Through touching, singing, and acting, students will learn about nature in a fun-filled way. A friendly live animal will conclude the program.

Learn about the variety of animals that live in Michigan, including ampibians, birds, insects, mamals, and reptiles. These animals provide excitng lessons relative to the expectations for each grade level. See and touch study skins, pelts, and a live animal. 

Concept: Senses and Needs of Living Things

Let students discover nature with this sensory program. They will get to see and touch some of the living and once living creatures that can be found in theri backyards. Through hands-on activities, the students will also learn about the special senses these animals have and what they need.(i.e. food, water) to survive.

Concept: Living and Non-living Things

Students will be introduced to what makes someting living versus non-living. Then, the students will get to see and touch some of the living and once living creatures that can be found in their backyards. Through a hands-on activity, the students wil also learn about the special characteristics (i.e.growing, breathing) that living organisms have.

Concept: Animal Life Cycles

Meet some of the creatures that live at Seven Ponds and learn about thier life cycles with an interactive game. We will also be looking at each animal's physcial characteristics at different stages of their life and how these characteristics help the animal survive at each stage. A special live animal will conclude the program.

Concept: Plant Life Cycles, Plant/Animal Relationships

Students will explore the life cycle of a mystery plant and its untimely death. They will have to figure out the culprit for this death by interviewing witnesses and visiting the crime scene to look for clues that have been left behind, inlcuding a live animal. 

Concept: Natural Resources and Human Impact on the Environment

Michigan's once vast forest were giant supermarkets to the Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi; the Three Fires. Michigan's natural resources provided everything they needed for survival. Today, though most of our needs are purchased from stores, it all still starts with natural resources from the land. Through activities and hands-on nature study, students will learn how natural resources were used by the Three Fires, how we use them today, and the impact of each on our natural environment.  

Concept: Animal Classificaton an Physical Adaptations

Through the use of a live animal and once living animals, student will play a guessing game to discover how to classify animals, based on their characteristics. Students will get to touch many of the animals as well as have the opportunity to learn about some of the animals' special adaptations that help them survive. 

Concept: Earth, Science and Animal Adaptations

Students will investigate soil and its characteristics with hands-on activities. They will also have an oppotunity to meet some of the undergrund animals that rely on soil for thier homes, including one live animal!

Concept: Animal Adaptations and Relationships

A mystery animal leads students through th important concepts of adaptations, predator/prey relationships, and the balance in nature between populations of living things. An activity allows each student to become a predator. 

Concept: Food Chains and Food Webs

Plant and animal relationships are the focus of this program. Every living thing is a link in the food chain. We will demonstrate how the sun's energy is transformed from plants to herbivores, from herbivores to canivores, and from all living things to decomposers. Students will make food chains and food webs, and examine different mammal pelts and skulls in this hands-on program.

Concept: Animal Adaptations

Surviving a year in Michigan is a tricky task for the animals that live here. Student will see and feel animal mounts to help them better understand adaptations. They will also participte in activities that will help them compare their own abiblities to those of animals with amazing adaptations. 

Concept; Human Influence on Animal Populations

Students explore the issue of endangered plants and animals. Using specimens from Michigan and around the world, students will work in small groups to discover the reasons species become endangered and the ways that we can all help protect our natural heritage.