All of our school programs are aligned to Michigan GLCEs and NGSS and are tailored for the age of your students. For more information on which standards are addressed in our programs, contact our Program Manager at programs@mynaturecenter.org.
| PreK/K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th-8th | ||
| Animal Encounter | X | X | X | X | X | X | Specialty Program |
| Apple Butter Tour | X | X | X | X | X | X | Specialty Program; limited dates available |
| Aquatic Adventures | X | X | X | ||||
| Avian Adaptations | X | X | X | Eligible for Rose Zack Youth Birders Scholarship | |||
| Birds in My Backyard | X | X | X | X | X | X | Eligible for Rose Zack Youth Birders Scholarship |
| Creepy Crawly | X | X | X | X | |||
| Decomposer Discovery | X | X | X | X | |||
| Ecosystem Investigations | X | X | X | ||||
| Forestry Fundamentals | X | X | |||||
| Home Sweet Home | X | X | X | ||||
| Magnificent Mammals | X | X | X | X | |||
| Maple Syrup Tour | X | X | X | X | X | X | Specialty Program; limited dates available |
| Precious Plants | X | X | X | X | |||
| Sensory Safari | X | X | X |
Animal Encounters
Meet Fenner’s animal ambassadors in this program featuring a live animal component with a selection of our reptiles and amphibians.
Apple Butter Tours
Step back in time and help us make old fashioned apple butter! Learn about the anatomy of fruits and plant life cycles while planting a seed in our historic apple orchard. Investigate the physical changes that occur to our apples as we turn them into mouth-watering apple butter!
Aquatic Adventures
Examine the wonders of life in the water! This program will allow students to gain valuable insight into the underwater world, through hands-on discovery and up-close investigation of the organisms that live in lakes, ponds, and rivers.
Avian Adaptations
Investigate the form and function of the parts of a bird to understand how they live. We will compare Michigan’s birds big and small and test our hypotheses about avian adaptations. This field trip will focus on structure and function, traits, using models, and constructing explanations.
Birds in My Backyard
Get to know the birds living in your backyard. We will observe and identify the birds that inhabit local ponds, fields, and forests and explore how they meet their needs. This field trip will focus on interdependent relationships, ecosystems, and observation skills.
Creepy Crawly
Come along as we investigate all things creepy and crawly! From slithering snakes to interesting insects, this program will have you following slime trails to some of Fenner’s creepy and cool creatures.
Decomposer Discovery
Without these important organisms, our planet would be piled high with waste. Students get up close and personal with the decomposers living in Fenner’s forests, and learn more about their important role in our environment.
Ecosystem Investigations
Get your hands dirty and dive in to discover how the living and nonliving components of our environment work together to form ecosystems. Students will draw their own conclusions about how different ecosystems are similar and different through the use of hands-on investigations.
Forestry Fundamentals
Pines, oaks, maples, and more adorn this interactive forestry program. Students will examine the importance of trees through scientific inquiry and question a tree’s true worth.
Home Sweet Home
Explore how an animal’s habitat provides all of the resources that it requires, such as food, shelter and nutrients. Search for animal homes as we investigate the variety of habitats located at Fenner.
Magnificent Mammals
Fluffy, furry, and fuzzy describes this program about our mammal friends. Join our naturalists as they venture out for a glimpse into the lives of deer, bears, and beavers!
Maple Syrup Tours
Experience Fenner’s history with guided Maple syrup making tours. Learn the anatomy of trees, why they make sap and how people use this tasty sap to make delicious maple syrup!
Precious Plants
Join our naturalist for a journey through the Nature Center as we learn why plants are so important. We’ll cover plant life cycles, parts of a plant, important native species, and more.
Sensory Safari
Discover how animals use their senses to survive in the wild as we go on an exploratory adventure using our touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight.