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Alley Mill - See an authentic 1894 roller mill and enjoy a bygone era. School visits may be arranged. Emphasis on how natural resources influenced settlement patterns or how economic engines such as mill communities influenced the development of Ozark culture. A visit to the one room school may be included, as well as nature walks. Storey's Creek Schoolhouse - Visit a one room schoolhouse to see how the "Three R's" were really taught. Usually included with visits to Alley Mill. Round Spring Caverns - Enjoy the beauty underground! Classes may learn about karst, cave biology, groundwater or the fragility of underground systems. Group size is limited to 15 total, including adults. Larger school groups will be divided up and may wait outside, eat lunch or enjoy the playground equipment while the rest of the class takes its turn in the cave. Tours may be customized to one or two hours in length. PLEASE discourage participants (including adults!) from bringing their own flashlights - we find this to be disruptive. Visits to nearby Devils Well may also be included if your class has enough time. Habitat Study - Take your class outdoors to examine and compare various habitats. Students will be equipped with collecting equipment, field guides, magnifying glasses, etc. They will examine an area throuroughly, then move to a different habitat for comparison. This activity requires a great deal of teacher and adult leader involvement to be successful. May take place at Peck Ranch, Akers, or even in your school yard. Stream Study - Get wet and sloppy while giving a local stream or river a check up. Students will wade into the water and take samples of aquatic life: the relative abundance of different species can indicate water quality. May take place at any stream suitable for wading, including streams near your school - with landowner permission. NOTE TO TEACHERS: Educational Activities are meant to further your educational objectives. They are not intended to be primarily recreational, although we hope everyone has fun learning! We want teachers to be involved. We are open to your ideas and suggestions for developing programs to meet your needs. Our schedule fills up quickly, so please call to reserve programs as early as possible. We prefer to serve your class in the spring and fall, although any time of year is possible. There is no fee for these activities. A free Teacher's Guide to Caves & Groundwater, called More Than Skin Deep is now available online in an abridged version. For the unabridged printed version please send an e-mail request via the "contacts" link on our home page. Nationwide National Park Service Teacher Information Teachers in our local area may borrow a variety of educational videos, models and software free of charge. Click for information. |
About Owls - Enjoy a short slide and sound presentation about these hunters of the night, followed by an activity in which we will dissect owl pellets to determine what they ate and how they fit into their ecosystem. Concepts: Food webs, habitats, predator / prey relationships.* Caves - Learn how caves form by making a working model of the cave formation process! Watch as millions of years of karst development pass in a few minutes! Ideal pre-activity for cave field trips. Concepts: karst, geology, erosion, groundwater. Native Americans - See and touch actual Native American artifacts and learn about Missouri's first people, the Paleo-Indians who were here thousands of years before Columbus. Concepts: human culture, archeology, archeological preservation. Habitat Study - Build your world! Students will build their own habitats and compare them with what their classmates came up with. Concepts: food chains, habitats, ecosystems.* Community Development - Based on the computer game "Simm City", students will design their own community, keeping in mind the need for jobs, living space, waste disposal, energy, etc. Concepts: Environmental responsibility, community development, economics. (No computer required!) Water Quality - Using a simulated stream sample, we'll explore the techniques of monitoring water quality by sampling aquatic insect life. Ideal for use before a stream study field trip. Concepts: water pollution, indicator species, ecosystems. Mammals - By making plaster casts of animal tracks and seeing mammal pelts and skulls, students will learn about our closest animal relatives. May include a short video. Concepts: Food chains, endangered species, adaptations, hunting & trapping, ecosystems.* Natural Resources Careers - For older students, a slide presentation on the many careers in the natural resources field: Rangers, Educators, Maintenance Workers, Researchers, Firefighters, even Administrative careers. Question and answer session after slides. Bats - Learn about the fascinating world of bats through a slide presentation, discussion and hands on examination of bat artifacts. Concepts: Endangered species, ecosystems, food webs.* Fire on the Mountain! - Explore wildland fire and its place in American ecosystems. Learn that it is not always destructive and negative. Examine the fire triangle, fire behavior, and fire fighting techniques. Answer questions like: “Does fire run faster uphill or downhill?” through exciting experiments. Concepts: ecology, ecosystems, diversity, and history/anthropology. To arrange this program for your class, contact Fire Education Specialist Angela Smith at (573) 323-8092. Recycling - Why only live once? Students will learn about the importance of using resources sparingly and see examples of recycled products. Concepts: pollution, recycling, energy flow. *Note: We do not provide programs with living animals. Some programs may include dead animal mounts, skins, hides or models. |
# Local area is defined as Carter & Shannon Counties, as well as the communities of Mountain View, Summersville, Salem, Bunker, and Ellington.