Education
at The Clifton Institute
Education
at The Clifton Institute
K-12 Programs
K-12 school groups and homeschool groups are invited to visit us for field trips. For these visits, we offer a curriculum of programs, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of the natural world, like amphibians or water systems, and each of which targets particular grade-specific SOLs.
The focus and mission of our school programs change as the students age.
We spend part of every program on a guided hike, exploring and observing different parts of the field station. We complement the hike with games and activities that teach concepts relevant to that program’s theme.
We have multiple programs available for each grade level, so your class can visit us multiple times a year without repeating material. Students are also able to visit us year after year as they progress from one grade to the next.
In elementary school, we want to teach the students the basics of ecology and evolution, while encouraging them to engage in critical thinking, to recognize patterns in nature, to formulate questions, and to describe their observations to us and their peers.
As students move up to middle school, we start to teach them about the tools and techniques scientists use to study biology, hydrology, geology, and other sciences.
In high school, we guide the students toward conducting independent studies on the aspects of the field station that interest them the most.
Check out the programs we offer in our Education Program Curriculum Guide.
Email our Education Associate, Alison Zak, at azak@cliftoninstitute.org to schedule a program.
We provide environmental education to people of all ages.
Our education programs foster scientific proficiency and critical thinking. They also promote a sense of curiosity and wonder in nature.
Participants in our programs are encouraged to be physically active, intellectually engaged, and mindfully observant, improving both their physical and mental health.
After experiencing the beauty of the northern Piedmont ecosystem, our visitors are inspired to take better care of the natural world, both locally and globally.
YHikes!
Our YHikes! (Youth Hikes) program is designed to give young people the opportunity to learn about nature outside of a classroom environment. We hope that after spending time on the field station, participants in these programs will be more confident being outdoors and will be inspired to take care of the natural resources in our backyard, around our area, and across the globe.
We offer YHikes! Saturday morning programs each month, except July when we hold summer camp instead. We invite children ages 5 and up to join us for a hike around the field station from 9am until 12pm. Parents may drop off their child or attend the event. Dates and times can be found on our calendar.
YHikes! Summer Camp is a week-long day camp for children interested in spending time outside and learning about nature. We hold two sessions each summer, during the first and last weeks of July.
Each morning, campers will explore the field station with our naturalists and learn about the plants and animals that live in the northern Virginia Piedmont. Campers will then participate in preparing lunch from local and healthy ingredients. In the afternoon, campers will enjoy crafts and games that will expand their knowledge of ecology and the environment.
Campers will gain a deep understanding of our natural surroundings and the confidence they need to continue spending time outdoors for years to come!
College and University
We invite teachers and professors from colleges and universities to use the field station as an extension of their classrooms. If you need somewhere to conduct a field component of a biology course, our field station is ideally situated to serve as an outdoor laboratory. We are happy to provide a lecture or a guided tour of the field station. We are also happy to let you explore and study the property on your own.
We use iNaturalist to document EVERY species (of plant, animal, fungi, and everything else) that is found on the field station.
The iNaturalist app is an easy and engaging way for students to contribute to a long-term scientific project. Let us know if you or your students would like to get involved!
Internships
We provide internships for high school and college students. If you are working on completing a community service requirement for your high school, college, or university, we have several projects around the field station for which we need volunteers. For example, we are looking for interns to help with our education programs, to create informational materials, and to assist in field maintenance.
We are also happy to work with interns on research projects. For example, we have worked with an intern from the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation to study how salamander eggs develop in different habitats.
If you are interested in conducting an internship with us, please get in touch and we can design a project that will fit your skills and interests.
A highschool intern collects and identifies native crayfish.
Public Programs
Through our public programs, members of our community of all ages have the opportunity to visit the field station, to learn about ecology and conservation, and to engage with other people who are interested in natural history and spending time outdoors.
We host a series of public programs throughout the year. Some programs focus on a particular type of organism, like American Woodcocks, butterflies, or fungi. Others focus on a particular way of looking at nature, like photography, nature journaling, or camera trapping.
We also hold regular bird, butterfly, and dragonfly walks. You can find information about how to participate in our citizen science events here.
We hope these programs teach you a bit about the natural history of our property and of the area and inspire you to continue spending time outside learning about nature.
Is there something you’re interested in learning about that you don’t see on our calendar?
Contact Us and we can work to put together a program that will cover that topic.
