Fourth Quarter Field Trips

Saturday, May 23: Today's Big Bone Lick Field Trip will take place as scheduled.  All participants should meet outside the Visitor's Center promptly at 11 AM.  Check your e-mail for a document you need to download for the activity.

Dear Students and Parents:

Welcome to the 2014-2015 Field Trip Program. This aspect of the biology curriculum is designed to enhance the student’s understanding of the topic through hands-on experiences. For the student, it provides the opportunity to build on what she has already learned in the classroom and to boost her grade through extra credit.
For each field trip, permission slips will be distributed about one week before the trip date. Students may sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students do not have a prescribed limit, although we request that students who have already attended a trip allow others to sign up first. Honors students are limited to one field trip per quarter. Unfortunately, we are usually not able to provide transportation to off-campus sites.
Usually, students journal the information that they have learned during the field trip according to a prescribed format. These points are applied as extra credit to a student’s grade. These extra credit activities are designed for the instructor to assure that the experience is of a quality to merit the extra credit. Students will not be permitted to do "reports" or individualized activities on their own for extra credit.
Outdoor field trips are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather. Those field trips with fewer than ten participants signed up will generally be canceled due to lack of interest. No field trips will be scheduled on Sundays to avoid interference with family attendance at Sunday services.
If you have any questions about the field trip program, please contact Mr. Gray at grayj@ndapandas.org

Here is a tentative list of the third quarter offerings from the 2014-2015 school year:

Wednesday, April 22: Doe Run Lake Hike; 3:45 to 6 PM

Doe Run Lake is located behind Pioneer Park off of old KY-17.  It is a newly designed park around a lake but is especially notable for the numerous spring flowers.  We will hike the trail bordering the lake to view the flowers.  We will also discuss the concepts of watershed ecology and succession.   This is a weather dependent field trip.

Saturday, May 9: Cincinnati Zoo 10 AM to 12 PM. (Canceled due to lack of participants)

This field trip focuses on the hooved (ungulates) animals of the Zoo and is a repeat of the same trip from the Fall of 2015.   We will discuss and observe the two major groups of ungulates and the specific adaptations that have made them so successful in their environments.  Entrance fee is $15 plus parking.  This is a weather dependent field trip.  

Wednesday, May 13: Boone Cliffs, Burlington; 4 PM to 6:30 PM

Boone Cliffs is a unique and little-known preserve outside of Burlington.  The actual cliffs are the remnant of the last glacial push into Kentucky.  We will observe and discuss the evidence of this event while also hiking the two-mile trail and enjoying this old-growth forest.  This is a weather dependent field trip.  

Saturday, May 23: Big Bone Lick State Park; 11 AM to 1 PM

Big Bone is a local treasure and the jumping off point for the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery.  We will focus on the glacial history of the area and the bounty of fossil for which it is named.  We will also hike the nature trail and discuss the history of the salt lick while viewing the unique ecology of the area.  This is a weather dependent field trip.