Junior Grades Science Field Trips At School

These exploration activities are especially fitting for 8-12 year olds, but don't let that stop other ages from giving them a try.

Natural Objects Memory Game

Objective
This is a simple and fun activity to help your children make observations of the world around them. This activity can be done in any outside area and facilitates exploration of the environment around them that they may not have spent much time engaging with in this way.

Participants will take 30 seconds to a minute to look at a range of natural objects chosen by the individual leading the activity. The participant will then have 10-15 minutes to go find the same objects (similar in size, shape and color) and bring them to compare. Similar to memory card games but with the chance to encourage outdoor exploration and observations.

Materials & Preparation
  • Bandana/ rag/ paper or some other sheet to lay objects on
  • A range of 6-10 natural objects of your choice from the surrounding area (without disrupting any living things!)
Procedure
  1. While your children are playing or working on something else the adult facilitating this activity will go around and collect 6-10 natural objects from the environment around you, without your children looking. This can include small rocks, pine cones, leaves, or anything commonly found in your environment.
  2. Objects can be repeated also. For example you can use three rocks that are all slightly different sizes or multiples of any one of the objects.
  3. Once you have collected the objects place them on a bandana/ paper or a clearly defined area and cover them up. 
  4. Call your children over and remind them that they need to remember the number and types of objects laid out in front of them. Give them 30-45 seconds to look at the objects placed in front of them. 
  5. Cover your objects Send them out to explore the surrounding area. Depending on your location, set boundaries that still provide them with freedom to explore but ensure they do not wander too far away. 
  6. Give them 10 minutes to gather their objects then call them back and have them place the objects next to the ones you have collected and covered. 
  7. Uncover your objects and compare what they found to the initial objects.
Pitfall Traps

Objective
Learners will use pitfall traps to explore the population of ground-dwelling creatures. These traps are used to sample the surrounding environment for living organisms, particularly invertebrates (an animal lacking a backbone, such as an arthropod, mollusk, annelid, coelenterate, etc.)

Materials & Preparation
  • Pitfall Traps- two Solo® cups one with holes in the bottom for water drainage, a small piece of wood to cover cups.
  • Print invertebrate ID cards- Invertebrate Identification Guide
  • Trowels
  • Flags
  • Containers for insect collection
Kids will be able to...
-Conduct a mini scientific experiment from start to finish
-Develop their own questions
-Create their own experimental design
-Explore the local ground-dwelling community
-Use a pitfall trap and field guide to collect and identify organisms

Procedure
Start with mini hikes/ walks. Give kids five minutes to independently study and get to know a small area. Then have them pair up and give a tour of their area to another person in the group. Encourage them to compare and contrast their mini hike areas. What are the similarities and differences? What might be the reason for those differences?

Sampling Invertebrates
The kids will be sampling for insects in different areas. You can prime them to create their hypothesis by leading a facilitated dialogue using the following question: “Where do you expect to find more/fewer insects? Why?” Guide them through making their hypothesis. Note: Invertebrates are more likely to be in areas that are moist or in leaf litter.

Next comes the experimental setup. Introduce the pit trap procedure.
  1. Remove a core of soil from the site with the bulb planter or trowel. Place the cup of the pitfall trap in the soil.
  2. Nest the second cup into the first cup so that it is flush with the ground. 
  3. Cover the top of the trap with a flat board elevated off the lid of the cup by some rocks or small debris. Mark the trap with a flag so you can easily find it again.
  4. Return the following day and collect the insects from the traps. There are a few different kinds of data you can collect: number of insects, species, or diversity.
Debrief
Give kids time to assess whether their hypothesis was supported or not. They can present their findings to each other in a mock scientific conference. Some questions for further thought:
  • Would you find more or less animal life at a different time of year?
  • Are the kinds and numbers of animals different in the different environments?
  • Does the weather affect the variety of life found in the trap?
  • Does the time of day affect the variety of organisms found?
Repeating this multiple times may yield interesting patterns of organisms collected. Record your findings in iNaturalist - see the activity plan below for more directions!


iNaturalist: What Lives In Our Neighborhood?

Objective
Kids will use photos and the iNaturalist app to gain a greater understanding of the natural world that surrounds them by posting photos for scientists around the world to identify and use in research. It also has a feature that allows the observer to submit their identification and others ‘verify’ it in a crowd sourced fashion.

Kids should spend 5 - 10 minutes exploring outside, taking photos and making useful observations of the natural world around them. The goal should be to make about 10 different observations by photo while exploring outside and then upload them to iNaturalist! They can repeat this activity in the same, or different, locations over time, building familiarity with, and curiosity about, local organisms. Indoor or outdoor observations are welcome.

Materials & Preparation
  • A smart phone or a digital camera and computer
  • Sign up for iNaturalist profile (If using a smartphone, download the iNaturalist app.)

Background Information
iNaturalist is an online community of scientists and naturalists around the world working to help you identify the plants and animals around you. By uploading and sharing photos you will create research quality data for scientists to better understand nature. Visit inaturalist.org for more information.

Procedure
Signing up for iNaturalist:
  1. Go to inaturalist.org OR if using your smartphone, download the app.
  2. Sign up using an email, Google account, or Facebook.
How to make useful observations:
  1. Take identifiable photos. Get close up photos of tree buds or leaves rather than a picture of the whole tree. Fill the whole frame of the photo with the object. Use your hand to keep the item still, if needed.
  2. Take multiple photos. The more evidence you have to show the community of scientists the more accurately they will be able to identify your organism.
  3. Take photos of wild organisms. Try to avoid garden plants or other non-wild organisms such as humans, domestic animals, or house plants. Instead, look for insects, weeds, wild flowers or trees nearby.
How to upload observations using a smartphone:
  • If you are uploading on a smartphone you can only upload one observation at a time. It is recommended to use the camera app to take photos and then upload through the app once you have taken all your photos rather than taking photos in the app and uploading as you go.

How to upload observations using a computer:
  1. Transfer photos from camera to computer.
  2. Login to iNaturalist and click on the ‘upload’ button in the upper right corner.
  3. Drag and drop all photos or choose files to upload.If time, date, and location don’t automatically load, do you best to enter the most correct data to these fields.
  4. Click on the species name field and observe what iNaturalist thinks your organism is. This works because iNaturalist has had enough observations uploaded to sometimes be able to correctly identify most organisms through a similar technology to face-recognition software. This isn’t always correct so if you are not sure what your organism is, but if you know it is a type of bird, for example, you can type in ‘bird’ and use that as your identification. It is better to be broad than to not enter anything at all.
  5. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each photo added.
  6. Click ‘submit’
To deepen your knowledge about the plants and animals around your neighborhood try:
  • Looking for new organisms. If you have mainly been observing trees, try looking for insects next.
  • Walking the same route at least once a week and documenting the same organisms. How do they change over time? What might be affecting the changes you see?
  • Diving deep into iNaturalist. There are many ways to interact and learn with iNaturalist! You can find projects that show all the birds identified in the world or all the living organisms in your state.
Make your own project! And make it a competition with your friends to see who can identify the most organisms. 

Click here for another detailed lesson plan focused on the observation of schoolyard plants.


These lessons come from
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kN5dX911VPhD8U1umCH7_rgNKRUApXEwUiLk0OkBRqs/edit#heading=h.2fpultaxtla6
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m82G-6e_0oNinJKc7RYvWE0MGuWC12Oz1mEkEG-FRsY/edit#
https://docs.google.com/document/d/133J9OtYP5sq9NCap77Ij4MJMklFP_ycPgq6xiEcFLlE/edit#

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