Turtle Point Environmental Science Center Curriculum

All classes include a tour of the building, gardens, boardwalk, butterfly house and a close encounter of the animal kind.

Pre-K Animal Tales & Scavenger Hunt Who’s hiding at Turtle Point? Students will listen to fun animal stories before exploring Turtle Point and meeting the animals.

K-2 nd Grade Feelin’ Crabby Students will compare and contrast several species of crabs. Instruction will focus on claws and their uses, exoskeletons, and shells. An art activity includes creating a hermit crab and selecting the perfect shell for its home.

Kindergarten Hug A Bug What do creepy crawlies and flitting fliers have in common? Students will identify body parts of insects and arachnids and will take home an art project that reinforces the concept of metamorphosis.

Common Critters The basic characteristics of each animal group found at Turtle Point will be discussed. Students will understand the basic needs of these animals and how to group them based on body characteristics.

1 st Grade Making Tracks WINTER ONLY Come join us on a discovery of who creeps around Turtle Point. Students will get to know some of the animals that share their backyard by investigating animal tracks and making plaster tracks. Loafing in Logville Students will do a field study of animal habitats. Classifying, graphing, and data collection are involved. Know Bones About It Get up close and personal with your skeleton! This class includes discussion of form and function of the human skeleton as well as an art project that reinforces the names and positions of bones in the human body.

2 nd Grade What’s on the menu? What would you feed a grasshopper? Or how about an owl? Join us for an investigation in food chains that includes a take-home project and other activities. Scales and Tails Students will learn about animal adaptations while studying fish. Your students will get to show their creativity by designing their own fish. Water You Doing? Join us for a journey through the water cycle. Students will become a droplet of water and will discover many paths that water can take on the journey. 3 rd Grade Chatty Chirpers Have you ever tried to eat with a beak? Discover the unique abilities of a bird’s beak while learning the basics of bird anatomy. This class involves fun activities including bird watching, eating like a bird, and bird identification. From Plow to Chow Come garden with us and find out how food gets to your plate. Students will learn about seed germination, gardening and other agricultural basics. This class includes a fun project that students will take home. Fur that Flys Learn to love bats, a common but misunderstood animal of Alabama. This class includes an art project and a game that will help students understand how bats use their senses on a daily basis.

3 rd & 4 th grades: Beach Bash Students will distinguish between different kinds of sand using grain size, color and particle mixture. Students will have to group themselves with like sands to form a ‘beach’. The groups will then be challenged to find the actual beach that their sand came from on a map by using latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.

4 th Grade To the Moon and Back! Come join us for an astronomical adventure!! The lesson includes fun activities and a study of the moon. Hooray for Herps Join us for a herp adventure! Students will compare and contrast reptiles and amphibians while discussing the concepts of metamorphosis, endothermic, and ectothermic. Students will take home a project relating to reptiles of this region. Our Natural Natives Discover historical uses of our natural resources while exploring the conservation practices of Native Americans.

5 th Grade and Up Get Your Bearings Hunt for clues, answers and treasures using a handheld GPS unit. Students will also learn to use a compass and map. Team Building Class limited to 25 participants. Challenge your students to a day of activities designed to build leadership and cooperation skills. This class is also great for staff development. Fierce, Feathered Flyers Birds of prey have amazing skills and senses. Take a journey through the night and learn about the biology of raptors through the dissection of owl pellets.

The Great Clean Up Teams of students will be given the challenge of completing a hazardous waste clean-up on the beach. Teams must devise a plan that stays within budget and uses available tools and resources. The waste must be disposes of properly with as little environmental impact as possible.