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Welcome to the TRAILBLAZER, your teacher resource newsletter for all of the great education items associated with our 106 Science Trail Partners across the state. If you are looking for field trip ideas, field trip funding links, digital resources, teacher workshops, or other ways to collaborate with any of our partners for a better science education experience in your classroom, you've come to the right place.
We will send out the TRAILBLAZER each school year during the months of August, October, January, and April to help provide you with up-to-date information for how to keep science fun, interesting, and awe-inspiring for your students. Please encourage your colleagues to sign up for our teacher newsletter and reach out to us with any question that you may have.
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Virtual Field Trips
NC STATE PARKS
| | Don't have time to plan a field trip for your class to a science venue this year? Take advantage of a new program inspired by the NC Science Trail and created by NC State Parks. Plan a virtual visit in the comfort of your own classroom at one of four state parks that are hosting them. Stay tuned to the NC Science Trail website as we'll add the Virtual Field Trip icon to the State Parks that will be offering this exciting new program in the future. | | |
Hammocks Beach State Park
Topics Include:
Fire Ecology, Living Shorelines, Sea Turtle Nesting, Shorebirds and Shells, Barrier Island Ecology, Coastal Birds
Learn more about Hammocks Beach
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Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve
Topics Included:
Formation of the Sandhills; Longleaf Pine natural history and ecology; Fire Ecology
Learn more about Weymouth Woods
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Jockey's Ridge State Park
Topics Include:
Sand dune structure, formation, and ecology; Barrier Islands; Estuarine
Ecology
Learn more about Jockey's Ridge
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Gorges State Park
Topics Included:
Temperate Rainforests, Waterfalls and Waterfall Safety
Learn more about Gorges
| | Need classroom resources for forestry and other environmental sciences? | | |
The Natural Inquirer was developed 27 years ago by the USDA Forest Service to help research scientists share their work with students. Actual research papers have been "translated" so that kids of all ages can follow along with research being done on forests, soil, water, energy, and so many other important science topics. There are different products to share with kids ranging from kindergarten through high school. The NC Science Trail recently ordered a box full of journals and career trading cards to hand out at our hands-on events, and we could not be more impressed with the quality of the information they provide.
The Natural Inquirer is an incredible classroom resource to help your students have a better understanding of what forestry scientists do and how many different types of forestry science careers there are out there! You can choose to download free online resources, or if you need them in bulk quantities go to the homepage and search for what you need under the Order Materials tab.
| | Natural Inquirer Journal example | | Career Trading Card example | | |
Science Trail Partner Highlights:
Call on a partner in your region...
| Any time you're looking for a science education partner check our website and browse our list of Trail Partners. The blue "Discovery Begins Here" button on the home page will take you directly to our Trail Partner Listing. Use the filter listings to narrow Partners by region, type of science, or specific activities. | Highlighted Coastal Trail Partners | |
Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center, Jacksonville, North Carolina
Sturgeon City makes outreach visits to classrooms and schools. They will bring their mobile planetarium and field trip stations to you. They are also offer on-site field trips for kindergarten through 8th grade. To schedule a field trip, fill out the interest form on the website:
| Have Questions? Contact the education team by email at info@SturgeonCity.org or by phone at 910.750.5876. | |
Seeds of Hope Wilson, Wilson, North Carolina
Seeds of Hope Wilson (SOHW) offers literacy tours/field trips for public school, private school, homeschool, and summer educational classes. SOHW offers classroom visits by special request.
But the real magic happens onsite, where students grow in their knowledge by helping in the community garden! See the website here: https://www.seedsofhopewilsonnc.org/.
| Please reach out to Julia Newton to discuss options for your classroom learning. julianewton353@gmail.com. | Highlighted Piedmont East Trail Partner | |
Miriam P. Brenner Children's Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
The museum offers two field trip options for children aged birth through 3rd grade - in the Edible Schoolyard or through a Discovery Visit where you choose your own adventure. You can find additional information about field trips on the website here. Download the educator's guide for field trips here. The museum also offers sensory hours for learners with sensory sensitivities. Please stay up to date on scheduled times here.
| For additional questions or to book a field trip at the Miriam P. Brenner Children's Museum in Greensboro please contact Kimmy Dunn, Lead Educator, at kdunn@mbcmuseum.com. | Highlighted Piedmont West Trail Partner | |
The Schiele Museum, Gastonia, North Carolina
The Schiele offers a variety of field trip programs and Schiele-To-Go outreach presentations for groups large and small. After students explore the museum, farm, and nature trail, teachers can choose interactive presentations that include fossil-hunting activities, small group science experiments, live animal meetings, planetarium shows, and MORE.
Schools can also reserve The Schiele for after-hours STEM nights for families. After the museum closes to the public, the doors open to your group to explore exhibits, attend planetarium shows, and enjoy hands-on experiments and interactive programs.
Visit the website or contact schielemuseum@gmail.com; phone: 704-866-6900.
| Highlighted Mountain Trail Partners | |
Highlands Biological Research Station, Highlands, North Carolina
Highlands Biological Station and Nature Center offers a wide variety of in-person and virtual STEM programs in the classroom for grades preK-12. Programs are delivered daily to schools throughout multiple counties of western NC. Visit the Outreach page on the website for details.
| To schedule a field trip, please contact the HBS Outreach Coordinator, Patrick Brannon, at 828-526-4123 at the beginning of each semester. | |
KidSenses, Rutherfordton, North Carolina
KidSenses offers a wide variety of STEAM programming for pre-K-12th grade students. The education team also offers on-site field trips at the museum for elementary-aged students. A new facility, The Factory, will open for older students later this year. An online educator's guide to the museum can be found online or download the .pdf here.
Classroom visits are by special request only.
| Please contact info@kidsenses.org for questions or more information. |
What can our State Parks Partners Do For You? | |
North Carolina State Parks are a real gem for science education. If you're not using your closest state parks for getting kids outside to learn, you're missing out! And North Carolina State Parks now have Schools in Parks Specialists in seven state parks across the state. They are trained specifically to help you help your kids learn about science and nature in an experiential environment with a mission of Conservation, Recreation, and Education.
Our State Park Highlight for this newsletter is Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro, NC. They offer Big Canoes, eco-cruises and ferry service to Bear Island, programs on barrier islands, living shorelines, estuary life, bird identification, sea turtle nesting, and tree identification. They also have a kayak program, hiking trails, a campground, and they will soon offer Professional Development opportunities for formal and informal educators. For additional information on any of these programs, please download the Hammocks Beach Schools In Parks document here.
| Finding Tools For A Meaningful Class Excursion: FIELD TRIP FUNDING | |
The Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund from the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) opens the door for students across North Carolina to embark on unforgettable educational adventures. This fund ensures that students from all corners of the state can explore and connect with North Carolina’s incredible history, culture, arts, science, and natural resources—creating lasting memories while deepening their knowledge.
With this funding, your class can visit any DNCR site statewide, making hands-on learning more accessible than ever. The fund can cover travel, lunches, and entrance fees, if applicable. NC Public and Charter schools only are eligible. Applying is quick and easy—just check out the linked page to get started!
While the NC Science Trail highlights science-based experiences, DNCR offers interdisciplinary opportunities that bridge multiple subjects. Imagine your students stepping into the DNCR QAR Lab, where history and science come together—exploring the world of Blackbeard the Pirate while uncovering the secrets of archaeology and conservation.
Find one of the many field trips across the state with this handy map of the DCNR field trip sites.
Don’t miss this chance to bring learning to life—apply today!
| Examples of DNCR fully funded field trips | |
The Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund made Mountain View Elementary's (Jefferson, NC) 4th and 5th grade field trip possible. They sent 110 students to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) in Raleigh for a day of learning and exploration.
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Jones Intermediate School (Mount Airy, NC) also traveled to the NCMNS in Raleigh. In the Nature Research Center, students engaged with digital media to create simulations of hurricanes and study air quality.
But it was the Naturalist Center that turned out to be the highlight of their day, allowing the kids to find additional resources for an ongoing animal project.
| Are you looking for ways to make your science lessons more powerful? Our partners can help. On each partner detail page look for the column on the right side to see if a partner offers free educational resources for teachers. |
| Here are some partners that offer educational opportunities and professional development throughout the year. Bookmark your favorites! | | A FEW QUICK TIPS TO CLOSE OUT THE APRIL TRAILBLAZER NEWSLETTER | | |
K-5 Grade Tips and Tricks
Choose field trip options that are closer to home. Use your resources wisely by searching the NC Science Trail website and map to find Science Education Partners closest to you. For 4th and 5th grade students, consider a NC State Park excursion. They are usually easy to get to and you can apply for field trip funding through the state. If you need a contact for a state park, please reach out to us by email.
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6-8 Grade Tips and Tricks
Science is truly coming alive for middle school students. They have a little background knowledge at this point to understand bigger science concepts and to gain a greater understanding of how science and nature fit into their lives. Energy, Ecosystems, Solar System, Matter, and Forces are all topics that Middle Schoolers can dig into. Search our science and activity filters here to find out which partners can offer hands-on experiences for your classes.
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9-12 Grade Tips and Tricks
High School students are starting to find the nitty gritty of science truly exciting if you make it so! This is their chance to discover which fields of science stir their brains the most. Think of activities that can combine learning with outdoor experiences: kayaking to test water quality, rock climbing or hiking to see geology features "in action," and boat rides to barrier islands to see how they protect our coastline. Contact us if you need recommendations for outdoor outfitters or state parks that provide these experiences.
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Looking for Classroom Resources?
Here at the North Carolina Science Trail, we know you like experiments! We’ve been working hard to get you easy access to some truly great home and school resources. Download and print the files from our website whenever you need them, or search for activities from individual partners on the Science Trail.
| | | | One final thought to share... | | |
North Carolina has more science education resources than other other state in the country.
The North Carolina Science Trail is working to make these resources more easily available to you. When you're looking for ways to make science and nature education more exciting and more hands on for your students, check our map to see what resources are closest to home or email us. We can help you make science education hands on, inspirational, and awe-inspiring for your students. As it should be.
If you like what you've seen in this newsletter, share it with friends or colleagues who can use the resources that lie within!
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