Field Trips

Since we are an ideal school, we will be going on field trips as much as possible! Yay!! Each week, we will travel by ECObus to an awesome new site, where the subjects we are learning in school will come to life! Here is some more information on some of the cool places we will be going:

Monterey Aquarium: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
-Open: weekdays 9:30-6:00
-Behind the scenes tours, sleepovers, shows about the animals, info on waste, tagging, oceans, feedings, conservation programs, etc
-local history tours i.e. Cannery Row

Natural Bridges State Beach: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541
-8 am- sunset, reservations 1+ month in advance, best Oct-Feb for butterflies
-picninc area, restrooms, visitor center, beach, tidepools, wetlands, meadows
-Docent led butterfly (Monarch) tours; tidepool and nature trail tours
-Possible to witness all stages of butterflies’ lives in the milkweed garden

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History: http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pr/parksrec/facility/nathist.html
-Free admission for youth, Wed-Sun 10-5
-tours for kids K-6th
-loans kits of educational materials to take back to the classroom
-fossil sand dollar dig, touch tidepool, live animals (ex: king snake)

The MAH McPherson Center: http://www.santacruzmah.org/
-offers school tours 3/4th grade, “Where the Redwoods Meet the Sea: A History of Santa Cruz and Its People”
-other tours all grade levels, teachers free
-Evergreen Cemetery tour; a history featuring pioneers, African Americans, women of the west, the Chinese community, plus some added bonus art with grave rubbings (COOL!!)

We also thought it’s be really neat to take a tour to see how the ’89 Loma Prieta earthquake effected the local area, and to take a geology tour at the San Andreas fault.
There are so many great, educational places to visit in Santa Cruz and the bay area, so this is just a sampling. We have many local parks and reserves nearby, and can head into the city to take advantage of the it has to offer, like the Exploratorium, the Zoo, and Alcatraz (which can double as a place for the misbehavers to stay while the rest of us enjoy the city! Juuust kidding!).

-info compiled by Jennie F.