Lower Merion Conservancy

Elementary

Grades 1-5

Field Experiences

Hiking Through History
Lower Merion began as a working landscape, the home of numerous waterwheel mills and modest farms. In an interactive hike through ruins-rich Rolling Hill Park, our staff teaches the entire sweep of Lower Merion history, William Penn to the present. They'll discover ruins of 18th-century mills, 19th-century farms, and 20th-century estates, and become history detectives, using their powers of observation and deduction to read the park's landscape. Using a series of maps and photos, our staff uses the park as a case study in Pennsylvania history. In Rolling Hill, we make history come alive!

Creek Capers
Students become watershed detectives and unlock the mystery of life in the rushing waters of Mill Creek. They’ll collect and then examine closely under microscopes the invertebrate creatures living in the stream, and discover the unique adaptations these creatures possess for life in fast water. Through interactive activities your students will experience the water cycle, learn about watersheds, and then relate these concepts to water quality by performing a series of easy physical and chemical tests to determine the health of the creek. Data students collect is used in our ongoing ecological monitoring. It’s an unforgettable day of wet, wild, fun learning-- and we even supply the boots!

Adaptation Investigations
Each living creature possesses a unique set of features that allows it to survive in its environment-- its adaptations. Your students investigate the amazing world of adaptations through a series of activities and games. They'll examine the skulls and peols of forest creatures, serach for animal signs on a scavenger hunt, and explore forest and field for evidence of plant and animal adaptations. In fact, one of your students will be transformed into a white-tailed deer complete with all the adaptations that allow it to thrive in forests. It's a day filled with exploration, investigation, and fascination.

A Place Called Dirt
There's a whole world living beneath your feet in a place called dirt. Your students will dig into dirt in serach of squiggling and squirming soil dwellers like eathworms, grubs, pill bugs, and millipedes. They'll collect underground invertebrates, use microscopes to view their creatures up-close, and learn about the insects and animals that interact with soil. Students will write a recipe for soil, learn about the differences between soil types and textures, and use their knowledge to identify soil layers in the park. Get dirty (even middy!) as we explore a place called dirt.

Classroom Creek Capers
Through a series of hands-on science investigations, activities, and games in a workshop setting, your students wade into a variety of concepts related to stream ecology, including watersheds, the water cycle, and the adaptations of stream animals to fast-moving water. In small groups, students trace the journey of a water molecule through the water cycle, watch the water cycle in action, and create a model of a watershed. Conservancy staff brings a study collection of aquatic invertebrates along, allowing your students to examine them closely under microscopes.

Classroom and After-School Programs New!
Bring the Conservancy into your school! Great for teachers looking to enhance their environment and ecology curriculum, or multi-week after-school programs and nature clubs. We can tailor the programs mentioned above to fit your needs. Lesson can be classroom-based, but can also incorporate the unique characteristics of your school yard into an exploratory and investigative experience. Call the Conservancy to discuss how we can help enrich your students' environmental IQ.

Children’s Earth Day Forest

Updated: 9/20/2006 © 2010Lower Merion Conservancy. All rights reserved.

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