DESERT OUTDOOR CENTER AT LAKE PLEASANT:
The Desert Outdoor Center at lake Pleasant is excited to announce the limited release of six episodes based on our favorite park programs for school groups. Since you can’t visit us, we can now visit you with pre-recorded videos! Currently, we are giving exclusive access to school groups, releasing one episode at a time, all for free when you sign up! You will find that some episodes include a companion handout that can be used alongside the program.
EPISODE 1
AQUATIC LIFE: Join rangers, Terry and Natalie, in this video designed to help students describe why freshwater is so important! We will learn by identifying several aquatic organisms with the help of our rangers and a field guide. During the program, students will be introduced to how much freshwater is available on our planet, various scientific tools, procedures for scientific investigation, and the difference between “clean” and polluted water based on what life we find. Students will even learn some history of Lake Pleasant!
Grades: 2 - 12
Handouts: Click here to download the program handout.
TRAILER:
EPISODE 2
DESERT ECOSYSTEMS: Join rangers Cassidy and Terry on a hike in this video designed to help students describe how plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert are uniquely adapted to thrive in our desert ecosystem! During the program, students will see how different parts of our ecosystem are interconnected by the ways that they live. We will introduce topics like the food chain, the balance of nature, and what is meant by the term ecosystem. Terry and Cassidy will show us various examples of real plants, animals, and their habitats found along the trail at the Desert Outdoor Center at Lake Pleasant.
Grades: K - 8
Handouts: Click here to download the Ecosystem Bingo handout.
TRAILER:
EPISODE 3
TRACKING: Join rangers Mark and Cassidy in this video to learn the science of animal tracking. Finding animal signs can help us understand them a bit more by seeing where they are going and what they are doing. The rangers will demonstrate how to use our noses, ears, and eyes to identify animal signs. Let’s follow the rangers to see what we can find!
Grades: K - 12
Handout: Click to download the Animal Tracks, Mammals, and Birds handouts.
TRAILER:
EPISODE 4
IN COLD BLOOD: Join rangers Natalie and Mark in this video to discover what it means to be cold-blooded and what the difference is between cold-blooded and warm-blooded creatures. We will look at a variety of cold-blooded animal friends from the Sonoran Desert to see how they live and what makes them so unique. You’ll see that some of those “creepy crawlies” are not so scary after all!
Grades: K - 12
Handout: Click here to download the Insects, Reptiles, and Fish handouts.
TRAILER:
EPISODE 5
CACTIMENDOUS: Joins rangers Cassidy and Natalie on a Cactimendous hike to learn about what cacti are, how they are adapted to live in the Sonoran Desert, and why they are so good at living here. The rangers will show us a variety of cactus species, examine them closely, and identify unique characteristics for each one. They will also show us some plants often mistaken for cacti and how to spot the difference.
Grades: K - 12
Handout: Click here to download the Plants handout.
TRAILER:
EPISODE 6
NATURE NOTES: Join rangers Cassidy and Natalie to learn how to create and use your very own nature notes journal. Your journal is where you can write or draw your own perspective of what you see and experience in nature. Throughout the ages and right into today, journals have been the working place for thinkers, scientists, inventors, storytellers, and artists. Ranger Cassidy will demonstrate how to make our own journal from different types of paper and art supplies and how to be creative with it! Then we will go outside with Cassidy and Natalie to discover different journaling activities.
Grades: 2 - 12
TRAILER:
