Field Trip Programs at Hitchcock Center or Off-site 

We welcome classrooms to visit our beautiful Living Building and our Nature Play and Learning Places Sustainable Site through a variety of hands-on, inquiry-based field trips. For a more in-depth ecological program, consider a three-season or three-part series, which can be tailored to your curriculum. Discounts are given for series and multiple programs. Coordinating activities with other classes in your school may reduce travel fees.

All field trips address the Massachusetts Curriculum Standards for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (S.T.E.M.) which are provided for each field trip below.

 

What Do Skulls Tell Us About Animals?

Animal Adaptations for the Winter |

Grade levels: , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Using the Hitchcock Center’s skull and mounted animal collection, students will study the characteristics and adaptations of local animals.

 
Animals in Winter

Animals in Winter |

Grade levels: , , ,
Cost: per classroom
with classroom pre-trip: plus travel fee(s)
Duration:

We will explore animal homes, food, signs and various adaptations that animals use for surviving in the cold, snowy months.

 
Inspired by Nature: Engineering and Design

Engineering Design: Modeling Solutions to Real World Problems | , , ,

Grade levels: , , , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Students will learn about how natural systems can inform human innovation as they explore the building’s water, waste and energy systems.

 
Habitat Studies

Habitat Studies |

Grade levels: , , , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Just as each neighborhood has its own needs and inhabitants, each habitat has its own animals, plants, and interactions.

 
Insect Investigations

Insect Investigations |

Grade levels: , , , , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Students will learn about the science of entomology through a live insect lab, and will collect insects, and their non-insect relatives, in various habitats on our trails.

 
Life in a Pond

Life in a Pond | ,

Grade levels: , , ,
Cost: per classroom
with classroom pre-trip: plus travel fee(s)
Duration:

At the pond, we will collect and observe several varieties of invertebrates that depend on this habitat.

 
Life of a Tree

Life of a Tree | ,

Grade levels: , , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Students will have the opportunity to sharpen their observation skills as they explore life in and around a tree.

 
Mountains and Valleys: The Geology of the Pioneer Valley

Mountains and Valleys: The Geology of the Pioneer Valley |

Grade levels: , , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Students will learn how fascinating geology can be and how the everyday landscape provides intriguing clues to the past.

 
Pond Ecosystems

Pond Ecosystems |

Grade levels: , ,
Cost: per classroom
with classroom pre-trip: plus travel fee(s)
Duration:

Students will collect and observe a diversity of fascinating animals and plants whose adaptations to living in water are truly astonishing.

 
The Forest Ecosystem

The Forest Ecosystem |

Grade levels: , ,
Cost: per classroom
Duration:

Through a variety of activities, students will learn about plant life cycles, and the energy transfer through the food web from producers to consumers to decomposers.

 
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Hitchcock Center for the Environment