| Welcome | The
Curriculum Precisely which
activities any one school does can be worked out between
Outdoor School staff and each individual school You can skip directly to descriptions of Outdoor School's overnight backpack , the classes that are offered around camp, evening activities, or an example of a "typical" schedule, by clicking on the appropriate words above. You can also click on individual activity titles for more detailed descriptions of the class. "I hope to come back some day and hike up the mountains during the summer with my family, it would be so much fun." - Kadi Quality time in the woods is a powerful part of the Moran Outdoor School experience. Most groups choose to spend one of their nights at Moran State Park away from cabins and electric lights on a backpack into the forest. Moran Outdoor School prides itself on giving many of its students their first experience away from civilization. "I love to go out in the middle of the forest and lay down on the ground and breathe. I want to do this again." -Ryan Backpacking to a primitive campsite, setting up camp, and then heading out into the woods, the students have the opportunity to learn about a forest ecosystem, experience the how and why of Leave No Trace principles, and really look all around them. With a full day in the forest, there is time for activities like hands-on study of forest succession, journal time in a special spot of the student's own choice, and walking a section of trail out of sight and sound of all other people. Roasting marshmallows around a campfire, exploring the night as a group without lights, and sleeping in a tent or under the stars finish off a day that few students will forget. Outdoor School staff stay with the same group for the whole day, and many of the activities they do connect to other activities in ways that make it hard to divide them up into distinct "classes." Some of the activities below are typically done as part of a whole day around camp with one of our staff, while others are set up as evening activities, electives, or as part of the overnight. "I thought kayaking would be much scarier at first but when I saw how to get out of the kayak I felt much safer. I have always dreamed about getting a motorboat, but now I want to get a kayak." - Steven KAYAKING - Sea kayaks become the medium for exploring the base of a watershed. Students are introduced to the practices of safe boating using double kayaks, and (weather cooperating) take them out onto Cascade Lake. The concept of a watershed is introduced and illustrated as students paddle on Cascade Lake. WATERSHEDS - Students use the pristine Cascade Lake watershed as a context for examining the interrelationship between watersheds, humans, and animals. One activity has the students constructing their own functional watershed out of natural materials and then discovering the effects of development on water quality and wildlife. Other components of the class often include water quality testing and a look at the salmon life cycle and human impact on it. WETLANDS STUDY -
An introduction to life cycles and interrelationships of
aquatic "You taught me how to identify Cedar and Douglas fir trees so thanks." - Nick FOREST COMMUNITY STUDY - Students hike and explore the park's exemplary forest community. Studies of forest succession, old growth characteristics, animal adaptations, and the web of interrelationships that tie all the creatures of the forest together, have all been a part of this class. This class is often incorporated into the night/day that many groups spend at a campsite. "Thanks for showing me how worms help the earth." - David
CREATURES OF THE FOREST - Students study adaptations, habitats, and niches, of both large and small creatures of the forest. Activities have included insect sweep nets, predator-prey games, examining our collection of bones and skulls, and searching for animal signs. LIFE AND DEATH IN THE FOREST - True learning through doing. Students play an active game in which they take on the roles of herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores, each trying to survive. They search through the woods for the food and water they need, while hunting and being hunted by each other. Teaches students about the struggle for survival and predator-prey relationships in a natural community. "I really liked those activities where we had to work together." - Kristal
PUBLIC HEARING - An environmental public hearing is held, in which students take on the roles of various members of a community with opinions about a local issue. This class gives students the opportunity to role play, to see different viewpoints, and to explore the need for balance of human needs with human impacts. NATURE CRAFTS -
CAMPFIRE - People seldom get the opportunity in modern society to entertain each other. At an Outdoor School campfire the entire group gathers around the campfire for songs, skits, and stories. When groups stay longer we often do two campfires; the first mostly put on by staff and the second focused around student skits in which they create a myth to explain something in nature e.g., why the coyote howls at the moon. NIGHT WATCHERS - Students explore the night as a group without lights. They learn about the adaptations of nocturnal creatures, and experience the night as if they were nocturnal themselves, while building their own confidence and comfort. Early spring and late fall are the best times for this activity, and it is most often done on backpacking overnights. Moran Outdoor School runs programs of varying lengths
from day trips to four night excursions. While Outdoor School Staff have
found that groups get more out of longer stays (with increased student
learning, comfort, and community building), they understand that costs
can be a limiting factor for some schools, and have seen tremendous impact
with all lengths of stay at Moran. The program can be adapted to group
size, length of stay, and individual group needs, but one example of a
"typical" four night excursion goes like so: On Monday the school group arrives, hiking into camp by cabin groups while the luggage gets a ride. Once at camp they move into cabins and then gather for an orientation to the program followed by some free time. After dinner the group gathers for their first campfire. On Tuesday, after breakfast, students divide up into co-ed class groups and join up with a naturalist for the day. Tuesday is spent on water systems including classes such as Kayaking, Watersheds, Wetland Study, and a Group Building course. Lunch is eaten with the group. Everyone comes back together for an hour of free time before dinner. After dinner half the group creates T-shirts, while the other half plays field games, after which they switch. On Wednesday, after breakfast, students load up their backpacks, and get back into class groups for a day/night in the forest. Lunch, dinner, and the next day's breakfast are all prepared out of camp. On Thursday class groups return to camp by lunch. After lunch they create a poster newspaper about their trip, and then choose two of many electives: nature crafts, Life and Death in the Forest, large group games, and activities offered by teachers or parents. Before dinner students have time to prepare skits for the campfire that evening. On Friday groups pack up, clean up, participate in a closing tree planting ceremony, and say their good-byes, before departing for the ferry.
Hillside Student
Community and Outdoor School Click here to learn about some of the other details you'll need to know if you're considering bringing a group to Outdoor School. |
, but all the
activities will be tied together through a set of common 
ecosystems will help develop the students'
appreciation of wetlands. Discussion of pollutants,
habitats and human impact are part of these sessions.
Students will come to conclusions about the health of a
natural wetland through hands-on discovery of the
creatures that live in it, and scientific measurements of
water quality. Since a natural wetland is used for this
class, it can only be taught in the spring.
MICROFOREST STUDY -
Students explore the small things in the forest and their
interdependence with the big stuff we usually notice.
They discover the many parts of everyday
"dirt," play games that illustrate the
importance of all the parts of the soil cycle, and learn
about key interdependencies like that between Douglas
firs and mycchorizal fungus.
GROUP BUILDING COURSE - During this class the
student groups are given games, challenges, and
activities that help them learn how to work together.
Over the course of the class they have the opportunity to
increase skills in communicating, problem solving,
cooperation, and leadership.
Activities like beeswax candle making,
decorating T-shirts with leaf prints, and papermaking
from recycled materials, give the students the
opportunity to create something that they can take with
them when they go. Often done as several of many elective
offerings, or as an 
