School Field Trips

Hickory Knolls offers a variety of field trip and classroom programs for our littlest naturalists. These classes vary seasonally and are a great opportunity to introduce your kiddos to animals, plants and ecosystems!

For a program at Hickory Knolls…

For more details, contact Emily Shanahan at 630-513-4393 or eshanahan@stcparks.org

Fees
$50 for up to 15 children
$5 for each additional child

For a preschool program at your facility…

Check out our “Outreach Programs” page here or contact Emily Shanahan at 630-513-4393 or eshanahan@stcparks.org

Fees
$50 for up to 15 children
$3 for each additional child

For Preschool at Hickory Knolls…

Explore the natural world around you and spark your curiosity in a unique structured environment.

Preschool provides an understanding and caring environment to help your child grow and develop relationships with other children and adults. Teachers assist in nurturing your child’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development through developmentally-appropriate and educational group activities and imaginative, free play. Preschoolers will venture outdoors, weather permitting.

For more details, click here or contact Kara Guizzetti, Early Childhood, Preschool & Day Camp Supervisor, at kguizzetti@stcparks.org or 630-513-4326.

Home Sweet Home
Plants and animals survive in a specific habitat because it meets their needs. Native plants and animals use the non-living and living parts of their habitat to survive. Students will participate in hands-on activities to discover how native animals come to call Illinois their home.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center and Natural Areas
1 hour 30 minute program
$6 Res/$8 Non-Resident

Next Generation Science Standard: K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.

Bug Biographies
Insects are fascinating and found everywhere! Search for a variety of these critters while uncovering unique characteristics. Students will explore the woods and fields on a quest for bugs!

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center and Natural Areas
1 hour 30 minute program
$6 Res/$8 Non-Resident

Next Generation Science Standard: 1-LS3-1. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

Seeds and Cycles
Discover different plants while learning about their habitats in this interactive program. Explore plant parts, what plants need to grow, how flowers are pollinated, and how seeds are dispersed.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center and Natural Areas
2-hour program
$7 Res/$9 Non-Resident

Next Generation Science Standard: 2-LS2-2. Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

Animal Adaptations-Bird Beaks
Bird beaks provide clues for what a bird can and cannot eat. Students will learn about a variety of native birds and participate in an activity that challenges them to decide what each species can successfully eat in order to survive.

Hickory Knolls Discover Center and Natural Areas
2-hour program
$7 Res/$9 Non-Resident

Next Generation Science Standard: 3-LS4-2. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

Fossils to Fuels
Illinois has changed over time. The focus of this program is to explore the Earth processes as they shape the land, form rocks, create fossils and fossil fuels. Topics include plate tectonics, waves, rock cycle, patterns in rocks, fossils, weathering and topographic maps.

Hickory Knolls Discover Center and Natural Areas
2-hour program
$7 Res/$9 Non-Resident

Next Generation Science Standard: 4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

Energy in Ecosystems
Explore the water at Ferson Creek Park. Look for macroinvertebrates and learn about energy transfer and the vital role of plants and animals to the health of these communities.

Ferson Creek Park
2-2.5 hour program
$7 Res/$9 Non-Resident

Next Generation Science Standard: 5-PS3-1. Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.

Don’t see a program you like or one that fits your needs? We can modify current programs or create a new one to meet your specific classroom needs.

Care Takers of the Earth—Recycling

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Introduction to why and how to recycle. Includes interactive identification of recyclable, compostable and trash material.

Care Takers of Earth and Animals- Other Egg Layers

• Video: Other Egg Layers – click here
  • Description: Birds aren’t the only animals that lay eggs. Meet some Hickory Knolls animals that also lay eggs and their unique characteristics.
• Virtual Program: Introduction to animals that do and don’t lay eggs. Meet live animals who also lay eggs and learn about their unique characteristics. Naturalists will answer student questions regarding our egg laying animals.

Habitats

• Video: Mystery in the Woods – click here
  • Description: Animals use and change their environments to meet their needs for food and shelter. Learn about an animal found in the woods and how it uses the trees to survive.
• Virtual Program:
  • Description: Introduction to how animals use and change their environments to meet their needs for food, water and shelter. Meet an animal (live or specimen) to learn how it uses its environment. Weather permitting, may be in natural area
    

Animal Adaptations

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Animals have many adaptations, or features, that make them suited to their environment. Meet an animal (or specimen) and see its adaptations while interacting with the naturalist.

Plant Adaptations

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Flowers, seeds, roots and leaves – plants have unique adaptations to help them maintain and absorb water or attract pollinators. Investigate with our naturalist some plants and their features.
    

Butterfly Experience and Pollination

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Introduction to butterflies, other pollinators/insects we find in our natural areas. Define their role and how plants depend on animals for survival.

The Changing Earth-Erosion

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Define erosion and weathering with activity. Show and discuss the effects of erosion, its cause and how to prevent or slow the process. Weather permitting, be in natural area.
    

Life and Survival in Ecosystems

• Video: Beauty and the Bees – click here
  • Description: There is a special connection between bees and some spring wildflowers. Learn how they are dependent on one another, as well as, the cycle of the forest and its inhabitants.
• Virtual Program
  • Description: Fossils provide evidence of what once lived here in Illinois, but why are they gone? Explore 450 million year old fossils and the changes that have occurred in our natural areas.

Flight

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Introduction to the four forces of flight. Interactive activities to help students understand the concepts and applications to birds and planes.
    

Ecology and Environmental Impact

• Virtual Program
  • Description: From how rocks and fossils are formed, to the movement of continents, learn how Illinois has changed and the natural resources it has produced. Introduction to fossil fuels, their impact and alternate sources of energy round out the program.
    

Infection Detection

• Virtual Program
  • Description: Define the five modes of disease transmission with emphasis on vectors. Review different vector borne diseases, including transmission and prevention.

Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem

• Virtual Program
  • Explore a wetland ecosystem to understand how energy and matter is transferred through this complex system of plants and animals