School Groups at DBOC

Students on boardwalk in wetlandsOur programs are designed to immerse students in Missouri ecological field studies.

Just 45 minutes from St. Louis, but a world away for young minds…

Guaranteed with each trip:

  1. Beautiful lodging: Stay in our historic lodges. Parents will be begging to chaperone.

  2. Engaging science: Join us for the hands-on, outdoor, real world, inquiry-based science you have been working on in your classroom.

  3. Team Building: Your students will get to know you and one another better than ever. Prepare for an amazing adventure full of memories to last a lifetime!

  4. Affordable Prices:
    • $5 per student for a 2 hour program
    • $20 per student for 1 night
    • $30 per student for 2 nights
    • $40 per student for 3 nights

  5. High Quality Programs: See below for descriptions of our classes.

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Day Classes at DBOC
Night Classes at DBOC
Schedule a program at the DBOC

 

Day Classes at DBOC
Compass
Grades 3–5
Length of class: 2½ hours
Limit: 20 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Student using a compassAfter a lesson on true north versus magnetic north, the different parts of a magnetic compass, and after learning the ever important rhyme: “Put red in the shed and follow Fred,” students will have their own compass and set of bearings to follow a course around Shaw Nature Reserve in order to find specific destinations. Students will be divided into two groups of ten with one adult from the school with each group.
Prairie Ecology
Grades 4–8
Length of class: 2 hours
Limit: 60 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Purple coneflowerExplore the fascinating ecosystem that once covered 40 percent of Missouri. Learn the history of this unique grassland community and investigate some of the inhabitants that make up this ecosystem. Discover how these plants and animals are adapted to live on the hot, wind-swept prairie. Your students may go back in time and see how pioneers once lived on the prairie in sod houses. Find out how the Shaw Nature Reserve and others are using fire to restore Missouri’s prairie.

Concepts covered: basic needs of life, food chains, plant and animal adaptations, plant usage, pioneer prairie life, fire as a management tool.
Wetland Ecology
Grades 4–8
Length of class: 2 hours
Limit: 60 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Water lily with dragonflyLike any other ecosystem, the wetland is a complex and active place! A wide variety of plants and animals live in this special natural community. Observe some of the inhabitants up close and discover some of their distinguishing characteristics that allow them to survive in this watery environment. Use microscopes to compare the structure of terrestrial plants and aquatic plants. Using a wetland model your students will understand how a wetland functions and why they are so valuable to the inhabitants and humans, alike!

Concepts covered: plant and animal adaptations, wetland function, plant structure, benefits of wetlands, animal identification, predator/prey relationships, food chains, basic needs of life.
Pond Ecology
Grades 4–8
Length of class: 2 hours
Limit: 60 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Students examine pond organismsA whole tiny world lives in the lake community. In small groups, your students will sample the pond for the diversity of organisms living in various zones. They will observe some of the distinguishing characteristics that allow aquatic organisms to live underwater and interact with each other. Using various magnification tools and identification guides students will identify a wide variety of organisms, focusing on structures used for feeding, moving through the water and breathing.

Concepts covered: food chains, basic needs of life, animal adaptations, predator/prey relationships, animal identification, using identification guides and simple magnification tools.
Forest Ecology
Grades 4–8
Length of class: 2 hours
Limit: 60 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Exploring a rotting logHow are forest trees like apartment buildings? Why do many wildflowers bloom in the spring? Why do some animals live only in the forest? Answers to these and other questions will be discovered as your students explore the upland forest. Through investigations of decomposing logs, comparing and contrasting different areas of the forest using simple equipment such as thermometers and a variety of other hands-on activities, students develop an understanding that the forest is a diverse and fascinating ecosystem.

Concepts covered: decomposition, microhabitats, animal adaptations, abiotic factors, food chains, predator/prey relationships, basic needs of life, taking measurements using simple tools.
Global Positiong System (GPS)
Grades 5–8
Length of class: 2½ hours
Limit: 45 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Student with GPS unitStudents will learn how to use a GPS unit. Students will then be divided into small groups of four or five students with one adult from the school going with each group. Each group will complete a GPS course around Shaw Nature Reserve. Each group will have a key with waypoints they need to follow to reach a specific destination
Living Off the Land
Grades 4–8
Length of class: 2½ hours
Limit: 25 students
Fee: $5 (includes DBOC facilities use)

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Students try using a cross cut sawStudents will discover how the early pioneers of westward expansion used their natural resources in order to survive. Some of the activities may include making their own hand dipped candle, natural dying and studying medicinal plants. Students may also have the opportunity to use period tools such as: cross cut saw, draw knife and shaving mule, a froe and mallet and an auger to do actual wood chores. Students will gain an understanding of the past, be able to appreciate the present and look forward to the discoveries of the future!

 

Night Classes at DBOC
Astronomy
Grades: 4–8
Length of class: 2 hours
Limit: 20
Fee: $5
(only offered with overnights!)

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Starry skyOnly offered with overnights!
There are few things more mysterious than gazing up into a limitless night sky filled with stars, planets, moons, nebulas and more! Our astronomy class begins to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding our solar system, our galaxy and the universe at large. On clear evenings, participants will be able to look through a telescope to get an up-close look at the many wondrous sites of our night sky! This class is weather permitting.
Night Hike
Grades: 4–8
Length of class: 2 hours
Limit: 40 (4 groups of 10)
Fee: $5
(only offered with overnights!)

Schedule a class!
OwlOnly offered with overnights!
Evenings are a great time to be at the Nature Reserve. It is easy to appreciate the beauty of nature as the sun drops below the western horizon. Our night hike class begins at 7 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. (unless special arrangements have been made in advance). This gives participants the opportunity to be out during the transition of day to night. Our night hikes focus on helping participants appreciate and understand the night. Activities focus on our five senses with emphasis on night vision and how our eyes change. Diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal animals are discussed, heard and sometimes seen! This is a quiet, educational hike with no flashlights allowed.

 

Schedule a Program at the Dana Brown Overnight Center

To schedule or cancel a program at the Dana Brown Overnight Center or if you have questions, please contact:

Supervisor: Aileen Abbott
(636) 451-3512 x 6081
aileen.abbott@mobot.org

Hours: Monday–Friday; 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Quick Links
Scholarships Available

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Education Department offers need-based scholarships so that every student has the opportunity to experience, explore, discover and learn at the Garden, the Shaw Nature Reserve and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. Both schools/organizations and individual students may apply.

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