Lindner Park is a 15-acre nature preserve in Norwood. Drake offers many outdoor environmental programs at the park for all ages, preschool through high school. Plant biology, ecology, pond and stream life, fossil identification, and local animal population studies are just a few of the innovative programs offered. You may mix and match as well!

You can schedule a park program alone, or combine a park and planetarium program, or combine a LEGO Lab and park program - the choice is yours.

Living and Non-Living

Your students learn to observe their environment, identify the characteristics of organisms, and sort items into living and non-living based on attributes of each. (PreK - K)

Ants

For preschool through second grade students. Ants are a great insect to view and learn about. Your students will participate in an outdoor ant drama where they will communicate with each other as ants would do in their own environment. Kids become the ants and learn how to live in an ant community using all of their senses to communicate with other members of their ant hill. This one is lots of fun!

Grade 1

Earth's Habitats

Students explore the basic needs of organisms and learn to recognize how seasonal changes influence the life and survival of different ones.

Insects Run Wild

Students will learn basic classification of various types of insects based on their structure. This outdoor experience will reinforce and introduce how bugs bodies are designed to work in a variety of environments. Students will locate and observe bugs in their natural habitat. For preschool through second grade students.

Ants

For preschool through second grade students. Ants are a great insect to view and learn about. Your students will participate in an outdoor ant drama where they will communicate with each other as ants would do in their own environment. Kids become the ants and learn how to live in an ant community using all of their senses to communicate with other members of their ant hill. This one is lots of fun!

Grade 2 - 5

Ants

Your students will participate in an outdoor ant drama. Kids become the ants and learn how to live in an ant community using all of their senses to communicate with other members of their ant hill. (Gr 2)

Habitat Diversity

Students have study sites to observe and collect information from different habitats. They review living and non-living using the scientific method, (Gr. 2)

Worm World

Students investigate the properties of soil and learn to relate animal structure to function. (Gr. 3)

Seeds in Fall

Collecting seeds and leaves help students match them to the tree. Using a dichotomous key provides students with the means to classify and see similarities and differences. Two-part program. (Gr. 4)

Ecosystem/Food Webs

Students review the parts of an ecosystem, create a food web, map study sites and collect organisms from there. They sort and classify based on characteristics. (Gr. 5)

Grade 6-8

Biome and Habitat Diversity

For second through six grade students. Students learn how the earth is separated into distinct climate zones, called biomes. They learn to explain the roles of producers, consumers, decomoposers in a food web. Students wil then go into the park and identify these components using a variety of environmental sites.

Earth and Sky

This two-hour program combines a plantetarium lab experience with an outdoor nature adventure. Your class will spend approximately 60 minutes in the planetarium learning about the surface features of the moon, seasonal constellations, and space technology. As an added enrichment, a staff member will conduct an outdoor learning experience at nearby Lindner Park and nature preserve.