School Programs & Field Trips
The St. Charles Park District has partnered with Community Unit School District #303 to offer programs that correlate to specific Natural Science Units. For Nature on the Go! In Classroom Programs, click here.
The Illinois Parks & Recreation Association awarded its 2004 Conservation Program Award to the St. Charles Park District for the partnership formed with Community Unit School District #303 to offer environmental education enrichment classes/field trips to grade-school students.
Kindergarten – Recycling Program
Make recycling fun! Have our “Trash Lady” come to your classroom to talk about recycling. During this interactive program your students will practice recycling and get experience recognizing what can and cannot be recycled.
Length of program: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Location: Classroom
Offered: Winter (Feb-Mar), morning or afternoon
Fee: $2/student
Kindergarten – Farm Yard Friends
What do farmers do all year long? What animals live on the farm? Come to Primrose Farm and meet some of our animals – a real sensory experience!
Length of program: 1 hour
Location: Primrose Farm
Offered: Spring (Mar-May), morning or afternoon
Fee: $2/student
First Grade – Seeds and Cycles
Flowers, flowers everywhere! First graders come out to learn about the parts of the flower, what plants need to grow, how flowers are pollinated and how seeds are dispersed. Everyone helps out by planting native plant seeds!
Length of program: 1 ½ hours
Location: Hickory Knolls Natural Area
Offered: Spring (Early May) up to 2 classes, morning or afternoon
Fee: $3/student R*, $4.50/student NR*
First Grade – Nature on the Go - Seeds to Plants
This program is a new series to bring nature indoors. Offering classroom activities for those schools that are not able to take field trips or lack the time for a half or full day out of the classroom. Patterned off of the "Seeds and Cycles" field trip, this interactive classroom program helps children to learn about the parts and life cycle of seeds, flowers, plants. Children play games and dissect seeds and flowers as they apply their knowledge.
Length of program: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Location: Classroom
Offered: Spring
Fee: $1/child (Max 30 students)
Second Grade – Bug Biographies
What is an insect and where does it live? Students explore in woods, water and fields to see if they can find a variety of insects, learn about their lifecycles and how we benefit from the animals we call bugs.
Length of Program: 1 ½ hours
Location: Timber Trails Park
Offered: Spring (Late May) up to 2 classes, morning or afternoon
Fee: $3/student R*, $4.50/student NR*
Third Grade – Native Illinois
An ancient inland sea, glaciers, and many other forces have combined to create the Illinois we know today. Rich in natural resources, our area is a great place to live. This program looks at our area’s history from both a geological and cultural perspective. Students learn about Native Americans by visiting a wigwam and learning skills like corn grinding. Students also walk a geological timeline to a dig site, where they can unearth artifacts from various geologic eras.
Length of Program: 2 ½ hours
Location: Hickory Knolls Natural Area (archery entrance)
Offered: Fall (Last week of October – November), up to 2 classes, morning or afternoon
Fee: $5/student R*, $6/student NR*
Fourth Grade – Forest Ecology
To understand forest ecology, students must look at the different pieces that make up a forest. Students look at the five layers of the forest, learn about the food web and how animals survive there. They also investigate the soil and logs as they discover how everything is related and recycled. Finally, they learn to identify different trees and their parts.
Length of Program: 2 hours
Location: Delnor Woods Park
Offered: Fall (Last week of September - mid October), up to 2 classes, morning or afternoon
Fee: $4/student R*, $5/student NR*
Fourth Grade – Down on the Farm
It’s the middle of the Great Depression, 1933, and the whole country is suffering. What was it really like on a farm in Illinois back then? Visit Primrose Farm and discover what daily life was like! Take part in some farm chores, meet the animals and implements that make the farm work, and learn about simple machines along the way.
Length of Program: 2 ½ hours
Location: Primrose Farm
Offered: Fall and Spring, up to 2 classes, morning and afternoon
Fee: $5/student R*, $6/student NR*
Fifth Grade Program – Wetland Study
Jump in, the water’s fine! Students will learn what makes a wetland a wetland and how it differs from a creek habitat. They will look at food webs, wetland creatures and feel the muck between their toes! And of course, they will get wet as they get in the creek to catch critters and determine water quality.
Length of Program: 2 ½ hours
Location: Otter Creek Bend Wetland Park
Offered: Fall (September), up to 2 classes, morning or afternoon
Fee: $5/student R*, $6/student NR*
Sixth Grade Program – Lay of the Land – Illinois Geologic History
Rocks and hills tell the story of Illinois’ past. Students begin to appreciate the dirt under their feet as they learn about the rock cycle and plate tectonics. They also will learn how to read a topographic map and use a compass as they ‘orient’ themselves to the rock pile to look for fossils in Illinois limestone, donated by Vulcan Quarry in Sycamore.
Length of Program: 2 ½ hours
Location: Hickory Knolls Natural Area
Offered:Spring (Late April), morning or afternoon
Fee: $5/student R*, $6/student NR* (Max 70 students)
Seventh Grade Program - Race for Survival
Patterned off the “Amazing Race”, students perform tasks, take detours, go through roadblocks and solve clues about ecological concepts as they ‘race’ around CHP. Students are challenged to apply what they have learned in the classroom and see in the field to successfully complete the course!
Length of Program: 2½ hours
Location: Hickory Knolls Natural Area
Offered: Spring (May)
Fee: $5/student R*, $6/student NR* (Max 150 students)
Seventh Grade Program - Fragile Fragments
As municipalities grow our open space and natural areas decrease and get divided into smaller and smaller chunks. ‘Fragile Fragments’ was developed to help students understand how these pieces of green space impact the quality of an area as well as the things that live there. Students investigate and compare woodland and wetland habitats as they apply ecological concepts they learn in the classroom.
Length of Program: 2½ hours
Location: Hickory Knolls Natural Area
Offered: Spring (May)
Fee: $5/student R*, $6/student NR* (Max 150 students)
All programs are written in conjunction with District 303 curriculum standards, topics and teacher recommendations.
*Resident (R) rates apply to schools located within the St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 boundaries. All other schools are considered Non-Resident (NR).
Contact information:
To schedule a field trip, contact:
Lisa O’Brien
Nature Programs Coordinator
St. Charles Park District
Hickory Knolls Discovery Center
3795 Campton Hills Road
St. Charles, IL 60175
Email: lobrien@stcparks.org
Phone: 630-513-4347
With the assistance of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois State Museum, the Park District's Naturalist Office has enhanced and developed natural science programs that correlate with the St. Charles School District's curriculum.
