Field Trips
Jump to: Southern California
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Aquatic Outreach Institute, Richmond
To register or for more information, call 510-231-5778.
California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park, San Francsico
The California Academy of Sciences includes the Steinhart
Aquarium, the Morrison Planetarium, and the Natural History
Museum. Each offers exciting educational opportunities for
students in all grade levels. For more information, visit
www.calacademy.org
Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland
Permanent exhibits include "Our Place in the Universe,"
"Planetary Landscapes," "The Origin and Meaning
of Meteorites," and "Planet Trek." "Shadow
Dance: Make and Eclipse" gives students a hands-on opportunity
to create different kinds of solar and lunar eclipses. They
can activate sensors on the exhibit floor, discover the science
behind an eclipse, and learn about eclipse myths, rituals,
and celebrations found in many world cultures.
For more information, call 510-336-7300 or visit www.chabotspace.org
Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, San Mateo
For more information, call 650-342-7755 or go to www.coyoteptmuseum.org
Exploratorium, San Francisco
For more information go to www.exploratorium.edu
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, San Mateo
Located in Moss Beach (about one hour south of San Francisco),
this spectacular stretch of coastline includes a shallow marine
shelf that is exposed during low tides. Many interesting marine
animals and plants are visible in the pools for watching,
photographing, and drawing. Come study and enjoy this rich
and complex habitat!.
For more information, call 415-363-4020 or visit www.sfgate.com/getoutside/1996/jun/fitz.html
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
Visitor Center
The Sanctuary Visitor Center provides unique and
engaging programs that allow students to see their connection
to ocean habitats and wildlife. Bring your class to the Gulf
of the Farallones Sanctuary Visitor Center at the Presidio
and you will open up an exciting learning opportunity for
your students. Programs are two hours long, interactive, grade
specific and correlate to state standards. Students use hands-on
exhibits inside the visitor center to discover how senses,
life cycles, adaptations, and food webs function in the marine
environment. Outside on the beach, students use observational
skills to discover what makes this such a fragile world and
actions they can take to help protect the ocean.
http://farallones.noaa.gov/education/visitorcenter.html
Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley
at UC Berkeley offers a wide range of homeschool and afterschool
programs for individuals in astronomy, biology, physics, math,
and chemistry. Also available are weekend workshops and family
workshops. http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org
Oakland Museum of California
For more information, call 888-OAKMUSE or visit www.museumca.org
Walk Across California - Take a simulated journey
through California's diverse ecosystems, observing plants
and animals found from the Pacific coastline to the High Sierra
and the inland desert. Exhibits contain approximately 2,500
natural specimens organized around the basic ecological principles
highlighting relationships among plants, animals, geology
and climate. The Aquatic California Gallery presents an overview
of our aquatic environments, including the oceans, rivers,
streams and estuaries. Permanent exhibition. Sacramento Zoo
For more information, call 916-264-5166 or go to www.saczoo.com
Save the Bay
Environmental education field trips for grades 5
and up.
Canoes In Sloughs: Canoes In Sloughs opens students’
eyes to a whole new world through an on-the-water learning
experience that helps them gain knowledge about and respect
for nature and the Bay. In 2001, the program was awarded U.S.
Senator Barbara Boxer’s Excellence in Education Award.
Restoration Programs:
Hands-on stewardship projects, community-based restoration,
that engage students in wetland restoration to restore the
health and diversity of the Bay ecosystem.
Visit
www.saveSFbay.org for more information.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium
offers marine biology and environmental education programs
for K-12 students and their teachers. Field trips include
informal educator presentations both inside the aquarium and
on the beach just outside its doors.
Classes are based on the California science standards, are
two hours in length, and are offered weekdays at 9:30 a.m.
and 12:00 p.m. The fee is $150 for a maximum of 60 students;
teachers are free. For reservations call 310-393-6149, ext.
105.
The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA
is a living museum comprised of over 5,000 species of
plants from all over the world. The garden offers free docent-led
school tours for grades 1-12 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
from 10 am to 2 pm, providing an exciting adjunct to science
and social studies curriculum. As part of its written confirmation
package, the garden sends teachers free pre-tour guides for
grades 2-12 school groups to use in reparing students for
their visit to the garden. Follow-up guides are given to the
teadher at the conclusion of the tour. See www.botgard.ucla.edu
or call (310) 825-1260.
Natural History Museum of LA County
Formore information, call 213-763-3534 or go to www.nhm.org
The 310-acre UCLA Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve,
an outdoor classroom and living laboratory for environmental
education and research, lies in the Cold Creek watershed of
the Santa Monica mountains. The reserve has forged a partnership
with UCLA and K-12 education in the greater Los Angeles area
and offers 3-hour school programs focusing on chaparral and
fire ecology, geology, and early local Native American and
homestead history. The 1.5 mile hike introduces students to
Chumash village life, including acorn grinding, cave wall
painting, playing of Chumash games, and demonstrations of
tool making. The reserve is accessible by prior permission
only. Teachers interested in booking docent-led tours should
call the MRT office at (818) 591-1701, ext. 130. Free curriculum
guides are available at http://nrs.ucop.edu/reserves/stunt.html.
Nanotechnology "Chip Camps" are available to small groups
of motivated students and their teachers. A chip camp is an
intensive hands-on, inquiry-based learning experience in nanotechnology.
High school students spend either 1, 3, or 5 days in a teaching
clean room facility, learning tricks of light and chemicals
to make a tiny microresistor. Longer camps are available,
and funding is available to cover expenses to the University
of California, Santa Barbara. Contact Angela Berenstein at
berenstein@ece.uscb.edu
or call (805) 893-5999. For more information see http://www.nanotech.ucsb.edu/NanotechNew/education/CHIPCAMP.html
Discovery Science Center
is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating young minds,
assisting teachers and increasing public understanding of
science, math, and technology through interactive exhibits
and programs. 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92705; 714-542-2823.
Visit their website at http://www.discoverycube.org/.
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