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Dodge Nature Center staff provides carefully planned, high quality outdoor learning experiences. Adventurous, fun, hands-on learning activities are the core of the Center's nature-based and agriculture-based programs. Educational programs are offered year-round. Program reservations by schools and groups can be made for weekdays and Saturdays. Prior to the field trip, teacher/group leaders will receive a teacher introduction packet which gives background information on the topic, suggestions for pre-trip and post-trip activities to be conducted in the classroom, as well as reference information. Teachers or group leaders must contact Dodge Nature Center's scheduler at 651-789-5215 during regular business hours (M-F 8am-4:30pm). The following guidelines are in effect:

• Requests for fall classes (September-December) are accepted beginning August 1.

• Requests for winter/spring/summer classes (January-August) are accepted beginning November 15.

During the school year, programs may be requested two or more weeks prior to the proposed visit.

Large Group fees for educational programs (as of September 1, 2007) are $5.50 per student per program, $3.00 per student per addtional program. For example:

Two programs per day
$5.50/student/1st program
$3.00/student/each additional program
(i.e. $8.50/student/2 programs)

Three programs per day
$5.50/student/1st program
$3.00/student/each additional program
(i.e. $11.50/student/3 programs)

Small Groups of 10 students or less have a minimum fee of $55.

There is no charge for supervising adults if the group's adult to child ratio does not exceed one adult to five children. Extra adults are charged the regular participant rate.

Air Around Us
Grade: 1st- 3rd
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

From a gentle breeze to a gale, air is always around us, constantly on the move and impacting our lives. In this program, students will explore the ways air is used and needed by plants and animals, and how humans put wind to work.

Animal Tracks and Signs
Grade: K – Adult
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Year Round

There are stories in the clues left behind by the animals that live here at Dodge. Learn to find tracks, patterns, signs, nests, and scat then unravel the story of an animal’s adventures from your careful observations.

Aquatic Life
Grade: K - 6th
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Spring or Summer

The ponds and wetlands of Dodge are home to a multitude different plants and animals. Students will collect, observe, and study aquatic plants and animals in their habitats in this hands-on exploration.

Bee Ecology
Grade: K - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: August and September

From their role in pollinating crops to the sweet honey they make, bees are an important part of our world. Learn more about their life cycle as you watch a beekeeper open a working hive. Then watch honey extraction and taste the sweet results.

Birds in Their Habitats
Grade: 3rd- Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Spring, Summer, Fall
Prairies, woods, wetlands, ponds – these are the homes to the many species of birds found at the Nature Center. Hike, observe, and identify birds in the various habitats and learn about the adaptations that help them survive.

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Bones! Bones! Bones!
Grade: 3rd – Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall, Winter, Spring

Skeletons provide structure, protection, and movement. Students will analyze bones from different animals to compare their forms and functions by dissecting sterilized owl pellets and assembling an animal skeleton. This program has an additional fee for materials.

Ecosystem Exploration
Grade: 5th - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall and Spring

The DNC Lilly Preserve allows students to see and experience a variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. By exploring this area students will be able to see not only the ecosystems but also how they blend into one another.

Fall Orchard
Grade: Pre-K - Adult
Length: 1 hour
Season/Month: September and October

Enjoy the fresh taste of fall in the Dodge orchard. Students will explore the apple orchard by comparing the size, color, and taste of a variety of apples and by helping to press apples for cider.

Farm Tour
Grade: Pre-K* - Adult
Length: 1 hour
Season/Month: Year Round

Come back “down on the farm” as you tour our barn, chicken coop, and pastures. You’ll enjoy the sights and sounds (and smells) of a small, sustainable farm as you see and learn about farm life, farm animals and the roles they play in peoples’ lives. *Children must be at least three years old.

Fibers in Nature
Grade: K - 1st
Length: 1 hour
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

What do cattails, bird nests, and sheep have in common? Fibers. Explore a variety of fibers, the fabrics that be created from them, their origins and uses. Through hands-on activities, students will learn about fibers that come from animals and plants and make a fiber project to take home.

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Forestry Exploration
Grade: 4th - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

What does it take to become a forester? Students will practice the skills that foresters use including tree identification with a key and determining a tree’s health, size, and age.

Hens and Roosters
Grade: K – 4th
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Fall, Winter, Spring

The most common farm animal in the world is also one of the most interesting. Get a very close look at the life of chicken on our farm. Tour the coop, hold a chicken, check for eggs, and see the free-range flock as the roosters crow all the while.

Insects
Grade: K – 6th
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Summer or Fall

Grab a net and a jar and we’ll be off to the prairie and the woods to see what 6-legged creatures live here at Dodge. We’ll look for eggs and larvae while learning about insects’ life cycles, find predators and prey, and catch and release a bug or two. No log shall be left unturned in this insect adventure.

Introduction to Prairies
Grade: 5th - Adult
Length: 2 hours
Season/Month: Fall

Explore one of Minnesota’s special biomes – the prairie. Learn about the historical changes that have occurred to prairies and how Dodge is working to restore this invaluable asset.

Landforms
Grade: 5th - Adult
Length: 2 hours
Season/Month: Spring

The land around us is changed over time by a variety of different factors. Explore the bluffs of the Mississippi to find the changes caused by oceans, glaciers, streams, rivers, and people. This program takes place at Lilydale Park Reserve and involves extensive, rugged hiking.

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Mammals
Grade: 3rd - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Year Round

Investigate the lives of Minnesota’s mammals and uncover what foods they prefer to eat. Learn to classify mammals as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores by examining clues from their skulls.

Maple Syruping
Grade: PreK - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: March

Celebrate the return of spring by observing the age-old process of turning tree sap into syrup. Students will help tap a tree, collect sap, visit the evaporator, and sample some delicious maple syrup. Dress for the snowy, muddy trails.

Meet the Milk Makers
Grade: K – 4th
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Fall, Winter, Spring

Learn about milk-producing animals on the farm and the products we make with milk. Students will meet goats, cows, and sheep, have an opportunity to make butter and milk our demonstration cow. This program has an additional fee for materials.

Minnesota Wildlife
Grade: Pre-K to 1st
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Year Round

What wild animals live where we live? This program will introduce students to some of Minnesota’s wildlife through hands-on experiences with artifacts and visits with live animals.

Orienteering
Grade: 4th - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Spring, Summer, Fall

Finding your way is a skill. Practice with a compass to find direction and pacing to measure distance. Then use teamwork as small groups head outside to navigate one of our orienteering courses. Compasses are provided.

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Papermaking
Grade: K- 2nd
Length: 1 hour
Season/Month: January

Make your own paper from recycled and natural materials. Students will compare different types of paper and paper products and learn the process of making paper by doing it for themselves.

Physics on the Farm
Grade: 5th - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

From pulleys to levers, ramps to wheels, the farm is filled with simple machines that illustrate well principles of physics. Students will discover the physics used in farm machinery, tools and building design and work together to complete farm tasks using simple tools and physics.

Plant Cycles
Grade: 4th- 8th
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

What does it take to make a plant thrive? Students will compare the various ways plants compete for their basic needs as well as learn about the cycles that make up many parts of how plants work. They’ll hike to see plants outdoors and take home their own plant from a cutting.

Plant Diversity
Grade: 4th- 8th
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Spring or Summer

Through games, discussions and hands-on field experiences, students will gain an understanding of the importance of diversity in good habitat and how restoration works to reestablish the dynamic variety needed for healthy ecosystems. Special discount rate for groups participating in this program.

Predator-Prey<br> Grade: 4th – 8th
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

Animals know that life boils down to eat or be eaten. Students will explore the complexities of predator-prey relationships by playing a fast-paced game that focuses on concepts like habitat, food chains, population dynamics, and carrying capacity, and unexpected consequences.

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Raptors: Hunters From Above
Grade: 3rd - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Year Round

Meet one of nature’s most amazing groups of bird – raptors. See a live raptor, hear its stories, and participate in hands-on activities to better understand the critical role these birds play in the environment.

Reptiles and Amphibians
Grade: K - Adult
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Year Round

Discover the world of these cold-blooded creatures as students compare and contrast the reptiles and amphibians in our live animal collection. Students will be able to observe and interact with many native species in this hands-on adventure.

Rocks and Fossils
Grade: 2nd - Adult
Length: 2 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

The shale beds of Lilydale Regional Park are filled with ancient fossils. Guided by a Dodge naturalist, you’ll learn about sedimentary rock strata laid down by a prehistoric sea, the actions of glaciers, weathering, local history, and, of course, fossils. This program takes place at Lilydale Park Reserve and involves extensive, rugged hiking. Requires special permits and additional fees.

Season’s Hike
Grade: Pre-K - Adult
Length: 1 hour
Season/Month: Fall, Spring, Summer

Each season is unique and brings many changes to the land and plants and animals living there. In this program students will explore the prairies, ponds, and forests of Dodge using their five senses to find the best of what each season has to offer.

Sky- Watching
Grade: 2nd - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall, Winter, Spring

The night sky has been a source of wonder for thousands of years. Today we still gaze in amazement. Participants will learn about our location in the solar system and discover the stories behind the constellations we view in Dodge’s portable starbag. This class is designed for either day or night programs, regardless of the weather.

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Soils
Grade: 1st – 4th
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

Get the “scoop” on soils. Examine the living and non-living components of the soil in some hands-on activities. Learn about importance and different types of soil as we collect and compare soil samples from the prairie, forest, and wetlands of the nature center.

Team-Building
Grade: 5th - Adult
Length: 2 hours
Season/Month: Fall, Spring, Summer

Working effectively as a group takes practice. Students will participate in a variety of initiatives and challenges to gain confidence and apply skills in cooperation, communication, and problem-solving.

Trees
Grade: K – 4th
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. Students will be looking for both as they learn what trees need to grow. They’ll use their senses to explore and discover similarities and differences in the leaves, bark, branches and seeds of the trees of the Dodge woods.

Waterworks<br> Grade: 4th - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Fall or Spring

Water is the basis of all life on earth. The quality of water in ponds, lakes, and streams has an impact on our health. Students will examine samples of water from around the DNC grounds and draw conclusions about how water quality is impacted by activities in and around the property.

Weather Forecasting
Grade: 2nd - Adult
Length: 1.25 hours
Season/Month: Spring and Fall

You don’t need Doppler radar or other high tech equipment to predict the weather. The observation of cloud types, air pressure, and wind direction can all be used to formulate a weather forecast. Students will learn the basics of weather as they collect information they’ll need to predict the weather.

Wild Edible Plants
Grade: 3rd - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Spring and Summer

Looking for a natural snack? This class provides students with the opportunity to identify, gather, prepare, and eat a few of the edible native wild plants found in the area. Students learn how to identify and prepare plants in a safe, palatable manner. Think deep-fried dandelion on a stick.

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Wilderness Skills
Grade: 3rd - Adult
Length: 2 hours
Season/Month: Year Round

What does it take to survive in the wild? This class gives students insights into how the environment has an impact on humans in a survival situation. Students will be introduced to and practice the skills of fire building and survival shelter construction. Do you have what it takes to build a survival shelter and a one-match fire? We’ll see.

Winter Adaptations
Grade: K - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Winter

Hike the wintry landscape to observe the strategies used by plants and animals for coping with the cold, snow, ice, wind, and drought. When conditions permit, students of all ages will be able to try out kicksleds; students 3rd Grade and older may be able to snowshoe.

Winter Ecology
Grade: 4th - Adult
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Winter

Explore winter with hands-on discovery of the elements that affect the plants and animals coping with the conditions created by cold temperatures, snow, and ice. Investigate these unique features of winter by drilling into ice to find out what is happening below the surface of the pond. Make predictions and collect data to learn more about the properties of ice and snow.

Winter Water Walk
Grade: 1st – 3rd
Length: 1.5 hours
Season/Month: Winter

In winter, water can be found in nature as a solid, liquid, or a gas. Students will examine snow and ice crystals under a microscope, measure snow and ice conditions, and make and test predictions as they explore water in winter.