Field trip helps reinforce science curriculum

Our Lady of Lourdes School

+ Enlarge

Courtesy of Our Lady of Lourdes School

SALT LAKE CITY — Sixty-five students from the kindergarten, third and fourth grades at Our Lady of Lourdes School took a science-based field trip to the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter in Park City on Feb. 12. The field trip was designed to get the kids outside and explore while enhancing their classroom education with field experiences.

While the outing included time for the students to have fun, the educational goal was to immerse the students in the diverse geography and explore snow and weather science, animal adaptations and wildlife tracking.

"It’s extremely valuable for the students to connect schoolwork with the world, making it tangible and memorable," said third-grade teacher Mr. Jacobson.

Through a variety of hands-on and interactive games, discussions and hikes, the preserve educators correlate the Utah Science Core Curriculum Standards into their program, which is adapted for each grade level. During the winter, hikes involve snowshoeing. While many of the kids said they had gone hiking before, most had never been to the preserve or snowshoed.

"My trip to Swaner was awesome!" exclaimed fourth-grader Jamie Little. "I learned that a water drop has a big job, animal adaptations help them survive, and that snowshoes are better for walking in snow. Snowshoeing was fun!"

"The best part was seeing the kids work collaboratively and embrace in the learning experience," said Mrs. Ferre, who teaches the fourth grade.

One of her students, Sam Hall, explained, "It was interesting to learn how foxes catch their prey in winter and to look for animal tracks in the snow."

The field trip inspired the students to explore, question, and investigate. Concepts learned in the classroom were reinforced while having a lot of fun. Kindergartener Jack Looper summed it up nicely: "The best part was the snowshoeing because we found holes and we were trying to figure out what animals were there." 

Courtesy of Our Lady of Lourdes School