Grades Pre-2
Preschool Programs
Animal Encounter | 30 minutes | Indoors
Meet one of our animal ambassadors up close and personal in this private, 30-minute encounter led by an expert naturalist. Age-appropriate and engagingly delivered, the program includes time for Q&A and hands-on exploration of biofacts such as pelts, skulls, and wings. Connect to your curriculum by selecting one of the following themes: Adaptations, Habitats, or General Natural History.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Exploring Our Five Senses | 45 minutes | Outdoors
Awaken your students’ curiosity about the incredible natural world around them. We will explore the outdoors through hands-on activities that engage the different senses. Visit with a live animal to observe its senses in action.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Kindergarten Programs
Animal Encounter | 30 minutes | Indoors
Meet one of our animal ambassadors up close and personal in this private, 30-minute encounter led by an expert naturalist. Age-appropriate and engagingly delivered, the program includes time for Q&A and hands-on exploration of biofacts such as pelts, skulls, and wings. Connect to your curriculum by selecting one of the following themes: Adaptations or Habitats.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Have to Have a Habitat | 45 minutes | Indoors
Animals live everywhere around us, but no matter where they live they all have basic needs of food, water, shelter, air, space, and sun. See two different live animals and learn how each meets its habitat needs.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Animal Survival Needs | 1 hour | Outdoors
What do animals need to survive? This program introduces basic animal needs of food, water, shelter, space, air, and sun, with a specific focus on food. Through outdoor explorations and active games, we will discover what animals eat, and the role of herbivores and carnivores. Visit with a live animal to learn what it needs to survive.
Available: Fall, Spring, Summer, at SLNSC
Next Generation Science Standards Connections
- K-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes – Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
- ESS3.A: Natural Resources – Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)
- LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms – All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow. (K-LS1-1)
First Grade Programs
Animal Encounter | 30 minutes | Indoors
Meet one of our animal ambassadors up close and personal in this private, 30-minute encounter led by an expert naturalist. Age-appropriate and engagingly delivered, the program includes time for Q&A and hands-on exploration of biofacts such as pelts, skulls, and wings. Connect to your curriculum by selecting one of the following themes: Adaptations or Habitats.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Animal Adaptations | 45 minutes | Indoors
What do a turtle’s shell, a skunk’s stripes, and an owl’s talons all have in common? They are all examples of adaptations that help the animal survive. Meet two of our animal ambassadors to learn about the adaptations that help them survive in the places they live.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Animals and Their Five Senses | 1 hour | Outdoors
Animals rely on their senses for survival. Through outdoor exploration and active games, students discover how different animals use hearing, smell, sight, touch, and even taste to help them survive. Visit with a live animal to observe its senses in action.
Available: Fall, Spring, Summer, at SLNSC
Next Generation Science Standards Connections
- LS1.A: Structure and Function – All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. (1-LS1-1)
- LS1.D: Information Processing – Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive. Plants also respond to some external inputs. (1-LS1-1)
Second Grade Programs
Animal Encounter | 30 minutes | Indoors
Meet one of our animal ambassadors up close and personal in this private, 30-minute encounter led by an expert naturalist. Age-appropriate and engagingly delivered, the program includes time for Q&A and hands-on exploration of biofacts such as pelts, skulls, and wings. Connect to your curriculum by selecting one of the following themes: Adaptations or Habitats.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Have to Have a Habitat | 45 minutes | Indoors
Animals live everywhere around us, but no matter where they live they all have basic needs of food, water, shelter, air, space, and sun. See two different live animals and learn how each meets its habitat needs.
Available: Year-round at SLNSC or your site
Insect Adventure | 1 hour, 15 minutes | Outdoors
Creep, crawl, hop, and jump! Investigate one of the largest groups of animals on Earth – insects. Students become junior entomologists as they collect and identify these six-legged creatures from fields or ponds to discover how essential they are in natural systems.
Available: Fall, Spring, Summer, at SLNSC
Next Generation Science Standards Connections
- 2-LS4-1 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity – Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
- LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans – There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. (2-LS4-1)
