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Home>Learning & Teaching>Science
Field Experience
Karen Rutherford, Science Resource Coordinator- Email Karen
664-3865 x248
Susan Ballinger, Science Field Experience Coordinator - Email Susan
664-3865 x251
Science Field Experience
A field experience differs significantly from a just-for-fun “field trip.”
- A field experience is a relevant, multidisciplinary day of adventure and learning in a local outdoor setting.
- It is preceded by in-class curriculum (with assessments) that integrates the grade-level’s science and social studies concepts with the natural resources of the Wenatchee Valley.
- Specific community organizations and government agencies partner with the school district to help develop and implement field experiences.
- All grade level classes from seven schools participate over a three-day period. In groups of 12-15 under adult leadership, students rotate between learning stations, staffed by school district and community volunteers.
Here is a current description of our K-5 Science Field Experiences.
KINDERGARTEN: Wenatchee Tree Walk — Late September
(FOSS Science: Trees, Wood)
(Social Studies: Me and My Family)
Lead Teacher — Patty Cone — Columbia Elementary
Community Partner: Wenatchee Valley College
Students spend two hours on the grounds of Wenatchee Valley College, rotating between stations. Bilingual activities use FOSS lessons and include literacy, music, science, and art components.
GRADE ONE: Shrub-Steppe Hill Hike — Mid-April
(FOSS Science: New Plants, Weather)
(Social Studies: Me and My Neighborhood)
Community Partner: Regional EPA grant/Chelan Douglas Land Trust.
Classroom teachers lead their students on a 30-minute wildflower hike on the Jacobson Preserve trail system. At the top of the trail, classes rotate between 4 hands-on learning stations, exploring animal tracks, measuring weather (wind speed and air temperature), painting a wildflower, and capturing and examining insects. Everyone enjoys a picnic lunch with a sweeping view of Wenatchee and hikes back down to the trailhead.
GRADE TWO: Awesome Apple Adventure — Early October
(FOSS Science: Butterfly and an Insect’s Life Cycle)
(Social Studies: Trade and our Community)
Community Partners: WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center and Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.
Students spend all day in an apple orchard, picking, pruning, measuring, and testing under the direction of Washington State University scientists at the Tree Fruit Research Station on Western Avenue. Students explore our valley’s apple history in activities led by Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center docents. Insect life cycles come to life with music, costumes, and drama in a festival style.
GRADE THREE: Salmonfest — Mid-September
(FOSS Science: Water)
(Social Studies: Me and My World Community: Native Americans)
Community Partners: U.S Forest Service/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Students travel to Leavenworth to participate in a full day of learning activities that explore components of the salmon’s life cycle in our Wenatchee River Watershed. This award-winning regional event is hosted by the United States Forest Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Agency on the grounds of Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Students learn about salmon through topics of habitat, use by native peoples, and water quality. The festival includes art, music, and performances, all with a focus on our local natural resources.
GRADE FOUR: River of Power — Early June
(FOSS Science: Electric Circuits)
(Social Studies: Washington Exploration, Settlement, and Transportation)
Community Partner: Chelan County PUD
Students explore Chelan County PUD’s Rocky Reach Dam, rotating between learning stations centered around the Columbia River Watershed. Topics include the water cycle, watershed mapping, geography and local history, habitat, and hydropower generation and transmission. The curriculum integrates library, art, and music with a focus on hydropower and electricity.
GRADE FIVE: Shrub-steppe’n Up Saddlerock — Early May
(FOSS Science: Landforms and Environments)
(Social Studies: Washington State Mapping)
Community Partners: United States Forest Service
Students partake in an all-day expedition hike to the top of Saddlerock on Washington Department of Natural Resources land. Hiking groups stop at a series of interpretive learning stations along the route. Community member and scientist volunteers teach at stations, using hands-on materials to highlight local plants, animals, and geology typical of our area’s sagebrush-grasslands. Music teachers lead a sing-a-long during the lunch break on top, surrounded on all sides by a magnificent view.