Elementary Field Trip Programs: East Side (Estes Park)

Students and park rangers enjoy the sounds of nature in a meadow.

NPS photo.

Discover an Amazing Outdoor Classroom

The environmental education program at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) has been educating and inspiring students for 30 years. Set against the backdrop of 72 peaks that tower over 12,000 feet, RMNP is home to four distinct ecosystems, 12,000 years of human history, and over 1.7 billion years of geologic history.

Taking students into the field provides them with real world examples of what they learn in the classroom. The educational programs at Rocky Mountain National Park provide hands-on field experiences that can support and enhance your learning objectives. Each program is based on real science, history and/or geography of the area. The dedicated environmental education staff at RMNP utilize the resources throughout the park to conduct standards-based education programs. These lessons and activities encourage students to engage, explore and experience the learning process.

Field Trip Programs

Field trip programs are offered for grades K-12 from January through October. Many programs are offered seasonally. Most programs are limited to a maximum of 60 students per day. The following list of programs is a general selection of what is offered in the field. Programs vary in length and seasonal availability. Teaching materials and resources are offered prior to your program to help you prepare students for your visit.

 

Field Trips for Kindergarten - 2nd Grades

 

How are plants and animals adapted for the weather of the subalpine ecosystem?

NPS Photo.

Adapted for the Weather (3rd grade)

Students examine the role that weather plays in the lives of plants and animals in RMNP. Students learn about the diferent types of weather and discover how plants and animals survive in this dynamic climate. Available in summer and fall. This is a field trip that typically occurs at Sprague Lake. Ideal for 3rd grade field trips, adaptable to adjacent grade levels. This is a stations field trip, where groups of students rotate between content stations. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: The students will...

• Use tools to measure temperature and wind speed. Create their own weather reports to describe weather conditions in the area.
• Select which animals are able to survive in the RMNP climate and why. Identify how animals change in response to weather and seasons.
• Identify a tree and what features of their tree help it survive in this climate.
• Describe weather conditions in different climates.

 

What are the parts of a nature community?

NPS Photo.

Community Components (2nd grade)
Students explore an ecological community to discover the living and non-living members within it. The students collect and identify invertebrates, explore a forest, and determine the role that weather plays in the community. Available in fall, spring and summer. This field trip typically occurs at Lily Lake. Ideal for 2nd grade or adjacent grade levels. This is a stations field trip, where groups of students rotate between content stations. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: Students will...

• Describe where a bug lives, what it eats, and what eats it. Describe at least one reason why bugs are an important member of their community.
• Humanely collect both terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates
• Practice using tools to measure temperature and wind speed. Predict the temperatures for different seasons.
• Select which animals are able to survive in the climate at RMNP and explain why.
• Define the role of trees in their community as shelter and food. Examine a tree and explore what animals use the tree.

 

Where should we look to find clues about what lives here?

NPS Photo.

Nature Explorers Hike (K-3rd)
Students use their senses to detect what plants and animals live in Rocky Mountain National Park. Look for evidence by the water, in the trees, and on/in the ground. Available in fall, summer and spring. Field trip typically occurs in Upper Beaver Meadows. This is a great first field experience at RMNP. Standards connections cover K-3rd grades. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: Students will....

• Differentiate between the 5 senses.
• Identify living things and signs of living things.
• Increase their observational skills.
• Identify at least one connection in nature.

 

What living things build their homes under and around rocks?

NPS Photo.

At Home in the Rocks (1st grade)
Students inspect the rocky habitat that is home to many plants and animals in Rocky Mountain National Park. The students will investigate rocks, animal homes, and plants that live among the rocks. Available in fall, spring and summer. Typically occurs near Cub Lake Trailhead. Created for 1st grade standards, adaptable to adjacent grade levels.This is a stations field trip, where groups of students rotate between content stations. Schedule a field trip.

Field trip objectives: Students will...

• Know three things animals need to survive - food, water, shelter. Know two things that can demonstrate that an animal lives in the area.
• Use a model home to test good rain-proofing materials. Make predictions about what will happen to the various roof materials under stress.
• Select a special rock; examine their rock, and record information about the size and appearance of their rock. Sort sediment by size, color or texture. Identify what animal(s)/or plant(s) might use their rock for a home.
• Look for plants that are living on rocks, under rocks, by rocks and in rocks. Draw a picture of a plant and think about why it would grow among rocks. Act out the plant process of breaking down rocks.

 

How do animals use sound to communicate?

NPS Photo.

Sounds of Rocky (1st grade)
Every place has its own special sound and every place’s sound is different. We can use our ears to explore RMNP by discovering its sounds. Listen to the sounds of nature and learn how animals use sound to communicate. Foxes, owls, bats, mountain lions, snakes and all the other creatures use sound every day. Available in fall, spring and summer. This field trip typically occurs at Hidden Valley, and is designed to cover 1st grade standards. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: activities will guide the students to....

• Describe different ways animals hear.
• Use their hearing skills on a Sounds Walk.
• Find an instrument and make music in a nature band.
• List 3 different sounds that they heard in the park.

 

Can we solve winter mysteries using our senses?

NPS Photo.

Winter Detectives (K-2nd grades)
Students become winter detectives and search for clues to solve mysteries. Students look for tracks and other evidence of animals, explore which animals make their home in the snow, and discover the subnivean (beneath the snow) world. Available at Bear Lake in winter (typically January - March.) Field trip size is limited to 30 students/day. Snowshoes are provided at no cost, courtesy of Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: Students will....

• Solve some of winter’s mysteries by looking for clues, participating in activities/games, and experimenting in the snow.
• Role play some the animals that live in the park to figure out how they survive winter conditions.
• Identify how some animals use the snow to their benefit in the winter.
• Identify how some animals are hindered by snow in the winter.

 

Field Trips for 3rd-5th Grades

 

How did these mountains form and what forces shaped them over time?

NPS Photo.

Story of the Mountains (4th grade)
Students learn that every rock has a story, and the shapes of the landscapes hold the clues to how that place has changed over time. Content covers the rock cycle, mountain building, and glaciation. Available in spring, summer and fall, and typically takes place at Moraine Park Discovery Center. This field trip was designed to address 4th grade standards, but also adapts well to adjacent grades. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: Students will....

• Look for clues and create their own evidence-based hypothesis about how the Rocky Mountains formed.
• Identify what happens to the metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks in their model.
• Identify glacial landforms.
• Predict what the park would look like in the past and the future.

 

What are the living and nonliving components of ecosystems?

NPS Photo.

Great Ecosystem Adventure (4th-5th grades)
An ecosystem is more than just a pretty view, each ecosystem is home to a unique community of plants and animals and weather. Students navigate through an ecosystem by solving clues to unlock GPS coordinates. At each stop, students learn more about the ecosystem by gathering clues and completing an adventure log. Available in fall, spring and summer, and typically takes place in Upper Beaver Meadows. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: Students will...

• Define what an ecosystem is and identify different types of ecosystems found in Rocky Mountain National Park.
• Look for evidence of animals that make their home in this ecosystem.
• Identify what types of plants grow in this ecosystem. Locate which decomposers are active in their field location.
• Lead their own exploration through the ecosystem, by using GPS clues to find their way.

 

What have people groups through history seen and valued about this place?

NPS Photo.

Trip Back in Time (4th grade)

Tribal values, settler history and presevationist exploration! Students travel back in time to the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s to discover some of the people that helped make Rocky Mountain National Park the place it is today. Available in fall, spring and summer. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives: Students will...

• Explore tribal history and participate in the activities of Native American daily life in the 1700s.
• Explore the forest using the naturalist techniques of Enos Mills. Explore mini-ecosystems in the area to identify what plants and animals also make RMNP a home.
• Search through the remnants of a historic lodge site to identify how people used the area in the early 1900s.
• Identify why each group came to the area of RMNP and made it their “home”, and how each group affected and influenced what this place is today.

 

How can maps help us collect, gather and use information about our world?

NPS photo.

Mapping Our World (5th grade)

Students explore how maps can be used to record, collect, and share information about our world. This program incorporates the use of topographical maps, compasses, and GPS technology at Lily Lake. Available in fall, spring and summer. This field trip is designed to address geography standards of 5th grade but can be adapted to adjacent grades. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives:

• As part of a forestry crew, design their own map, use a compass and pace a distance using their stride.
• As part of a trail crew, describe the interaction between two systems such as hydrosphere (water and ice) and geosphere (rock); or biosphere (humans) and geosphere (soil). Assess trail features and create recommendations.
• As part of a Search and Rescue (SAR) crew, identify 2 ways in which a SAR team uses a map and conduct their own SAR operations using GPS clues hidden in the woods.
• Make hypotheses and draw conclusions about the changing landscapes. Identify ways that people can help protect Earth’s resources.

 

How do plants, animals and humans adapt to winter conditions?

NPS Photo.

Winter Explorers (3rd-4th grades)

Each year the Rocky Mountains are blanketed in snow that brings new life, homes, and challenges for the animals of RMNP. This winter world also creates new opportunities for humans to play in and explore. Students become explorers and uncover the importance of snow in the subalpine environment. Students discover the challenges animals face, and their adaptions to survive the harsh winter by following animal tracks, searching under the snow and presenting this information to their peers. Available only in winter (typically January - March.) This field trip typically occurs at Bear Lake. Field trip size is limited to 30 students/day. Snowshoes are provided at no cost, courtesy of Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Schedule a field trip.

Field Trip Objectives:

• Describe how some animals tolerate winter, some hibernate and some migrate to other locations.
• List the 5 challenges of winter (the SCREW factors).
• Identify an animal sign and create an evidence-based hypothesis about which animal was there.
• Create a short presentation with their team on the unique adaptions their animal uses to tolerate winter.