Elementary School Programs -
Fall

The Fall school programs focus on the environmental heritage of the Great Bay, and are offered in September and October. The field trips are led by trained volunteer educators and Great Bay Discovery Center staff. The programs target 3^rd to 5^th grade students, but can also accommodate older or younger students. Up to 72 students with chaperons can attend each session. The sessions are 3 hours long, and most are held outdoors at the Discovery Center, rain or shine.

Reservations for the Elementary School Programs are required several months in advance, and the programs fill quickly. Please call 603-778-0015 for program specifics or for reservation requirements.

Estuary Exploration programs incorporate science-based concepts that meet New Hampshire K-12 Science Curriculum Frameworks in the following area: Curriculum Standards 3a, 3b, 3c, 4c, 6a, and 6b.

The Fall field trips include the following activities:

Bounty of the Bay, A new activity for Fall 2011
Through an interactive first person account of natural resource utilization of the Great Bay area, students will tour our newly opened Great Bay Special Collections room located in the basement of the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center. This activity focuses on the tools that were used for the harvesting of wildlife through trapping, waterfowling, icefishing, and shellfishing. It encompasses many of the NH Social Studies curriculum standards for 2nd-5th grade as outlined in the Great Bay Discovery Center Fall Program packet. This activity is replacing "Tom Wiggin, Salt Marsh Farm Boy".

Trail of the Arrowhead
Did you know that the Great Bay Discovery Center is located at a spot along the edge of Great Bay that was once used by the Msquamskek people over 400 years ago? Come along and follow the "Trail of the Arrowhead". A guide will lead your students on a discovery walk where they will learn about native plants and animals along the way. Students will travel "back in time" as they visit an Abanaki style fishing encampment. While in camp they will have a chance to taste smoked fish, a staple in the diet of the Pennacook and Abanaki Nations that once fished Great Bay.

Time's Treasures
Dig into the past during an activity that introduces your students to the people who lived around Great Bay over the last 400 years. Students become "archaeologists" as they dig through sand searching for replicas of artifacts that may have been used by Native Americans and Colonists that once settled the shores of Great Bay.

Gundalow Row, Gundalow Sail!
Weigh anchor and hoist the sail! We are off to explore an historic sailing barge of Great Bay. We will climb aboard and visit the only Piscataqua River Gundalow left in existence, known as the Captain Edward H. Adams. Berthed at the Discovery Center waterfront each fall, staff of the Gundalow Company will help your students learn about the power of the estuary's tides and why New Hampshire's watery coastal highway of two hundred years ago was home to hundreds of cargo carrying Gundalows.