All guided hikes last approximately two hours. Any two hour program can be combined with a guided hike to create a four hour field trip.
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.
The Power of Observation Hike
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. Hike will occur along the Minnesota Ecology Walk near Lindeman Center.
Leaves and Forests Hike
Time: 2 hours
Season: September - November
Students will explore two of Minnesota’s forest types along the Cedar Bog Lake hike, learn how to identify trees, and collect fallen leaves and sort them to compare the differences between each forest. Wrap up the day with a leaf art project or a game of forest tag. Total distance is ~1 mile.
Focus on Food Webs Hike
Time: 2 hours
Season: year-round
Did you know the first scientist to study how energy moves through food webs worked here at Cedar Creek? Expose your students to Lindeman’s legacy through Food Web Tag, and then take an approximately 1 mile hike to his research site (Cedar Bog Lake).
Any two hour program can be combined with a guided hike to create a four hour field trip.
One Small Square
Time: 2 hours
Season: Mid-April to November
MN State Science Standard Connection: 0L.1.2.1.2. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
Students will have the opportunity to explore and compare four different native Minnesota habitats through a short, quarter mile, hike. At each stop, students will practice their skills of observation to compare and contrast the prairie, oak savanna, deciduous forest, and coniferous forest. After exploring the four habitats, students will have an opportunity to look even more closely. In pairs or trios, students will get their own "small square": a kid-sized quadrat that sections off the perfect amount of land for little hands and eyes to explore. Armed with magnifying glasses and other scientific tools, students will count, measure, draw, collect data in one of the four habitats. We'll come back together as a group to share the most exciting and surprising things from our squares.
Animal Needs
Time: 2 hours
Season: year round
MN State Science Standard Connection: 0L.3.1.1.1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.
Ever wonder about where and how different birds and animals build nests? All animals need food, air, water, and shelter to live, but each animal uses different methods, materials, and preferences to fulfill these needs. In this program, we explore the birds and animals living at Cedar Creek and learn more about their needs and where they may live. Highlighted species will vary by season.
Plant Needs
Time: 2 hours
Season: Mid May - October
MN State Science Standard Connection: 0L.3.1.1.1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live (Systems and system models)
All plants need water, sunlight, and air. Most plants also need soil. However, different plants need different levels of water, sunlight, and soil to survive. This program explores the differences between plant needs within the prairie, wetland, and forest and the unique characteristics plants have within each of these habitats.
Nature Sort
Time: 2 hours
Season: year round
MN State Science Standard Connection: 0P.2.1.1.1. Sort objects in terms of natural/human-made, color, size, shape, and texture, then communicate the reasoning for the sorting system.
Natural objects have unique properties. There are different colors, sizes, patterns, and textures. In this program, students will explore along a path and collect natural objects. Then, we will think about different properties and descriptive words. Finally, students will have an opportunity to sort their nature treasures by properties and share their sorting system with their classmates.
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 time and fees may apply.
Amazing Plant Parts!
Time: 2 hours
Season: Year-round
MN State Science Standard Connection: 1L.3.1.1.1. Develop a simple model based on evidence to represent how plants or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow and meet their needs.
It can be difficult being a plant. You cannot move, yet you need water, sunlight, soil, and air to survive. You also need to fend off herbivores and pests and survive through cold Minnesota winters. In this inquiry focused program, students will explore how plants use their parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers) to survive. Note: Program can be combined with guided hike to create a full day field trip.
Wildlife Sounds
Time: 4 hours
Season: Year-round
MN State Science Standard Connection: 1P.2.1.1.1. Identify and describe patterns obtained from testing different materials and determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for producing and/or transmitting sound.
Animals communicate in many different ways. Sometimes, animals call; other times animals use other materials to talk to each other. In this inquiry-focused field trip, students will think about sound and how animals use sound to communicate. Students will go on a sound hike, listening for different creatures and nature sounds along the way. Then, they will become woodpeckers to determine the best materials for communicating messages with others.
Beavers and Ants: Environmental Engineers
Time: 4 hours
Season: April - November
MN State Science Standard Connection: 1E.4.1.1.1. Construct an argument based on observational evidence for how plants and animals, including humans, can change the non-living aspects of the environment to meet their needs.
Many animals transform the environment to meet their needs. In this program, students will learn about some of the amazing animal environmental engineers in Minnesota and think about how their behaviors transform the environment to help them survive. Program includes a hike around Cedar Creek to see evidence of animal engineers in action. Species highlighted will vary by season.
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.
Wonderful Weather
Time: 2 or 4 hours
Season: Year- round
MN State Science Standard Connection: 2E.2.1.1.1. Represent data to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
Weather is important for all ecosystems, yet the weather can be different on location. Through hands-on experiences, students will learn about how scientists measure weather. Then, they will put their technique to the test, comparing and contrasting the weather in different ecosystems at Cedar Creek. Four hour programs will also explore the ideas behind weather and climate.
Traveling Seeds
Time: 4 hours
Season: August - November
MN State Science Standard Connection: 2L.3.2.2.1. Engineer a device that mimics the structures and functions of plants or animals in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.
Through observation and exploration, students will learn more about seeds, the role they play in ecosystems, and different strategies seeds use to travel from one place to another, and the advantages and disadvantages of each of these strategies. Then, students will have the opportunity to craft their own wind dispersed seed through an engineering activity. This program is rooted in both western and Indigenous scientific knowledge.
Water Water Everywhere
Time: 4 hours
Season: Year-round
MN State Science Standard Connection: 2E.4.2.1.1. Obtain and use information from multiple sources to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.
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. Students will be tasked with building houses along a model 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 time and fees may apply.