Education Programs and Resources

Our educational programs and resources are offered to the public and school-aged audiences for pre-K through adult. Thousands of learners from the area visit our site each year to participate in educational programs that are experiential and aligned with Ohio’s Learning Standards.

Educational opportunities for the public are published in the Nature Center’s newsletter. Educational programs for pre-K through high school classes are provided on-site by Nature Center staff and trained volunteers. A series of lesson plans are available for homeschool and virtual learners to explore the outdoors at home or at a park or natural area of their choice. A variety of Nature Center factsheets, species lists, and reports are also available for download to enhance on-site and off-site learning.

Explore the tabs below to learn more about the educational opportunities available at the Nature Center.

A Great Place for Students to Discover and Explore the Natural World

School-aged programs are developed at your request to provide exciting outdoor environmental education experiences for students of all ages (preschool and grades K-12) to supplement classroom learning.

Outdoor environmental lessons at the Nature Center provide opportunities for students to observe, interact with, and learn about the natural world through meaningful hands-on activities.

By participating in these programs, students have a chance to:

Study living things in their natural environment
Use/develop scientific inquiry skills
Become familiar with and sensitive to the natural world
Develop a contextual framework for understanding diversity and interdependence of living systems

School-aged programs are free-of-charge and scheduled based on the availability of the Nature Center’s staff and trained volunteers. Most programs are delivered in the form of a guided exploration of the trails. Our student to guide ratio is 12:1, and we can accommodate groups of up to 60 students on a given day. Read our Field Trip Handbook for more details.

Online Lessons to Encourage Outdoor Investigations at Home

The content and activities of our online lessons can be utilized nearly anywhere in the outdoors. Some of the Nature Center’s most popular school-aged outdoor education programs have been transformed into downloadable resources for teachers and students. Our staff have pulled together content to give learners some foundational knowledge followed by engaging outdoor activities that encourage exploration and observation of the natural world. Once the activities are complete, there is an opportunity for reflection and a quick quiz to reinforce the learner’s new knowledge.

At-home lessons are developed to align with Ohio’s Learning Standards. Grade-level learning standards are listed in each lesson’s resources section. All lessons have been developed with an emphasis on northeast Ohio’s plants, animals, and habitats, with special emphasis with those that reside at the Nature Center. Please feel free to send us topic suggestions additional lesson plans, and we will see what we can do!