Caving Safari

Developed under a Virginia Environmental Endowment grant as model programs for high school students, science safaris are combined laboratory and field classes that stress field study, experimentation, data collection and analysis. After an introduction to the day's topic, students will leave the classroom behind to become immersed in a first-hand learning experience in the natural world.

Length of Session: 6 to 12+ hours (varies with topic)

Number of Students: Maximum of 25

Fee: Contract Schools-Please call for information

Non-contract schools-$30 per student ($600 minimum)

For more information or to make a reservation, call the Reservations Coordinator at 757-595-9135 Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  or fill out the on-line request form.

Funded in part by Riverside School of Health Careers.

Grades 6-12

SOLs LS.5 LS.9 ES.1 ES.2 ES.10 BIO.8

Grades 6-12

SOLs 6.1 6.2 PS.1 PS.2 ES.1 ES.2 ES.5 ES.6

Make your earth science curriculum come to life with an all day field excursion to Virginia's mineral rich Piedmont region. Students will search for specimens such as mica, garnet, feldspar, magnetite and more. Students learn to identify their collected rock and mineral samples using diagnostic tests and then apply their data to interpret the ancient environments that formed the specimens. Virginia's mineral resources are correlated to commercial applications in our daily lives.

Grades 7-12

SOLs LS.7 LS.9 LS.10 LS.12 BIO.1 BIO.5 BIO.9 CH.1

Travel by canoe through a freshwater ecosystem teeming with aquatic life from duckweed and water lily to bass and beaver. Determine the primary productivity of this rich pond community through dissolved oxygen studies and investigate the pond's successional stage. Students analyze collected data to identify natural and man-induced factors that lead to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.

Grades 7-12

SOLs LS.7 LS.9 LS.10 LS.11 LS.12 BIO.1 BIO.5 BIO.9

Board canoes for an exciting on-the-water study of a local estuarine ecosystem. From their floating laboratory, students monitor salinity and other physical factors that affect the survival of creatures in the Chesapeake Bay. Students learn first-hand about the importance of this productive ecosystem by observing killifish, blue crabs, grass shrimp and other organisms in their natural habitat.

Explore Wild Caves in Western Virginia

Grades 7-12

SOLs 6.1 6.9 LS.7 LS.9 LS.11 LS.12 ES.1 ES.2 ES.8 ES.9 BIO.1 BIO.5 BIO.9

Descend into the fascinating world of twilight zones and troglobites while exploring wild caves in western Virginia. Learn the geology of cave formation and growth by examining soda straws, popcorn and other dripstone formations. Search for bats, salamanders and other cave animals and discover their unusual adaptations for survival in this unique ecosystem. (Note: This is a strenuous trip. Participants must be able to walk easily without assistance on uneven ground including some steep slopes.)

Grades 6-12

SOLs 6.1 6.2 6.9 6.11 LS.7 LS.9 LS.10 LS.11 LS.12 BIO.1 BIO.5 BIO.9

Seining in shallow off-shore water and dip-netting in a salt marsh are just two of the day's many activities as students learn first-hand about the biology and ecology of the Bay. One of the last natural shorelines in our region provides the stage for collection and classification of a rich diversity of plants and animals. Assessment of increasing human impact and the need for wetland preservation are areas of special emphasis.