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.

Recycling ABCs
Make recycling fun! Let our guru teach your students how and why they should recycle through interactive games and activities.

Nature On The Go Classroom Program
45 minute to 1 hour program
Winter

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. Classroom programs include seed dissection, while on-site field trip participants help plant native seeds.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center & Nature On The Go Classroom Program
1 hour 30 minute program
Spring

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

Timber Trails Park
1 hour 30 minute program
Spring

Other Egg Layers
Birds aren’t the only animals that lay eggs! Visit with our resident egg layers and learn about their adaptations and habitats. Short hike in natural area as weather permits.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center
1 hour program
Spring and Fall

Explore the Forest
Discover the many facets of the forest – soil, decomposers, animals and trees while discussing the interconnected web of life.

Delnor Woods Park
1 1/2 hour program
Fall or Summer

The Better to Hear You With (Sound & Hearing)
Explore what sound is and the different adaptations animals have for hearing and communication!

Nature on the Go Classroom Program
1 hour program
Fall or Spring

Plant to Pollinators
Plants and pollinators depend on each other for survival. Visit the spring wildflowers at Hickory Knolls to learn about the parts of the flower, how pollination occur and seeds are dispersed as we explore the life cycles of plants and insects.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center
1 1/2 hour program
Spring

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

Otter Creek Bend Wetland Park
2 hour 30 minute program
Fall

Forest Ecology
Discover the many facets of the forest – soil, decomposers, animals and trees while discussing the interconnected web of life.

Delnor Woods Park
2 hour program
Fall

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 Discovery Center
2 ½ hour program
Spring

Rockin’ Race
Like contestants on “The Amazing Race,” students will complete a series of challenges as they seek to become masters of Earth Science. Plate tectonics, rock cycles and glaciers, oh my! Simple tasks, questions, and activities await your students on this fun and interactive field trip.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center
3 hour program
Fall or Spring

Amazing Race – Survival
What does it take to survive in the woods? This programs tasks students to work together to learn how to pitch a tent, build a fire and search for food as they make their way thru the woods using clues and map skills.

Hickory Knolls Discovery Center
3 hour program
Fall, Spring or Summer

Habitat Investigation
Explore woodlands, wetlands and prairies. Identify plants, take soil samples and run tests to understand the biotic and abiotic components of our natural areas.

Hickory Knolls On-Site Program
3 hour program (minimum)
Fall or Spring

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