SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

EARTH TREASURES – BLACK CHASM CAVERN & SUTTER GOLD MINE

Spend a fun filled day learning about the geology of California and the Sierra Nevada studying the minerals and rocks that are the building blocks of California's complex geology. Participants take tours of Black Chasm Cavern and Sutter Gold Mine and participate in several hands-on Earth science activities including gem mining and geode cracking.  Click on the following links for more information:

Fieldtrip schedule               What to bring               Driving directions

Cost*: $60/student, $25/chaperone, $25/sibling** (subject to change)

*Includes all fees and student materials
**non-student under the age of 8

OCTOBER 22, 2009

KOKANEE SALMON MIGRATION - SOUTH LAKE TAHOE!

Visit the Taylor Creek Visitor Center and take a guided tour of the Kokanee Salmon migration from Lake Tahoe up Taylor Creek. Students and adults get an up-close, eye-level view the spawning salmon in the flowing stream when they visit the beautiful Stream Profile chamber. Students and adults will participate in hands-on science activities and field identification.  Click on the following links for more information:

Fieldtrip schedule               What to bring               Driving directions

Cost: $40/student, $10/chaperone, $10/sibling** (subject to change)

*Includes all fees and student materials
**non-student under the age of 8

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

JOURNEY HOME - SACRAMENTO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Here's an opportunity for you and your children to learn how to identify birds in the field. Each participant will be supplied with binoculars and will be taught how to use field marks, songs and behavior to identify birds. Witness the annual return of thousands of migrating waterfowl Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge positioned in the middle of the Pacific Flyway.  Click on the following links for more information:

Fieldtrip schedule               What to bring               Driving directions

Cost: $40/student, $10/chaperone, $10/sibling** (subject to change)

*Includes all fees and student materials
**non-student under the age of 8

DECEMBER 10, 2009

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Spend a day at the new California Academy of Sciences exploring a single building that evokes the interdependence of Earth, ocean and space, and that houses an aquarium, a planetarium and a natural history museum. Explore a fascinating place that is filled with hundreds of innovative and engaging exhibits and thousands of animals. Count the number of teeth on an albino alligator; catch insects with a virtual butterfly net; rocket through the galaxy at warp speed and so much more   Click on the following links for more information:

Fieldtrip schedule               What to bring               Driving directions

Cost: $60/student, $25/chaperone, $25/sibling** (subject to change)

*Includes all fees and student materials
**non-student under the age of 8

TULE ELK MATING SEASON – SAN LUIS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Spend a day learning about the tule elk that once roamed California’s Central Valley and Delta. Hear bulls bugle to establish territory and watch as they battle to establish dominance. Students participate in hands-on activities focusing on the elk and other mammals of the region.

Cost*: $10/person (subject to change)

*Includes all lab materials, student materials, and cave tour

OCTOBER 22, 2007

LIVING HIGH and KOKANEE SALMON MIGRATION – S LAKE TAHOE

Spend a day learning how plants and animals adapt to the extreme conditions of the alpine ecosystem. Participants will take a 2 mile (round trip) hike up to the high elevations for a first hand look local residents of the high Sierra. Then, go to the Taylor Creek Visitor Center and take a guided tour of the Kokanee Salmon migration from Lake Tahoe up Taylor Creek. Students and adults get an up-close, eye-level view the spawning salmon in the flowing stream when they visit the beautiful Stream Profile chamber. Students will participate in hands-on science activities and field identification.  Click on the following links for more information:

Fieldtrip schedule               What to bring               Driving directions

Cost: $40/person (subject to change)

*Includes all lab and student materials

JOURNEY HOME – CENTRAL VALLEY

Spend a day in the Central Valley observing the thousands of migrating birds returning to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge near Willows. Students participate in hands-on activities and field identification while learning about these amazing creatures.

Cost: $45*/student, $10/adult (subject to change)

*Includes all lab materials and student materials

Fieldtrip schedule          What to bring          Driving directions

GOOD HEAVENS!

Spend a day at the Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland hills learning about the stars and planets. Participants will have the opportunity to experience a fascinating planetarium show. Students participate in a variety of hands-on astronomy activities.

Cost: $50*/person (subject to change)

*Includes all fees and student materials

THE TECH MUSEUM

The Tech Museum of Innovation is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds.  The Tech's mission is to inspire the innovator in everyone.  Students will be involved in the Design Challenge: The Physics of Roller Coasters, view the IMAX presentation "Human Body," and explore the many hands-on exhibits.

Cost: TBA

*Includes all fees and student materials

JOURNEY HOME - CENTRAL COAST

Spend a day studying animal migration along California's central coast.  At Natural Bridges State Beach, thousands of monarch butterflies take shelter in the large trees, overwintering until they return to inland valleys and continue their amazing life cycle.  From Natural Bridges, travel north to Ano Nuevo State Reserve to view a large colony of northern elephant seals that assembles on the beaches here each winter.  These large animals spend most of their lives at sea, coming ashore only to molt, give birth, and mate.  Students will participate in a variety of hands-on activities focusing on migration and the natural history of monarchs and elephant seals.

Cost: TBA

*Includes all fees and student materials

EXPLORE-A-TIDE POOL

Spend time investigating the fascinating creatures that inhabit the crevice pools of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.  These long, narrow pockets of sea water provide a rich diversity of habitat and attract a variety of organisms including sea anemones, sea stars, crabs, snails and an occasional octopus.  Students will be led through the tide pools with experienced guides that will focus student attention on how these organisms are adapted to the ever-changing conditions of the tide pool.

Cost: TBA

*Includes all fees and student materials

CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY

From Point Reyes National Seashore's thunderous ocean breakers crashing against rocky headlands and expansive sand beaches through its open grasslands to its brushy hillsides and forested ridges, visitors can discover over 1000 species of plants and animals and view the many stories in stone that tell of California's geologic past, present and future.  Students will spend the day focusing on the geologic story of Point Reyes and will participate in a variety of hands-on activities.

Cost: TBA

*Includes all fees and student materials

FOOTHILL WILD FLOWERS

Spend a day exploring nature's spring wild flower show at New Hogan Lake, starring golden poppies, lupines, brodiaeas, larkspurs, red maids, baby blue eyes, and a host of other spring wild flower species.  Students will learn how to recognize common wild flower families and use field identification keys to determine the identities of the flowers they observe.  Digital cameras are highly recommended as students will receive tips on wild flower photography from a professional nature photographer.

Cost: TBA

*Includes all fees and student materials

Release of liability and assumption of risk agreement - this must be signed to participate

Fieldtrip schedule       What to bring          Driving directions

How to press flowers                       How to make a flower press

EARTH TREASURES

Spend a fun-filled day learning about the geology of California and the Sierra Nevada.  Students will study the rocks and minerals that are the building blocks of California's complex geology.  Students will take tours of the Sutter Gold Mine and Black Chasm Cavern and participate in several hands-on Earth science labs including geode-cracking and gem mining.

Cost: TBA

*Includes activity fees and all student materials

Release of liability and assumption of risk agreement - this must be signed to participate

Fieldtrip schedule          What to bring          Driving directions

DELTA EXPLORATIONS

Spend a day on the beautiful California Delta learning about this unique ecosystem.  Students will study the natural history of a variety of animals that depend on a healthy delta ecosystem, investigate wetlands and their importance to people and animals, and take a look at issues related to water availability and use in California.  Students will participate in several hands-on activities.

Cost: TBA

*Includes all fees and student materials