Educational Programs & Field Trips

Farm Tour

One of our most popular programs!  This hands-on program introduces students to the farm animals through petting, feeding, and brushing different barnyard friends. Through the program, we talk about the reason for farm animals, and how they’re cared for at Westmoor Park.

Soil Dissection

Students will “dissect” soil to find out what it is made out of. They will learn about decomposition and composting, and how soil is a vital part of every ecosystem – especially gardens and farms!

Plant a Row garden

Be a part of something bigger, and spend time learning how to grow vegetables, fruit, and flowers in our Plant a Row for the Hungry Garden.  All produce is donated to local senior centers and community kitchens. Students will have a chance to plant, weed, or harvest, all while learning about the process of gardening, and why it is an important step towards food security for our community.

Lifecycles

Eggs to Chickens, caterpillars to butterflies: this activity explores the way different organisms go through lifecycle changes. Students will spend time in the barnyard, field, and pond in a hands-on exploration of animal metamorphosis and lifecycles.

Nature Hike

Explore the trails through the field and forest, looking for signs of wildlife.

Field Netting

In our tall-grass meadow – students have a chance to use nets to search for insect life. We will also discuss insect adaptation, and compare the tall-grass habitat to that under a bug-board.

Nature’s Wall

Through an interactive activity, students will learn how all life at and around Westmoor is connected, and how it is dependent on abiotic factors (soil, sunlight, water, air). 

Seed Dispersal Hike

We will take a walk around the Park, finding different kinds of seeds. Students will learn how seeds travel, and why. We will also discuss habitat factors in seed dispersal, and how plants adapt to their environment just like animals do.

Color Hike (Fall only)

Fall is a time for color! Students will go on a hike specifically searching for items to add to a Rainbow Scavenger Hunt. This activity is geared towards pre-K.

Web of Life

Students will play an interactive game where they become a part of an ecosystem, and explore connections between all plant and animal life. They will learn how important every piece of the “web” is for the survival of all organisms.

What’s in a Bag

Through hands-on inquiry, students will explore animal adaptations. They will learn how to interpret clues left in the skeleton of an animal to discover how that animal was adapted to feed, where it may have lived, and what it’s role was in the ecosystem.

Animal Adaptations

Meet some of our animal friends, while discussing how mammals, birds, and reptiles each adapt to their unique environments.  We will also discuss adaptations for hunting prey and evading predators, and how we can guess an animal role in the food chain by examining their physical features.

Field to Forest Succession

With hand-on scientific measurements and observations, students will compare three habitats- a tallgrass field, a thicket, and an established forest. In doing so, they will learn how a field transitions into a forest over time, and how biotic and abiotic features change through this transition.

Symbiosis

With drama and interactive play, students will explore different forms of symbiosis, and learn how organisms interact with other species. This activity is geared towards upper elementary.

Habitat Fragmentation

Play a game learning about how habitats can be fragmented, and how that affects the survival of animals who depend on that habitat.  Students will learn, in a very active way, how size and distance of habitat fragments can affect emigration and species survival, as well as how geographic isolation can lead to speciation over time.

Pond Dipping

Students will explore the pond ecosystem and look for the tiny critters that live at the bottom of the pond.  Be prepared to get muddy!  We will discuss adaptations and metamorphosis as we search for benthic life.

Stream Table

Explore stream dynamics with our large stream table, big enough to accommodate a class of 20!  Learn how landforms change over time as moving water erodes and deposits sediment. 

Vernal Pool

What is a Vernal Pool and why is there one at Westmoor Park?  These are a few of the questions students will answer in this hands-on, experiment-based activity. They will explore the geography of the Vernal Pool, compare soil cores, look for signs of biotic features, and develop their own theories as to why Vernal Pools are an important feature in the Westmoor ecosystem.

Watershed

Discover what a Watershed is, and how pollution travels through watersheds. Students will interact in an inquiry-based and hands-on exploration of a landscape, including various forms of pollution and water sources. They will examine how water moves through the landscape, and make predictions as to the spread of pollution. Students will also search for solutions within the watershed, and experiment with several options to stop pollution from reaching the end of the water system.

Pond Deposition (Spicebush)

Through a puzzle-based activity, students will learn about weathering and erosion in a pond, and how flow energy affects sediment deposition. They will explore pond life, and learn about the interactions between abiotic and biotic features in a pond environment.

Stream Meandering (Spicebush)

Students will play a game highlighting how energy of moving water shapes a stream or river, then explore the stream at Spicebush, looking for signs of weathering and erosion, as a response to moving water.

Eskar Exploration

Hike along an ancient glacier-formed Eskar, before exploring the layers via a dug-out pit.  Students will find rocks of different kinds, and form theories as to their origins and transport to that location. Learn about how glaciers formed Connecticut landscapes, and what we can discovery today hidden in the layers of rock and soil.

Water Cycle

Students will become “molecules” in an interactive water cycle activity. They will move through the water cycle, gathering data and creating physical “graphs” of their journey.

Rock Cycle

Through an interactive game, students will take a journey through the rock cycle. They will explore the different stages of rock formation, and collect data along the way to chart their path.

Vernal Pool

What is a Vernal Pool and why is there one at Westmoor Park?  These are a few of the questions students will answer in this hands-on, experiment-based activity. They will explore the geography of the Vernal Pool, compare soil cores, look for signs of biotic features, and develop their own theories as to why Vernal Pools are an important feature in the Westmoor ecosystem.

Pond Deposition (Spicebush)

Through a puzzle-based activity, students will learn about weathering and erosion in a pond, and how flow energy affects sediment deposition. They will explore pond life, and learn about the interactions between abiotic and biotic features in a pond environment.

Stream Meandering (Spicebush)

Students will play a game highlighting how energy of moving water shapes a stream or river, then explore the stream at Spicebush, looking for signs of weathering and erosion, as a response to moving water.

Signs of Erosion hike (Spicebush)

At Spicebush Swamp – students will go on a guided nature hike through the trails.  They will look for signs of erosion and weathering along the way, as well as looking for signs of animal and plant life.