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

CAN YOU DIG IT – GREAT BASIN NEVADA

Spend a week learning about the geology, paleontology and ecology of the Great Basin. Visit Pyramid Lake, Palomino Valley Wild Horse Facility, Hidden Cave Archeological, Virginia City, Mono Lake and Berlin/Ichthyosaur State Park. Students get a first hand look at the amazing Great Basin and will have a chance to study and collect fossils and participate in hands-on activities.

Cost: $200/person (subject to change)

*Includes food, lodging and lab and student materials

  OCTOBER 22, 2009

KOKANEE MIGRATION/ALPINE ECOLOGY – LAKE TAHOE

This fun learning experience with an easy hike up into the high country of the Tahoe basin to learn about the common species of plants and animals that make up this important ecosystem and how they adapt to the extreme conditions of the alpine community. In the afternoon, visit the Taylor Creek Stream Profile and see migrating Kokanee salmon and other aquatic life through the window of the underground viewing chamber. From the chamber windows you will be able to watch the bright red salmon digging their nests and defending their eggs from marauders.

Cost*: $15/person (including adults) -  subject to change)

*Includes all student materials and fees

NOVEMBER 12, 2008

JOURNEY HOME – CENTRAL VALLEY

Every year millions of ducks and geese gather at the wildlife refuges of California’s Central Valley to feed and rest before returning to their nesting grounds in Canada and Alaska in the spring. Spend the day learning about migratory waterfowl and how to identify them. Binoculars will be provided. Students participate in hands-on activities and field identification while learning about these amazing creatures.

Cost: $15/person (including adults) - price subject to change)

*Includes all student materials and fees

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’s filled with hundreds of innovative and engaging exhibits and thousands of animals. Count the number of teeth on the albino alligator; catch insects with a virtual butterfly net; rocket through the galaxy at warp speed; and so much more. Students participate in several hands-on science activities.

Cost: $25/person (including adults) - price subject to change)

*Includes all student materials and fees

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 the class "Atmospheres in Balance," view the Megadome presentation "Solarmax," and explore the many hands-on exhibits.

Cost: $25*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all 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: $25*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all 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: $15*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all 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: $15*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all 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: $15*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all 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: $10*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all student materials

OCTOBER 9, 2009

SACRAMENTO ZOO

Spend a day at the zoo. Explore the more than 14 acres that make up the Sacramento Zoo. Get acquainted with over 600 animals making up over 140 different rare and endangered species at the Zoo, ranging from reptiles to mammals, birds to amphibians, and more. Students participate in hands-on activities and field identification while learning about these amazing creatures.

Cost: $20*/person (including adults) - price subject to change

*Includes all student materials and fees

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

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: $25*/person (including adults) - price subject to change

*Includes all student materials and fees

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: $10*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all student materials

CAN YOU SEA IT?

"Can You Sea It?" is a 4-day outdoor education program that has students investigating several learning modules designed to increase student understanding and awareness of the rich and diverse natural history of the Northern California coastal environment.  Students are exposed to the amazing world of life in a tide pool in the activity "Explore A Tide Pool."  Students investigate the adaptations of marine mammals in "Blubber, Flippers, and Blowholes."  Marine algae, its identification and uses is the focus of "Seaweed Ice Cream."  The activity "Giants and Pygmies" introduces students to the common trees and shrubs of the temperate rainforest.  Other modules include; "You Have No Backbone," "Coastal Wild Flowers," "Beaks, Feet, and Feathers," and "Slime, Scales, and Fins." 

Cost: $200*/person (subject to change)

*Includes entrance fees and all student materials