Classroom Programs (Kindergarten - 8th grade)
Polk County Conservation is putting more emphasis on getting students outdoors.
Field trips will now take priority over classroom programs. September, October,
April and May will be considered field trip months. If you schedule a classroom
program during one of those months we may call to reschedule in order to make room
for a field trip so we encourage you to schedule classroom programs during the
winter months. Naturalists can visit your students two times each school
year free of charge. Any additional programs will be $1 per student with a $25 minimum.
To schedule a program, contact Patrice Petersen-Keys at (515) 323-5300 or
patrice.petersen-keys@polkcountyiowa.gov
- Amazing Reptiles (K-8) (45 minutes) - Discuss the fears and myths about these scaly critters people love to hate. Find out how reptiles smell, see, and move. (A live animal will be used if available.)
- Amphibians R Us (K-3) (30 minutes) - Find out about these smooth, wet animals that seem to magically transform from egg to adult. (A live animal will be used if available.)
- Animal Classification (2-6) (45 minutes) - Discover what makes each group of vertebrates (animals with backbones) so special. Students will learn the characteristics of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
- Animals of Iowa (K-8) (30-45 minutes) - What kind of animals live in Iowa? What kind of animals used to live in Iowa? Find out the answers to these and other questions.
- Birds of Iowa (K-8) (45-45 minutes) – Students will learn about some common and not so common birds in Iowa. A variety of bird mounts will be used.
- Bug Me (K-6) (30-45 minutes) - Explore the fascinating world of insects and their bizarre ways of life. (A live animal will be used if available.) Students can go on an insect a safari in their school yard with nets provided, this program will be 45 minutes)
- Cosmic Connections (2-8) (60 minutes) - Students will learn the planets in our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy by becoming a planet or star.
- Eggciting Facts (K-2) (30 minutes) - Discover the wide variety of animals that develop from eggs.
- Endangered Species (3-8) (45 minutes) - Identify the factors that cause animals to become an endangered species. (A live animal will be used if available.)
- Environmental Heritage (5-8) (45 minutes) - Visit with a pioneer woman as she relays the changes in the Iowa landscape and how these changes have affected wildlife. She will also explain what life was like on the prairie.
- For the Birds (K-6) (45 minutes) – Identify common winter birds and make a pine cone birdfeeder. Educators will need to provide the following materials:
- Piece of yarn or string 12-18" long - per student
- One pinecone - per student
- One craft stick - per student
- Small plastic bag - per student
- One jar of peanut butter per class
- 10-12 paper plates
- Newspaper to cover the desks
- Small bag of bird seed per class
- Going Batty (3-8) (45 minutes) - Discuss the fears and myths surrounding bats. Students will learn about echolocation by participating in an activity. Taxidermy bat mounts will be used.
- Have to Have a Habitat (K-8) (30-45 minutes) - Let's talk about habitats! Students will learn where animals live and why they live there.
- Landforms of Iowa (4-8) (45 minutes) - Iowa is not the boring flat state as many think it is. Find out about the different features of Iowa's landscape and how they were formed.
- Mammal Mania (K-8) (30-45 minutes) - Learn about mammals of Iowa's past and present using real animal pelts.
- Monarch Tagging (K-8) (45 minutes) – Tag a monarch butterfly (if available) and learn about its life history and migration habits.
- Native American Culture (4-8) (30 minutes) - This talk covers four early Indian groups that lived in Iowa before settlement. A number of artifacts are shown during the program. Contact Park Ranger, Dick Shepard at (515) 266-1563 to schedule this program.
- Owls (3-8) (45 minutes) - View several taxidermy mounts and discuss how different adaptations of owls enable them to be good predators. (A live animal will be used if available)
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Contact Mary Gillaspey with Metro Waste Authority at 515-323-6505
- Rock Me (2-5) (45 minutes) - Discover how rocks can be exciting. Students will learn how rocks are formed in hands-on activities.
- Spiders (K-3) (30 minutes) - Discuss different types of spiders such as web weavers and hunters. Students will learn how spiders hunt and catch their food. (A live animal will be used if available.)
- Teeth, Claws, and Camouflage (3-8) (45 minutes) - Discover the ingenious ways animals have adapted to survive on land and in water.
- To be a Seed (K-3) (30 minutes) - Experience the awakening of life as students pretend to be a seed. The parts of the seed and different dispersal methods will be discussed.
- Tracks (K-8) (45 minutes) - Become an “animal detective” and learn how to identify common Iowa mammal tracks. Animal furs will be also be used.
- Trees are Terrific (3-8) - Describe the parts of a tree by acting out and building a human tree.
- Water Cycle - Contact Gail Peckumn with Des Moines Water Works at 515-283-8753
- Winter Survival (K-3) (30 minutes) – Using puppets, students learn how various animals prepare for winter.