Programs for Grade 4

Creature Connections & Adaptations

• Using the springboard of a featured creature, students will look at how creatures are adapted for their role in each ecosystem as well as how they are connected to other organisms around them in the food web.
• Forests & Squirrels (Year-round)
• Forests & Woodpeckers (Year-round)
• Wetlands & Beavers (Year-round)
• Wetlands & Frogs (Spring)
• Meadows & Bees (Fall)
• Meadows & Bluebirds (Spring)
• LS1-4, ETS2, PS4

Owls & Nocturnal Life (Year-round)

• Don’t be left in the dark, get en-light-ened on how an owl’s adaptations allow them to live nocturnally! You’ll also learn which owls can be found nearby, what sounds they make, and dissect owl pellets.
• PS3, LS 1-4, ESS3, ETS2

Skull Detectives (Year-round)

• Discover the variety of skull structures in different animals and learn how to key them out in a detective-style program that involves teamwork and hands-on activities.
• LS1-4, ESS3, ETS1-2

Set up Camp! Tent & Fire-building (Year-round)

• Let’s go camping! Students will be challenged as they work together to perform some essential camping skills: Setting up a tent and building a campfire.
• PS1-3, LS2, LS4, ESS1-3, ETS1-2

Maps & Orienteering (Year-round)

• Smartphones down, compasses up! Students will learn how to use a compass and then work together to navigate the trails using their new skill.
• LS1-2, ESS2-3, ETS1-2

Birding Basics

• Students will sharpen their observation skills by learning how to use binoculars and identify birds by sight and sound. Then they will put their skills to use by watching birds at the bird feeders and outdoors.
• Bird Feeder Observations (Fall/Winter)
• Bird Songs Activity (Spring)
• LS1-4, ESS2-3, ETS2

Whose Track is That (Year-Round)

• Something’s been walking through the woods, can you guess who it was? Through outdoor investigation and hands-on activities, students will become wildlife detectives and search for signs of Michigan’s wild animals. By studying track shapes, stride patterns, and habitat clues, they’ll learn how to uncover the hidden stories left behind in the snow, sand, and mud!
• LS1-4, ESS2-3 

Winter Adaptations (Winter)

• Some animals migrate, some hibernate, and others insulate. We’ll explore what animals do in winter, how they stay warm, look for signs of who is awake, and study different animal tracks.
• LS1-4, ESS2-3

Rendezvous! Fur Trade on the Grand River (Fall/Spring)

• An active outdoor experience that aims to engage children in several activities that explain and demonstrate the life and times of Michigan’s fur trade. Set at Connor Bayou, a former rendezvous location.
• Students will rotate through the following:
• Furs in the Trade: Check out real furs and learn why the beaver was king.
• Early Life on the Grand: Learn about what early settlers and traders used and wore in their daily lives.
• Furopoly: Play a game to learn more about the fur trade.
• Story Time: Hear a story of the fur trade and engage in discussion.
• The Rendezvous: Play children’s games of the fur trade era.
• Songs of the Voyageurs: Sing “Alouette” in the voyageur’s mother tongue.
• A Gabagouache Experience: Paddle an authentic reproduction of a voyageur canoe.
• LS1-4, ESS2-3, ETS 1

Service-based Learning (Fall/Spring)

• Service-based learning is a special segment of our volunteer and school programming. In addition to getting students outside and caring for our natural lands, it is an opportunity to connect students with the outdoors and our natural heritage. Students enjoy learning about ecosystems while improving them.
• Service-based learning workdays include volunteer work such as invasive plant removal and litter removal, as well as an educational component.
• PS1, LS1-4, ESS2-3, ETS1-2

Winter Adventure! (Winter)

• Want to get your class outside to enjoy Michigan’s beautiful winter, but don’t have the equipment? Bring your students out for a day of snowy fun with cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and sledding at Pigeon Creek Park!