3-5 Guided hikes

All guided hikes last approximately 2-hours. Any two hour program can be combined with a guided hike to create a four hour field trip program. 

Biomes of Minnesota

Time: 2 hours

Season: year-round

The Cedar Bog Lake trail is a unique experience that lets students walk through natural representations of all three biomes present in Minnesota before emerging at the shores of Cedar Bog Lake. Deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie and boreal coniferous forest, as well as swamps and a lake – they all contribute to make this a “Walk Across Minnesota!” Total distance is ~1 mile.

FABulous Forests! (bus required) 

Time: 2 hours 

Season: April - October

Explore forests and forestry science in Minnesota! Students will take a short hike around the Minnesota Ecology Walk and compare different types of forests, and then learn more about how scientists study trees and forests through a tour of the Forests and Biodiversity (FAB) experiment at Cedar Creek. During the program, students will also have an opportunity to test their tree identification skills with a dichotomous key.

Sort like a Scientist: The Importance and Power of Classification


Time: 2 hours

Season: year-round

Students observe and/or collect a variety of items from around Cedar Creek and use their observational skills to sort them and come up with a basic classification scheme (dichotomous key). They then test out their key with a handful of surprise items or a visit to a novel area. Older groups can refine existing keys or create their own key, and learn why and how to identify specific groups of plants like trees or grasses in our experimental plots.

Visit to Biodiversity Experiment (bus required)


Time: 2 hours

Season: April – November

Dr. Dave Tilman’s Big Biodiversity experiment is known worldwide for its insights into the way plant communities function and its role in helping scientists, policy makers, and the general public understand and appreciate biodiversity. Explore this enormous experiment using a guided scavenger hunt that encourages students to figure out Dr. Tilman’s main results on their own. They’ll leave with an appreciation for biodiversity and science that’s hard to replicate anywhere else!

The Power of Observation

Time: 2 hours

Season: April - November

The most important tool in a scientist's toolkit is their ability to look closely at the world around you. Hone your students' observation skills with a color-based scavenger hunt in nature! We will read a story, then go on a nature hike armed with paint chips and work together to see how many different shades and colors we can find. Once we are expert observers, we'll turn our attention to the plants and animals found around Cedar Creek's main campus building.

3rd Grade Programs

Life Cycles (bus required) 

Time: 4 hours 

Season: Late April - October

MN State Science Standard Connection: 3L.3.1.1.2. Develop multiple models to describe how organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death. 

Insects have interesting and complex life cycles. After getting into waders and using dip nets to collect aquatic insects at Fish Lake, students will then identify and explore different aquatic creatures and consider different types of life cycles found within aquatic ecosystems. 

Outrageous Insects 

Time: 4 hours 

Season: Mid May - September

MN State Science Standard Connection: 3L.4.2.1.1. Obtain information from various types of media to support an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction. 

Experience the wonderful world of insects! Students will put on their entomologist hats for the day as they explore the structures that allow particular species of insects to thrive in specific habitats. Back in the classroom, they'll learn the basics of structure and function, as well as how to classify insects into broad categories. Then, armed with sweep nets, they will work in teams to sample insects in the prairie and the woods. The day wraps up with teams sorting their insects by type, then collectively building a bar graph using their physical samples and discussing patterns in what insects live where.

Animal Adaptations


Time: 4 hours

Season: year-round

MN State Science Standard Connection: 3L.4.1.1.1. Construct an argument about strategies animals use to survive. 

What animals live in Minnesota, and what makes them unique? Students will learn how to reconstruct the story of our local wildlife by looking for clues on a nature hike, and will investigate some of the adaptations found in Minnesotan animals. We'll play games, design our own adapted animals, look at skulls and pelts, go tracking and more! 

Create a Program

Have a specific state standard or unit connected to ecology, nature, or other science not listed above? Reach out to our education coordinator and they will work with you to customize a field trip program that connects with your education goals and needs. Additional lead times and fees may apply. 

4th Grade Programs

Minnesota’s Spheres 

Time: 4 hours

Season: April - November 

MN State Science Standard Connection: 4E.3.1.1.1. Develop a model based in part on student observation or data to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. 

In this program, students will have an opportunity to explore how different spheres interact within different ecosystems. Using scientific tools, students will collect data on the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Then, they will compare and contrast two ecosystems and sphere interactions. Finally, students will have the opportunity to see more examples of how spheres interact through hands-on activities and demonstrations. 

Dendrochronology and Environmental Differences (bus required) 

Time: 4 hours 

Season: year-round

MN State Science Standard Connection: 4L.4.1.1.1. Construct or support an argument that traits can be influenced by different environments. 

Different environments influence the growth rate of trees. In this interactive program, students will think about the growth needs of trees. Then, they will visit three areas with white pine, comparing the relative size of each of these trees. Back at the lab, students will have an opportunity to look at and explore tree rings from trees in all three environments, thinking about both the age of the tree and rate of growth. Then, they will use the data collected to make predictions about the approximate age of the trees based on the environmental conditions. 

Water Water Everywhere

Time: 4 hours

Season: year-round 

MN State Science Standard Connections: 4E.3.2.2.1. Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural earth processes on humans; 4E.2.2.1.1. Interpret charts, maps and/or graphs of the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth; 4E.1.1.1.2. Ask questions about how water moves through the Earth system and identify the type of question. 

Learn about the importance of water to people through a game, an observational hike and a hands-on demo. Students will experience the water cycle through stories and a game of water cycle tag. They will then visit either a wetland or a swamp, and spend some time observing and drawing what they see. They will also get to get their hands wet using our stream table, where a naturalist will demonstrate the way water shapes landscapes through processes like erosion and deposition. Students will be tasked with building houses along the watershed and making real-world engineering decisions related to flood control, development and landscaping.

Create a Program

Have a specific state standard or unit connected to ecology, nature, or other science not listed above? Reach out to our education coordinator and they will work with you to customize a field trip program that connects with your education goals and needs. Additional lead times and fees may apply. 

5th Grade Programs

Biodiversity in Ecosystems 

Time: 4 hours

Season: Mid-April - November

MN State Science Standards Connections: 5L.4.1.2.1. Evaluate the merit of a solution to a problem caused by changes in plant and animal populations as a result of environmental changes.  

Humans have large impacts on the environment. In this program, students will explore biodiversity and its role in ecosystem function. In addition, students will explore how habitat fragmentation and other environmental impacts influence biodiversity and the survival of various plants/animals. 

Cycling of Matter and Food Webs 

Time: 4 hours

Season: April – October

MN State Science Standard Connections: 5L.3.1.1.3. Create an electronic visualization of the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment; 5P.3.1.1.2. Use models to describe that the energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun. 

Did you know that the first scientist to study how energy moves through food webs worked here at Cedar Creek? Expose your students to Lindeman’s legacy through exploring and tracing energy through a forest and a prairie ecosystem, a food web tag, and a hike out to his research site (~1 mile total). 

Radio Telemetry: Energy Transfers in Action

Time: 4 hours

Season: year-round 

MN State Science Standards Connections: 5P.2.1.1.1. Analyze and interpret data to show that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents; 5P.3.2.2.1. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. 

Did you know radio telemetry, attaching a collar to an animal to track movement, was invented at Cedar Creek in the 1960s? In this program, students will be introduced to radio telemetry technology and explore the energy transfers within the technology. Students will then become wildlife biologists and use authentic radio telemetry in the field to find a radio transmitter. 

Create a Program

Have a specific state standard or unit connected to ecology, nature, or other science not listed above? Reach out to our education coordinator and they will work with you to customize a field trip program that connects with your education goals and needs. Additional lead times and fees may apply.