
| Teachers, parents and chaperones
are encouraged to participate or even to lead an onsite
activity. A variety of habitat types - pond, stream,
field and forest - as well as an informative,
self-interpretive Discovery Room allows for unlimited
educational opportunities. |
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Learning Adventures:
SCHEDULING NOW FOR 2013 -2014 SCHOOL YEARWe offer grade specific programs
correlated to the Georgia Performance Standards. Click on your
grade level for a list of activities.
Kindergarten
- Discovery Room - GPS SKCS1, SKL1, & SKL2 -
Students will explore nature by rotating through various
learning centers and displays.
- Senses Lab* - GPS SKCS1 - Students will use
their senses of smell and touch while participating in two
activities: Find Your Mama and Touch Cans.
- I Spy Nature (Longleaf Pine Trail) - GPS
SKCS1, MCC.K.CC.1, MCC.K.CC.2, MCC.K.G.1 - Back by popular demand, the Longleaf Trail will
serve as a test for the sense of sight. One hundred
plastic critters have been hidden along the trail waiting for
observant student to spy them.
- Learning to Look, Looking to See* - GPS SKCS1,
SKCS3, SKCS6 - In this activity adapted from Project Wild,
students will use hand lenses and binoculars to enhance their
sense of sight as they practice making careful observations.
- Looking to See Hike* - GPS SKCS1, SKL2 - This hike
includes a tour of the fish hatchery and a search for minnows
and tadpoles in our ponds. (Seasonal)
- Scavenger Hunt - GPS SKCS1 - Students will
gather items from the center by recognizing their physical
characteristics.
- Froggy Face Art* - GPS SKCS1 - Students will
make a frog mask that actually "catches" bugs.
- Pattern Art* - CCGPS - MCC.K.G.1, MCC.K.MD.3 - Students will
practice with patterns and their repetition while making pattern
bead necklaces.
- Nature Collection Jars* - GPS SKCS1, SKL1 - This art
project will allow students to decorate a plastic jar that can
be used for their personal nature collection.
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Grade 1
~ Living Things and Their Needs
- Discovery Room -GPS S1CS1, S1CS7 - Students
will explore nature by rotating through various learning
centers and displays.
- Cricket Observations* - GPS S1L1, S1CS7 -
Students will make observations of crickets by using
magnifying boxes. The needs of animals will be
stressed. At the end of the session, students will
release their crickets in a cricket race. (This
activity is seasonal depending on cricket availability.)
- Counting on Nature - GPS S1CS1, MC.1.NBT.1 - Once
again, the Longleaf Pine Trail and its hidden "critters"
will assist students in practicing their observation
skills. A classroom area is
available for a short math lesson or rest stop at the
midpoint of the trail. (Students can be given
small whiteboards and markers where they can tally the
critters as they walk the trail. Whiteboards are
provided at teacher request.)
- Binoculars* - GPS S1L1, S1CS1, S1CS3 - After
learning to use binoculars, students will take a short
hike looking for plant and animal life.
- Habitat Art* - GPS S1L1 - Students learn to
draw a habitat where the needs of various animals can be
met. Animal stickers will then be placed in their
correct habitats.
- Scavenger Hunt - GPS S1CS1- Students will
gather items from the center by recognizing their
physical characteristics.
- Wheel of Nature - GPS S1CS1, S1L1 - Students
will learn to correctly identify wildlife of Georgia by
playing the game of Wheel of Nature.
- Insect Jars* - GPS S1L1 - In this art
activity, students will decorate a plastic jar that can
provide a habitat for their plastic insect. The basic
needs of food, water, shelter, and space will be
stressed.
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Second Grade ~ Butterflies
- Life Cycle of a Butterfly* - GPS S2L1, S2CS1,
S2CS3, S2CS7 - When the migration of monarchs allows,
the MEEC will supply butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and
adult butterflies for student observation using hand
lenses and microscopes. Time will
also be spent in the MEEC butterfly garden observing
butterflies and discussing their needs.
- Life Cycle Model* - GPS S2L1, S1CS1 - Using
various art supplies and pasta, students will create a
paper plate model of the life cycle of a monarch
butterfly.
- Comparing Life Cycles - GPS S2L1, S2CS1 -
Students will make models of the life cycles of
butterflies and frogs using paper plates, stamps, and
colored pencils.
- Monarch Migration Game* - GPS S2L1, S2CS1 -
This Monarchs In the Classroom activity gives students
the chance to pretend they are monarch butterflies
migrating to Mexico. It teachers students some of
the hazards butterflies face on this migration, and
introduces them to concepts of tradeoffs for animals.
- Life Cycle Review* - GPS S2L1 - Students will
use beads to create a butterfly life cycle bracelet.
- Discovery Room - GPS S2CS1- Students will
explore nature by rotating through various learning
centers and displays.
- Scavenger Hunt - GPS S2CS1, ELA2R1 - Students
will gather items from the center after identifying them
based on written clues.
- Art* - GPS M1G1 - This art activity will
stress the symmetry of butterflies as students make a
paper butterfly from a paper pattern and a party blower.
Students will also learn about the senses of a butterfly
and about its proboscis.
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Third Grade -
Beavers and More
- Beaver Trail - GPS S3L1 -
Students will enjoy a hike along the Blackwater Creek
Swamp Trail. A guide worksheet
will allow students to practice reading and listening to
expository text.
- Dress a Beaver* - GPS S3L1 - This Project Wild
activity provides a fun way to remember beaver
adaptations as a teacher, student, or parent is
"dressed" as a beaver.
- Beaver Tracks* - GPS S3L1, S3E2 - Students
will make a plaster cast of a beaver track. Fossil
formation and the importance of fossil evidence will be
explored.
- Build A Dam* - GPS S3CS1, S3CS5 - After
observing a beaver dam as well as manmade dams, students
will design and construct a dam that will hold a
specific amount of water using only natural components.
- Wheel of Nature - This game format will
provide review of the day's activities and as well as
CRCT review.
- Scavenger Hunt - GPS S3CS1, ELA3R1 -
Students will gather items from the center after
identifying them based on written clues provided.
- Discovery Room - GPS S3CS1 - Students will
explore nature by rotating through various learning
centers and displays.
- Minerals Lab - GPS S3E1 - Students will
practice identifying minerals through streak tests and
Mohr's hardness tests.
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Fourth Grade ~ Birds
- Owl Pellet Lab* - GPS S4L1 - The MEEC will
provide each student with a barn owl pellet to be
dissected using toothpicks. This lab is a
excellent activity to enhance student learning about
food chains as the bones of the prey are easily
identified using a chart provided.
- Bird Brains Math - GPS M4N3, M4N4,M4N5,S4L2
-These fun activities have been adapted from Project
Flying Wild and will involve students rotating through a
series of math bases stations.
- Quick Frozen Critters* - GPS S4L1- After this
Project Wild Activity, students will be able to describe
the relationship between predator and prey and how
wildlife population is affected in this infinite cycle.
- Busy Bird Motel - GPS S4CS2 - This activity
simulates a bird monitoring station by creating a "Busy
Bird Motel." Students attempt to count the number
of birds and record observations - but they have to work
fast!
- Camouflage Activity - GPS S4L2 - A discussion
of the importance of camouflage in the animal world will
precede a contest to find hidden colored toothpicks.
- Scavenger Fact Hunt - GPS S4L2, ELA4R1 -
Students will use their understanding of the four
cardinal directions as clues to finding bird facts on
the MEEC signage.
- Binocular Study* - GPS S4CS1, S4CS3, S4L1 -
After learning to use the binoculars, students will take
a short hike in search of various animals and their
ecosystems.
- Food Chain Model* - GPS S4CS1, S4CS5, S4L1 -
Students will build a model that shows the food chain of
a Great Horned Owl using nesting tubes.
- Wheel of Nature - Students will learn various
facts of Georgia wildlife through this exciting review
game.
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Fifth Grade ~
The Environment
- Introduction to Archaeology* - GPS
S5CS1, M5P4,M5D1 - Students will be exposed to the how
and why of archaeology through the use of dig boxes
(Activity from Watson-Brown Foundation)
- Microscope Lab I* - GPS S5L3, S5CS3, S5L4 -
Learning to use microscopes will allow students to
observe common household items as well as various animal
structures.
- Introduction to Geocaching* - GPS S5CS1,
S5CS3 - Students will learn the fundamentals of using a
handheld Global Positioning System by finding hidden
caches at the MEEC. The importance of GPS in field
research will be discussed.
- Water Quality Comparisons* - GPS S5P2, S5CS1,
S5CS2,S5CS3 -Water quality test kits will be used to
chemically analyze pond water.
- Fish Sampling Simulation - GPS S5CS1, S5CS2,
S5CS5, M5P4 - In this activity, students will simulate a
fish survey to determine the population of bluegills in
a hypothetical lake using a capture/recapture technique.
- Backyard Bass* - GPS S5CS2, CC5.MD.2 -
Fishing is taken to a new level with this math activity!
Students will work in pairs to improve their casting
skills with a rod and reel equipped with a casting plug.
Students will be casting at a fish target and will take
turns keeping records of the colors of fish caught.
Information will then be graphed.
- Wheel of Nature - Students will learn various
facts of Georgia wildlife through this exciting review
game.
- Blackwater Creek Swamp Trail - GPS S5E1 -
Students will hike the trail to view the surface
features created by running water and the impact of
animal intervention. A worksheet is provided for a
guided discussion.
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Sixth Grade ~
Earth Science
- Soils Lab* - GPS S6E5, S6CS1, S6CS2 -
Students will learn first hand that soil consists of
weathered rock and decomposed organic material through a
series of soil activities. A chemical analysis of a
sample soil will be conducted.
- Float Your Boat - GPS S6CS1, S6CS2, S6CS3,
S6CS9 - Students will test their skills in this design
contest to successfully build a boat from plastina clay
that will support the most weight.
- Solar Shadows* - GPS S6E2,S6E3,S6CS1,S6CS3 -
The concept of earth's rotation is easily seen by
keeping track of solar shadows on a solar tracking
board. Students will also build a pocket sundial.
(This activity does require a sunny day!)
- Fossils Lab* - GPS S6E5 - Fossil molds will be
made from plaster of paris as students discuss the rock
cycle and the importance of fossil evidence in studying
earth history.
- Metric Olympics - GPS M6N1, M6N2, M6D1 -
Students will enjoy this fun metric activity from AIMS
as they compete is different metric events.
- Soils Texture Lab* - GPS S6E5, S6CS1 -
Students will explore the weathering and erosion that
takes place on the earth's surface by examining various
soil samples for texture. Soils will be sorted into
layers using screen sieves and weighed to determine soil
layer proportion.
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7th Grade ~
Life at the MEEC
- Microscope Lab II* - GPS S7CS2, S7L2 -
Students will collect, examine, and learn to identify
plankton in samples of pond water.
- Backyard Bass* - GPS M7D1 -
Students will work in pairs to improve their casting
skills with a rod and reel equipped with a casting plug.
Students will be casting at fish targets and will take turns
keeping records of hits and misses. Information
will then be graphed to show accuracy.
- Potato Manatees: A Language Arts
Simulation* - GPS ELA6W1, ELA6W2,ELA6C1 - Students
will test their observation and description abilities as
they "capture" a potato manatee, describe it and then
return it to its' herd. Students will then
use the written descriptions to identify the "tagged"
potato manatees.
- Dichotomous Keys*- GPS S7L1, S7CS8, S7CS9 - Students will
review the use of a dichotomous key as they identify
various trees and shrubs at the MEEC.
- Blackwater Creek Swamp Trail - GPS S7L4 -
Students will hike the Blackwater Creek Swamp Trail
while searching for the dependence of animals on their
environment. A worksheet will be provided for a guided
discussion.
- Dendrochronology* - GPS S7CS1, S7CS3, S7CS4,
S7CS5 - Students will determine the age of trees,
compare wet and dry years and develop an understanding
of tree ring dating principles by examining and
comparing tree cores.
- Introduction to Geocaching* - GPS S7CS3,
S7CS4, S7CS9 - Students will learn the fundamentals of
using a handheld Global Positioning System by finding
hidden caches at the MEEC. The importance of GPS in
field research will be discussed.
- Macroinvertebrate Survey* - GPS S7L1 -
Students will gather and sort macroinvertebrates in this
Adopt-a-Stream based activity. The use of macros as an
indicator of stream health will be emphasized.
- Oil Spill* - GPS S7L4, S7CS2 - Students will
discuss how pollution can impact the environment.
This lab is designed to allow students to understand the
difficulties involving oil spill cleanups.
* Denotes activities conducted by MEEC staff. All other
activities are teacher conducted. |
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