Studio Programs

NPS/Bethany Szczepanski

Reservations for the 2025-26 school year will open in late August.

Bring the Channel Islands into your classroom by participating in a free live virtual program delivered from our mainland studio. Programs are conducted via videoconferencing platforms, such as Zoom.

Program Calendar

Virtual programs will be offered during the following dates and times:

October - December

• Thursday afternoon - earliest start time 1:00 PM - latest start time 2:00 PM

January - February

• Tuesday - earliest start time 9:00 AM - latest start time 2:00 PM

May - June

• Tuesday - earliest start time 9:00 AM - latest start time 2:00 PM

 

NPS/Bethany Szczepanski

Program Descriptions

Studio programs support the indicated California Content Standards or Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) indicated below.

Grades 2-3
Island Fox Explorations
(45-60 minutes)

Students will discover the structures and behaviors of the endemic Island Fox which help them to survive in their isolated environment.

Supports:

• NGSS 2-LS4-1 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
• NGSS 2-LS2-2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics - Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.
• NGSS 3-LS3-2 Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits - Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
• NGSS 3-LS4-2 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
• NGSS 3-LS4-3 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

 

Historically accurate oil painting of the Lone Woman, based on descriptions by people who actually saw her when she was brought from San Nicolas Island to Santa Barbara, California, in 1853. © Holli Harmon, 2018.

Grades 3 - 5
Island of the Blue Dolphins
(60 minutes)

How can we learn about history and what clues do archeological discoveries on San Nicolas Island tell us about the Lone Woman?
Minimum requirement before program: Students must be reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell.

Teacher resource: This web-based resource, developed by the National Park Service and other partners, includes a treasure trove of information about the lone woman of San Nicolas island and Scott O'Dell's book. Follow along chapter by chapter as your students read the story exploring historical evidence from primary and secondary sources, listen to the voices of researchers, explore native island cultures, and more.

Supports:

• California Content Standard: HSS-3.2.2 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.
  • Discuss the ways in which physical geography, including climate, influenced how the local Indian nations adapted to their natural environment (e.g., how they obtained food, clothing, tools).
• California Content Standard: HSS-3.2.4 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.
  • Discuss the interaction of new settlers with the already established Indians of the region.
• California Content Standard: HSS-4.2 Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.
  • Discuss the major nations of California Indians, including their geographic distribution, economic activities, legends, and religious beliefs; and describe how they depended on, adapted to, and modified the physical environment by cultivation of land and use of sea resources.
• California Content Standard: HSS-5.3 Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the American Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers.

 

Kelp Forest Monitoring program at Channel Islands National Park

NPS/Scott Gabara

Grades 5 - 8
Kelp Forest Monitoring
(50-60 minutes)

Kelp forests provide habitat for over 1,000 species of marine plants and animals around the Channel Islands. The Kelp Forest Monitoring Team at Channel Islands National Park has been monitoring the kelp forests for over 40 years. Students will discover how and why scientists monitor change in the kelp forest ecosystem and why it is important.

Supports:

• NGSS 5-ESS3-1 Earth and Human Activity - Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
• NGSS MS-LS2-1 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics - Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
• NGSS MS-LS2-2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics - Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
• NGSS MS-LS2-4 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics - Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

 

Schedule a Virtual Distance Learning Studio Program

Please follow all three steps to schedule your program.

Step 1: Choose a program from the Program Descriptions on this page. 

Step 2: Reserve your program date on our Microsoft Bookings Calendar.

• You will receive an email that says "Your booking is confirmed." This holds the dates for you but your program is not confirmed until you complete step 3 and receive a confirmaiton from the ranger.

Step 3: Complete and submit the Education Reservation Request Form - NPS Form 10-1750 below.

• Add the day you requested on the Bookings calendar to the "Preferred date of visit" section.
• Important: If we do not receive your Education Reservation Request Form within 7 days of receiving your Bookings date request, we will cancel your Microsoft Bookings reservation to open up the dates for other schools.
• We will send a confirmation email verifying your program day(s) and time(s) within two weeks. If you do not receive this within two weeks, email us at [e-mail].

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/30/2025

Learning Accommodations

Does anyone in your group need any accommodations?

Yes No

If yes, describe the accommodation need.

Next Step

School / Organization Contact Information

School / Organization Name (required)

Name of Requester/Contact Person (required)

Title / Position (required)

Contact Email Address (required)

Contact Phone Number (required)
123-456-7890 extension if any

Contact Mailing Address Country

I have a US mailing address

I have a mailing address outside the US

International Mailing Address (required)
Please include building number and street, city, state/province country and Postal Code

Mailing Address (required)

City (required)

State (required)

Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas Armed Forces - Americas Armed Forces - Europe Armed Forces - Pacific California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

ZIP (required)
Five digit ZIP code [99999]

Next Step

Group Details - Virtual / Distance Learning Program

Name of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Title / Position of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Email Address of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Phone Number of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)
Format: 123-456-7890

Program Name or Subject Requested

Grade Level(s) of Students (required)

Number of Attendees / Students (required)

Preferred Date of Program (required)
format mmddyyyy

My preferred date has been confirmed by the park.

Yes No

Alternative Date(s) (required)
Enter one or more dates.

Preferred Program Start Time (required)

Time Zone of the Classroom (required)

How much time will the ranger have to conduct the program? (required)

Discussion Points for Virtual / Distance Learning Program

Virtual and/or Distance Learning can vary depending on the technical capabilities of the park and the school. in order to find appropriate accommodations for your learning experience, here are some categories to be prepared to discuss with the park:

1. Internet Access
2. Phone Access (speaker phone or conference line)
3. Mobile or digital video conferencing capabilities
4. Firewall
5. Hardware and Software Capabilities
6. Classroom pre-work or assignments

Disclaimer:

A park representative will follow-up to confirm group details once this request has been received and reviewed.

Submit my Education Reservation Request

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NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 114-289 National Park Service Centennial Act and 54 U.S.C. 100701 Protection, interpretation, and research in System.

Purpose: To administer education programs for education audiences including but not limited to school groups, scouting groups, extracurricular groups, and home school groups.

Routine Uses: To effectively manage requests for education received by the NPS, the Education Reservation Request Form is used to collect basic education reservation information to facilitate operational aspects of scheduling groups for park education programs, including in-park education programs, ranger in classroom programs, and/or online distance learning programs.

Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede the ability to grant your education reservation request.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) to provide park managers and educators the information needed to schedule and conduct education program activities. All applicable parts of the form must be completed in order for your request to be considered. You are not required to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned control number 1024-0288.

Estimated Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Do not send your completed form to this address.