• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.