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The Spring school programs focus on the natural history of the Great Bay, and are offered in May and June. The field trips are led by trained volunteer educators and Great Bay Discovery Center staff. The programs target 3rd to 5th grade students, but can also accommodate older or younger students. Up to 60 students with chaperons can attend each session. The sessions are 2 1/2 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 spring field trips include the following activities:
Habitat Discovery Walk: What furry predators hunt in Great Bay salt marshes? How is an estuary line a restaurant? What is a wetland and how do you find one? This guided, hands-on and senses tuned-in investigative activity will help your students discover the answers to these questions and more! Get ready to become a "nature sleuth" as you and your students explore the Great Bay Discovery Center trail, discovering the major upland and wetland habitats along the way.
At A Snail's Pace: Did you know that the Great Bay is full of tiny little elephants? Through this hands-on activity, your students will meat Great Bay's elephant look-alike - the mud snail! They will learn the parts of a mud snail, observe mud snail behavior, and discover why these efficient recycling machines are such a vital part of the Great Bay ecosystem.
Horseshoe Crabbing Around: Have you ever seen a horseshoe crab with an elementary school student inside of it? Well, you will at the Great Bay Discovery Center! Student volunteers will have the chance to dress in costume as a horseshoe crab. Together with the rest of the class, they will help discover how horseshoe crabs survive in the estuary. Students will get to know this incredible "living fossil" by observing what this animal looks like, where it lives, what it eats, how it interacts with humans, and more.
Great Bay Treasures: Can animals live in all of those 2,000 feet of mud flats that we see at low tide around the Great Bay Discovery Center? Is Salt Marsh Peat a person? What plants and animals can you find in the deeper waters of the Great Bay? Let's poke around in some bay bottom mud, look at a salt marsh, and explore a Great Bay touch tank to answer those questions. Students will take a look at some fascinating Great Bay creatures in this hands-on activity. We will uncover the hidden plants and animals found in and around Great Bay, and explore their adaptations for survival in the estuarine environment.
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