Field Trips
Children's
Discovery Museum of San Jose
Direct link: http://www.cdm.org
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose provides a two-hour visit for school field trips. CDM is a hands-on museum with over 150 interactive exhibits and programs that provide children an opportunity to touch, explore and investigate what they see around them. Guided tours are not available, but chaperones and students are encouraged to explore and discover at their own pace.
Don Edwards San
Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Direct link:
http://desfbay.fws.gov/environ.htm
Have you discovered the joys of teaching in the outdoors? Would you like expert assistance in teaching your students about ecology, wetlands, and the environment? Bring your class to one of the nation's largest urban wildlife refuges for your next field trip. It's fun, it's interesting, and your students will remember what they learn at the refuge for years to come.
San Francisco Bay
Bird Observatory
Direct Link: http://www.sfbbo.org
This year SFBBO will offer a series of
morning walks to explore birds and their habitats around South San Francisco
Bay. SFBBO will pay special attention to salt ponds as current and future
restoration sites.
Happy Hollow Park
and Zoo
Direct link:
http://www.hhpz.org/edu/progs.php
Each 45-60 minute class includes hands-on activities, the use of biofacts (biological artifacts) unique to Zoo education, and an animal presentation. With the exception of Go Wild! (taught by Docents) all classes are taught by a Happy Hollow Education Specialist.
Bonfante Gardens
Direct Link:
http://www.bonfantegardens.com
A one-of-a-kind experience combining four unique gardens and amusements rides with the mid-20th century history and agricultural roots of Santa Clara Valley.
Santa Clara
Valley Water District
Direct
link:
http://www.valleywater.org
Coyote Creek Outdoor Classroom
William
Street, San Jose, Grades 3+
Debuted in 2001, the Coyote Creek Outdoor Classroom lies on a site where
massive flooding destroyed three homes in 1997. Now, the site has been
transformed into a unique educational setting. The tour and interactive
lessons focus on a natural stream habitat, sampling water from a groundwater
monitoring well and plantings that feature native trees and shrubs as well
as drought-tolerant gardening. To schedule a visit to the classroom,
e-mail or call Kathy Machado
at (408) 265-2607 ext. 2331.
Alamitos Groundwater
Recharge Facility
5750 Almaden Expwy.,
San Jose, Grades 3+
This one-hour tour
includes a percolation pond, gravel dam, weather station, drop structure and
spillway. Lessons include the water cycle, purposes of dams and reservoirs,
and water conservation. To schedule, contact Kathy Machado at (408) 265-2607
ext. 2331.
Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control
Plant
Direct link:
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/
Students learn about how water pollution affects the plants and animals in local creeks. They participate in activities to discover how pollution from urban areas ends in the creeks and how they can reduce water pollution. The relationships between creeks, wetlands, and the watershed are also studied.
South Bay Water
Recycling
Direct link:
http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/sbwr
Slow the Flow
South Bay Water Recycling’s
free Slow the Flow Program is conducted at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay
National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso. Students (5th – 12th graders) explore
the concepts of water use, wastewater treatment, and habitat protection.
Staff can also arrange in-class presentations. Call Carrie Wright at (408)
262-5513 or visit the web site.
Water Awareness
Program
A popular program offered to 5th through 7th graders. City of San José Park
Rangers visit the classroom and conduct fun and exciting activities focused
on preventing pollution to our neighborhood creeks. Contact Roger Abe at the
Ranger office at 408-277-5130 or 408-997-2035 (fax) for scheduling.
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Direct link:
http://www.scvas.org
Wetlands Discovery Program
Produced by the SCVAS Education
Committee, the Wetlands Discovery Program teaches 4th- and 5th-graders the
value of and threats to seasonal wetlands and salt-water marshes. SCVAS
volunteers accompany classes on field trips to wetland areas in South San
Francisco Bay. SCVAS provides teaching curricula and suggestions for
activities for both before and after the field trip, as well as binoculars
for children to use during the field trip. Financial assistance may be
available for transportation of classes to and from field trip areas.
For more information, contact the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society at
408.252.3747 or scvas@scvas.org.
School
Field Trips to McClellan Ranch
SCVAS
welcomes scout troops and school groups to their headquarters at McClellan
Ranch Park. Staff or volunteers take the children out on the trail around
the park to teach them about the importance of creeks and about the birds,
trees, and plants that are found in the creek environment. For more
information, contact the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society at 408.252.3747
or scvas@scvas.org.