The World Beneath Your Feet Program Outline
Welcome and Introduction
Behavioral Guidelines for visit:
- We are in the animals' neighborhood
- Stay on trails with your group unless taken off trails with class activity
- Leave flowers and plants for animals (don't pick anything)
- Pick up trail treasures to enjoy on-site, but no collecting-leave everything
Soil is More Than Dirt
- Soil Chef: Through a make-believe cooking demonstration, students "cook" up a batch of soil and realize soil is composed of many things, including living organisms, and understand that time is important in the formation of soil.
Rotations
- Underground Life and Decomposition: Life Under Logs: Students work in small groups as "field scientists" to observe life under logs. Students learn field study etiquette and identify underground creatures and some of their unique adaptations. Students are introduced to the concept of decomposition.
- Are You a Soil Scientist?: Students work in teams-drawing, acting, listening, making sounds and much more to playfully learn more about creatures that live in the soil.
- Soil Size Matters: Students will learn about soil particle size through a full body exercise. Then students explore our classroom animals and exhibits and look through microscopes.
Topics are covered by varying degrees depending upon the maturity of students and time constraints.
