NO BUS NECESSARY 16
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS BRING THE WILD CENTER HOME
“I can’t swim, stop showing off,” said another.
spring, but because of COVID-19, those field trips stopped. So last fall, we began offering online sessions for schools, hosted by a Wild Center educator: Creature Features, which are an encounter with one of our animals, or virtual field trips, which involve two educators and more time. And while the experience isn’t quite the same as being here, in a year when a lot of students are spending a lot of time at home, having the opportunity to see nature—even separated by a screen— is a big deal.
It would have been a typical scene from a typical field trip, if not for one big difference: These students were 300 miles away, watching a livestream in their own homes.
“You can see the learning taking place,” says Michael Trumbower, our school programs coordinator. “We want to make it an adventure, not just a presentation.”
We usually welcome hundreds of students to The Wild Center each
Interactivity is the key to that. Trumbower asked students to observe
On a Friday this spring, a group of 5th graders from PS 38 in Brooklyn marveled at Scarlett and Ta:wi:ne, two of our otters. As usual, the critters were putting on a show, slicing through the water beneath Otter Falls and rooting through piles of leaves to find their food. The students loved it. “She is so cute!” one said.
