Outreach Programs

We all belong to a family. So do snakes, frogs, foxes, robins, and roses. Let us show you how those families are similar and how they differ.

How do plants and animals deal with the changing weather and climate?

Sign up for individual programs or all three:

• What’s Up With Fall? – How do plants and animals prepare for Connecticut’s harshest season?
• Frozen World– Who braves Connecticut’s winters? Learn to read the clues left by our winter residents and see how animals and plants survive the long winter season.
• Spring Fling! – Nature makes gradual but continuous changes from spring buds to ladybugs. Hands-on exploration brings these changes alive.

Examine differences between living things and non-living things through hands-on discovery and observation of live plants and animals.

What is a stem, branch, or root? What is a seed and what goes on inside it?

What is soil and why is it so important to our survival?

Water is amazing! Learn about water in all its fascinating forms.

Living things move in many different ways. Find out about fins, wings, and animal movements!

Explore the basic concepts of food chains and webs. Learn how energy cycles through Connecticut’s ecosystems.

Key concepts: Food webs and chains, energy flow in ecosystems, recycling, decomposers, herbivores, carnivores, producers, consumers, photosynthesis, stability of system  PS2.C; PS3.D; LS1.C; LS2.A; LS2.B

Grades K – 8

ESS2.E; LS2.A

What is an engineer? Meet animal engineers and see how the structures they build are designed to help them raise their young, survive the winter, store food, or escape predators. Learn how some of these animals change their environment and what we can learn from them.

Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles.

Choose our general life cycle program or a topic from the list below:

• Insects and Their Relatives – May to October only –  Explore different insect habitats and see what special adaptations insects have developed to help them survive. Observe insects close up in their environments.
• Birds and Butterflies – Learn how the life cycles of songbirds and butterflies are linked.
• Reptiles & Amphibians – In spite of some similarities, they can be distinguished by their physical appearance and different stages of life.
• Marvelous Mammals – Some mammals need decades to reach maturity, others years, and some only weeks.

Key concepts: structural body parts, metamorphosis, adaptations, habitats, ecosystems, sorting and classification of characteristics, inheritance, and variation of traits, interactions with the environment, diversity of life cycles  LS1.B; LS3.A; LS3.B

Choose our general Adaptations program or a topic from the list below:

• Survival: Plants & Animals – How do plants and animals survive in various habitats? Key concepts: Behavioral and structural adaptations, advantage, survival, camouflage, energy transfer LS4.B; LS4.C
• Predator and Prey – Learn how animals big and small find food and avoid being eaten.
• Claws, Paws & Jaws – Animals have many interesting structural adaptations to help them survive.
• Going, Going, Gone (animal survivals and extinctions) – Some kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere. Why did some animals survive while others disappeared?
• Leader of the Pack – Learn why some animals find it works better to work as a team.
• Alien Invaders! – Find out how Invasive plants and animals are changing local habitats and food chains.

Ask about species-specific programs tailored to your student’s interests (ie. Reptiles, Birds)

Key concepts: Ecosystems, adaptations, life cycle, structures of living things, extinction, animal survival, fossils, camouflage  LS1. A; LS4.B; LS4.C

Grades K – 8

LS1.A; LS1.D

Animals have body parts that capture and convey information needed for their growth and survival. How do animals perceive the world? Discover animals’ super senses and their odd ones, too!

Grades 2 – 8

ESS1.C; ESS2.B; ESS2.C

Every rock tells a story. Some of these stories are exciting and happen very quickly while others happen over a very long period of time. Knowing about Connecticut’s rocks and their stories helps us to understand how Connecticut’s landforms came to be.

Grades 3-8

ESS2.E; ESS3.C; LS2.C; LS4.D

As Connecticut’s ecosystems have changed over time, so has the state’s wildlife. Learn how natural phenomena and human activities have impacted animal populations.

Grades 3 – 8

ESS3.C

Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on our water resources. Today, individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments. This program uses Enviroscape models to demonstrate how to prevent pollution.

Learn how to distinguish living creatures from the non-living components of their environment. What do living things need in order to survive?

Key concepts: Life cycles, reproduction, growth, energy, properties of living and non-living things, response to stimuli, growth, observing similarities and differences.  LS1.A; LS1.B; LS1.C

We all belong to a family. So do snakes, frogs, foxes, robins, and roses. Let us show you how those families are similar and how they differ.

Key concepts: life cycles, metamorphosis, body structure, describing/sorting/classifying organisms.  LS3.A; LS3.B

What is soil? What color is it? How does it sound? feel? smell? Does soil change from place to place? Why is it important to us?

Key concepts: Soil quality, food chain, ecosystems, physical properties of soil, Earth materials, soil types, textures, biodiversity, erosion. ESS2.C; ESS3.A; PS3.D

Explore the basic concepts of food chains and webs to understand how energy cycles through soils and, in turn, through other ecosystems.

Key concepts: Food webs and chains, energy flow in ecosystems, recycling, decomposers, herbivores, carnivores, producers, consumers, interdependent relationships in ecosystems  PS3.D ; LS1. C; LS2.A; LS2.B

Grades K – 2

ESS3.A; LS2.A; LS2.B

All living things, including people, need water, air, food, and a place to live. Find out how our local wildlife uses natural resources to meet their survival needs.

Explore different insect habitats and see what special adaptations insects have developed to help them survive. Observe insects close up in their environments.

Key concepts: insect body parts, metamorphosis, adaptations, habitats, ecosystems, sorting and classification of characteristics  LS1.B; LS3.A; LS3.B

How do plants and animals deal with the changing weather and climate?

• What’s Up With Fall? – How do plants and animals prepare for Connecticut’s harshest season?
• Frozen – Who braves Connecticut’s winters? Learn to read the clues left by our winter residents and see how animals and plants survive the long winter season.
• Spring Fling – Nature makes gradual but continuous changes from spring buds to ladybugs. Hands-on exploration brings these changes alive.

Key concepts: making observations, weather, seasons, animal and plant observations.  ESS2.D; PS3.B

Grades K – 8

LS4.D

Discover how Native Americans relied on their natural environment for all their survival needs including shelter, clothing, and food.

Grades K – 8

LS1.B; LS3.A; LS3.B

Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles. Choose our general life cycle program or a more specific topic from the list below:

• Birds and Butterflies
• Reptiles & Amphibians
• From Seed to Seed

Grades K – 8

LS1. A; LS4.B; LS4.C

Choose our general Adaptations program or a more specific topic from the list below:

• Flowers, Poisons, and Thorns
• Predator and Prey
• Claws, Paws & Jaws
• Going, Going, Gone
• Leader of the Pack
• Alien Invaders!
• Species-specific programs tailored to your student’s interests (ie. Reptiles, Birds) 

Grades K – 8

LS1.B; LS1.D; LS4.A

Reptiles and amphibians have unique adaptations. Which species live in Connecticut? What environmental threats do these species face?

Grades K – 8

LS1.B; LS1.D; LS4.A

Separate fact from fiction and learn to appreciate these fascinating creatures. This presentation includes live snakes.

Grades 3 – 8

LS1.A; LS2.B; LS3.A; LS4.A; LS4.C

What is an endangered species? Do they live in Connecticut? Why are they endangered?

Grades 3 – 8

ESS2.E; ESS3.C; LS4.D

As Connecticut’s ecosystems have changed over time, so have the state’s wildlife. Learn how natural phenomena and human activities have impacted animal populations.

Grades 3 – 8

LS1.C, LS2.A; LS2.B; LS3.B; LS4.A; LS4.D

Learn about the diversity of animals in our small state and how human activity impacts that diversity.