Biosphere

Biosphere 2026 Field Trip Schedule

Robin Jensen- Lead Teacher

Madelyn Sperling- Assistant Teacher

Monday June 15th

First Day:

Icebreakers/Name games/games led by interns
Introduction of the program- Biosphere, Biotic/Abiotic, Interconnectedness of life in ecosystems
Web of life activity- discussion of organism niches and relationships (consumers/producers, predator-prey, symbiosis). Then students receive the name of an organism and research its niche. Bring all students together to connect all the organisms to represent a community/ecosystem. Then also discuss human effects on this ecosystem.
Decorate sun hats for the program
Introduce the Independent Final Projects- Designing something that will help a local species or ecosystem. Guide them through the research process.
Explain rubrics and evaluation
Nature walk scavenger hunt along River trail (from Strasburg High school to Strasburg Park).
Picnic lunch at shelter
Rangers from Seven Bends State Park to meet us at shelter for Owl Pellets Program. This program focuses on the role of owls in their ecosystems, their adaptations, and the food chain. Students also practice lab skills to investigate the contents of an owl pellet, and use the bones found to determine the species. If weather is bad, this program will be held in our room at Signal Knob Middle School instead.
Return to Signal Knob MS. Begin research for projects. Answer question of the day in journals. Award Spirit Hat to a student.

Tuesday, June 16th

Travel to Blandy Experimental Farm

Program: Arborsleuths

Return to SKMS, work on projects, answer question of the day, Award Spirit Hat to a student.

Wednesday, June 17th

Travel to The Clifton Institute

Program: Incredible Invertebrates

Lesson about arthropods and their classification
Testing ID skills using arthropod models
Field study: students use nets to humanely capture arthropods to ID them, record data, compare numbers in a controlled burn field vs. a mowed field.
Lunch onsite

Return in afternoon, work on projects, answer question of the day, Award Spirit Hat to a student.

Thursday, June 18th

Morning: Hike Kidz Foundation Volunteer Project

Afternoon: Strasburg Park Pool Day and Games in Shelter

Lunch provided

Monday, June 22nd

Travel to: Shenandoah National Park, Dickey Ridge Visitor Center

Meet Ranger for Fox Hollow Trail Guided Hike, includes stops/discussions about:

The History of the National Park
The species in SNP
Ecological Succession over the last 100 years
Human effects on the ecosystem
The National Park Service’s role in protecting natural areas and providing connections with people
Invasive species and the studies being conducted by park biologists
Lunch at Dickey Ridge Picnic area

Return to SKMS, work on projects, discuss progress, answer question of the day, Award Spirit Hat to a student.

Tuesday, June 23rd

All-Program Day at Signal Knob Middle School

Wednesday, June 24th

Travel to: Shenandoah River State Park

Program: Macroinvertebrate Exploration, includes:

Discussion of aquatic organism adaptations and diversity
The importance of life and clean water in the Shenandoah River
Hands-on survey in water to collect macros (using a kick-net), and identification of species
Tallying data and analyzing results

Lunch on Site

Afternoon Hike: view local plants and animals and the Shenandoah River

Stop by the Visitor Center: View the exhibit and the wildlife

Return to SKMS, work on projects, Award Spirit Hat to a student.

Thursday, June 25th

On site at Signal Knob Middle School

Finish work on Projects, get ready for presentations

Students do a practice run presenting to instructors.

Complete “What I learned” Poster

Lunch

Presentations to Parents and Guests

Final Closing Ceremony

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