Camp Wokanda and Forest Park Nature Center offer school day programs and overnight opportunities at Camp Wokanda. All classes emphasize a hands-on approach to learning (examples below). The park has some wonderful assets for outdoor learning including a sparkling lake, a beautiful lodge that features a long porch for eating lunch, a virgin prairie remnant, a mature oak/hickory forest and plenty of hiking, canoeing and fishing. Please call 309-686-3360 for more information. 

Forest and Hill Prairie Nature Tours

Arrange a tour for your school group, scout group, civic group or a group of your friends. These can be tailored to a particular subject such as spring bird migration or tree identification or can be a general nature tour covering a combination of habitats. Contact Forest Park Nature Center at 309-686-3360 for prices and to arrange your guided tour.

Lake Studies (5th & 6th) and Mini Monsters (3rd & 4th grades)

Students learn about this freshwater ecosystem by searching for and observing the tiny macro-invertebrates who live in the water. Adaptations, food chains and water quality are discussed in this class. (1 hour)

Habitat Junction (3rd - 5th grades)

Students learn about the habitat requirements of four common animals by searching for a single habitat component of one of the animals and then collaborating with their fellow students to put the puzzle pieces together. (1/2 hour)

Forest Transect Study (5th & 6th grades)

Students note differences in plant cover over a 100 foot transect of a diverse landscape and draw conclusions about animal life there. (1/2 hour)

Tree Hole Survey (3rd - 6th grades)

Students work in teams to count tree holes of different sizes and heights. Conclusions are made about how rich the habitat is in tree den sites. (1/2 hour)

Animal Evidence Survey (3rd - 4th grades)

Students look for evidence of animal activity such as scats, footprints and signs of foraging. Conclusions are drawn about the diversity of animals using the forest. (1/2 hour)

Over and Under Walk (3rd - 4th grades)  

Students look at the woods from different perspectives, using “sky eyes” to view the forest from the bottom up, “under scopes” (dental mirrors) to view the underside of things, and blindfolds to get the “feel of things”. (1/2 hour)

Energy Flow on the Go (3rd - 4th grades)

Students learn what a food chain is and use two pieces of “special equipment” to demonstrate that each step in the chain has energy to pass along and that when properly connected, producers, consumers and recyclers form a “circuit”! They also take the information they have learned in the Circuit Test outdoors and find organisms on every level of the energy circuit. (1 hour for both activities)

Artists and Scientists (5th - 6th grades)

Students learn to describe a forest from two different perspectives, artist and scientist. As scientists, students record measurements within a study site. They then get a chance to visit a tree blindfolded and write a poem or draw to describe the forest. (1 hour)          

Survival (5th-6th grades)

Students learn how to avoid getting into a survival situation and what to do if they happen to find themselves in one anyway! (1.5 hours)

For details on any of these opportunities, call Forest Park Nature Center at 686-3360. For overnight accommodations, call Camp Wokanda at 579-2157.