After reading a story about beavers, walk to Rockery Pond to see a real beaver lodge and dam, and look for signs of beavers such as chews and scent mounds. Find out why beaver teeth are orange and what they use their broad tails for. We may even try our luck at making our own beaver dam or lodge.
Fall is a fantastic time to explore our coastline with its rocky tide pools and sandy clam flats. Joppa Flats Education Coordinator Lisa Hutchings will guide families on the identification of creatures, provide small group challenges, and share her vast knowledge and joy for marine life. Sign up for one or all of these educational outdoor adventures. This Session will focus on photo journaling.
Fall is a fantastic time to explore our coastline with its rocky tide pools and sandy clam flats. Joppa Flats Education Coordinator Lisa Hutchings will guide families on the identification of creatures, provide small group challenges, and share her vast knowledge and joy for marine life. Sign up for one or all of these educational outdoor adventures.
Joppa Flats will provide all field gear and equipment. This is not a drop-off class; all children must be accompanied by at least one adult. Locations are subject to change.
Hermit Crabs, Moon Snails, and Sea Urchins! Come meet these beach creatures in the riverside yard at Joppa Flats. Each family will create their own tide pool model with sand, rocks, seaweed, and salt water. Once each habitat is set up, we'll share our live marine critters with you for you to add to your model tide pool. Your curiosity and wonder will grow as you see how these animals move, hide, and react to each other. Questions and discussion are always welcome!
Celebrate the arrival of spring with a hike to Waterfowl Pond. Along the way, we'll look for ducks and red-winged blackbirds in the wetlands, listen for the call of the phoebe, and search for signs that the animals that slept away the winter are emerging and those that went south are returning.
The program will begin with an indoor presentation that will provide you with the information needed to be able to find and observe artificial satellites like the International Space Station and other human-made orbiting objects. Topics to be covered will include the nature of artificial satellite orbits, the best time of year for observing them, and how to identify them in the night sky. Weather permitting, we'll step outside afterwards to seek out artificial satellites and gaze into the night sky through the telescopes of local amateur astronomers. Along with the early springtime constellations, a young crescent moon and the planet Venus will be visible.
A fun-filled day for the whole family about everything from our ocean giants (whales, sharks, sea turtles) to deep sea creatures (octopuses, jellies)! For age 2-6, there are take-home crafts, an under the sea play zone, stuffies, coloring books and simple table-top science. For ages 7 and older, there are displays and interactives about overfishing, microplastics, sea level rise and climate change. Indoors and out. Rain or shine.
Whales! Let's pretend to go on a whale watch and learn how to breach and belly roll like humpbacks and find out how whales feed and handle some real whale teeth and baleens and bones. We'll also listen to whale sounds underwater and learn how people are protecting whales in the ocean. Keep learning with take-home coloring pages and fun follow-up activities.
These 90-minute sessions are for both you and your active preschooler! Each week, our structured activities will include original songs, movement, dramatic play, hand-on science, and a thematic snack. We'll give you coloring pages to take home and lots of fun materials via an electronic goody bag after each class. This session is all about seals which are found along the coast of the north shore.
In this outdoor survival skills program, older children will learn the basics of the ancient outdoor skill of shelter building. We will look at real examples of animal homes for inspiration, learn some different shelter types and their pros and cons, discuss shelter safety, and make our own full-size shelters on the sanctuary. If there is snow we will make cozy quinzhee huts and if there is no snow we will make leafy lean-to huts. No experience necessary--just a desire to survive and thrive in the wild!
