This program aims to inspire you to use the natural materials in your schoolyard for authentic learning and exploration. By integrating natural materials, collected by students, into lessons, educators promote STEAM concepts. These materials provide countless opportunities for children to inquire, design, build, and problem solve. Hand-on observations also help students connect with the natural world.

This program provides ideas for implementing project-based learning science themes in the classroom. Demonstrations of how to make a watershed model, a mini composter, and a terrarium are highlighted. By building and working with these models, students can understand nature’s cycles and the effects of human activity on natural systems.

This program explains how to introduce students to pollinators that play important roles in nature’s ecosystems by using the Great Sunflower Project. This project is a community science platform that educators can use to help students gain first-hand insight into the intricate relationship between plants and pollinators.

In Meet the Butterflies, students discover the butterfly life cycle and parts of a butterfly. Additionally, they get a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of our exhibit and learn how butterflies survive through camouflage and mimicry. Students discover symmetry and get to practice with a butterfly craft. This program meets the following Virginia Public Schools Standard of Learning Science Objectives that were updated in 2018: K.2, K.4, K.6, K.7. It also meets Virginia’s Foundation Science Blocks for Early Learning that were updated in 2013 including Blocks 1, 3, 5, and 7.

In Tree Traits, students take a virtual journey to discover a variety of deciduous trees and evergreens. They examine the parts of a tree, including roots, trunks, and leaves. Students also learn about the amazing ecosystem services and products that trees provide. This program meets the following 2018 Virginia Public Schools Standard of Learning Science Objectives: K.1, K.3, K.5, K.7, K.9, 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.8

In Small Sprouts to Garden Giants, students learn about the life process of plants. They also observe plant parts and consider their functions. This program meets the following 2018 Virginia Public Schools Standard of Learning Science Objectives: 1.1, 1.4, 1.8.

In Surviving the Winter, students discover how plants have adapted to survive subfreezing temperatures and why some trees lose their leaves. Additionally, they will investigate why animals make homes underground using experimental practices. Students will get a glimpse into a fascinating animal adaptation and have the chance to explore how it works with a fun activity. This program meets the following 2018 Virginia Public Schools Standard of Learning Science SOL objectives: 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.8, 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, & 5.1

In Amazing Adaptations, students learn about plant adaptations, desert and rainforest ecosystems, making a hypothesis and collecting data. This program meets the following 2018 Virginia Public Schools Standard of Learning Science SOL objectives: 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5

Learning to notice similarities and differences in biological characteristics is a key step to formulating scientific questions. In ID a Tree, students observe basic tree characteristics. With this knowledge in hand, students learn to use a dichotomous key to identify trees. This program meets the following 2018 Virginia Public School Standard of Learning Science Objectives: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.8, 5.1, 6.1, LS.1, LS.3, LS.7