Ohio. Many of us are unaware of the plant's tastiness and usefulness. The students learn how to exhibit great caution when dining on the land, sample various plants that grow naturally and collect plants for quick recipes later.

Distant Mysteries - Have you ever tried to measure a distance or an object when you didn't have a ruler? What if you wanted to figure the estimated height of a tree or the distance across a stream? Some things in this world are hard to physically measure. In Woodland Measurements students learn to measure without rulers and tape measures. The students learn that they are measuring instruments. In fact, they can even measure the estimated height of a tree with a pencil!

Programs

Top 

Field Hike - The general purpose of the field hike is for the students to experience nature first hand. It is the most environmental portion of our program. During a hike the students gain a basic understanding of Ecology and Interdependence. It's not "just a bunch of wandering around." Field hikes focus the student's experience by engaging them in pertinent, conceptual activities. Specific discoveries and explorations can be related to each other, providing lasting, overall understanding.

Night Hike - During a night hike we'll learn about nocturnal animals, how they survive and even flourish in the darkness. It's also a great time to experience nature the way it really is after sundown, without streetlights and such. The students will become comfortable with the night, allowing their eyes to adjust and relying on their other senses as well. And on a clear night, away from the lights of big cities, the stars are too numerous to count.

Tuesday or Thursday Night Live - A talent show is a fine time for the students to get together with their friends and practice a song or skit to perform for the enjoyment of all. Even the adults get into the show!

Folk Dance - We take everything you like about dancing - the fun, the music - and avoid everything you don't like - the anxiety, the nervousness of asking someone to dance - and we have an evening of good times.

Predator/Prey - Students participate in a camp-wide simulation of predator/prey relationships and the importance of maintaining balance in the food web. Students role-play animals in the wild and search for food, water, shelter and living space. Some will be predators; some will be prey; many will be both. Other concepts that naturally arise during this game are bioaccumulation, food pyramid and defense strategies.