Environmental Education Programs

• Pre-K & Kindergarten - Discovery Walk
  This program about camouflage lasts approximately one hour long.  One-half of the program is held indoors where students may watch a 20 minute fun video about camouflage and/or touch and feel examples of local mammals animal hides and discuss their camouflage.  The second half of the program is held outdoors where students will take a short walk and look for ten things hidden along the trail.  We will discuss why some things are easy to spot, and others more difficult.  Limit: 40 students

• 1^st Grade - Butterfly Roundup
  During the month of September, monarchs migrate through Southern Illinois.  Students will participate in a program about hour long focusing on life cycles and migration, then head to the field where they will spend about of an hour catching butterflies in a clover field located on the Refuge.  We will identify the butterflies, tag the monarchs and then let all of the butterflies go.  We will provide nets and tags for this 2-2 hour program.  Limit: 80 students
       

• 2^nd & 3^rd Grade - Nature Detectives
  Students become environmental detectives as they explore the natural world and investigate an environmental mystery.  All of the supplies students will need to investigate and solve the mystery will be provided.  This program can be held either indoors or outdoors and lasts 1-1 hours.  Limit: 40 Students
     

• 4^th, 5^th, & 6^th Grade - Earth Day Celebration
  In celebration of Earth Day, students will gather outdoors at the Pigeon Creek Environmental Education Complex for an all day event where students will attend 6-8 short presentations about the environment.  This event is held on Earth Day, April 22 (unless it occurs on a weekend).  Limit: 500 Students
        

• 7^th, 8^th, & 9^th Grade - Water's the Matter?
  In this 2-2 hour program students will explore the world of water especially water contamination.  This program can be conducted entirely indoors or students may go outside to take water samples.  Students will then test the water for commonly occurring elements, and solve a mystery concerning arsenic poisoning and finally design the ultimate community around its water source.  Limit: 25 students
   

• All Age Levels - Contraband/Career Day Program
  Another branch of the FWS is responsible for the enforcement of wildlife laws especially for those items brought into the United States.  The program is held indoors and includes an exhibit of confiscated wildlife such as a zebra pelt, elephant tusk, snakeskin, etc. This program introduces students to wildlife laws, endangered species and can be an introduction to careers within the Fish & Wildlife Service.

Environmental Education Trunks

Twelve Discovery Trunks are available for check out to educators for a two-week period at no charge.  Each trunk is filled with curriculum guides, field guides, story books, CD-Rom s, DVD s, videos and posters.  Included in each trunk are activities supporting the trunk s theme and everything needed to conduct the activity.  Trunks may be checked out at the Visitor Center during business hours (8am-4:30pm every day of the week).  Call ahead for availability and to reserve a particular trunk at (618)998-5933.  Due to the amount of great materials contained in these trunks, we cannot mail them.

Discovery Trunk Topics

Discovery Kits are smaller versions of the Discovery Trunks and were designed to supplement a particular aspect of one of the Trunks.

Discovery Kit Topics

Teacher Workshops

Four nationally developed curriculum guides are available through workshops at the Refuge:  Project WET, Project WILD, Project Aquatic WILD and Project Learning Tree.  The only way to receive a copy of these curriculum guides is to attend a workshop.  These workshops are sponsored through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and offer up to 4 CPDU s per workshop.  The curriculum guides were developed for anyone interested in teaching about the environment. 

Recently, a $10/person fee has been implemented along with on-line registration with a two-week deadline.  We are working with the Friends of Crab Orchard Refuge, Inc. to either reimburse the cost of the workshop, or pay the fee up front.  Please check the following website to see if any workshops are scheduled at the Refuge (or nearby) please visit the Illinois Conservation Foundation web site.

Teacher workshops are also available on how to use the Discovery Trunks and other educational opportunities at the Refuge.  If a workshop isn t currently scheduled, and enough interest is expressed, a special workshop may be scheduled by contacting the Environmental Education Coordinator at (618)998-5933. 

Substitute teacher reimbursement is available through a Friends of Crab Orchard Refuge grant to attend one of these Refuge sponsored teacher workshops.