Curriculum Materials and Lesson Plans

PLEASE NOTE:

While we are currently limited to offering Ranger-led programs only at the Douglas Center, please see below for program offerings and descriptions that we plan to offer on a more regular basis.

 

A Ranger and group of students explore a gray pine ecosystem along West Beach's Dune Succession Trail.

NPS Photo / Joseph Gruzalski

Below is a list of available education programs through Indiana Dunes National Park.

Please visit our education page to schedule a program with your students.

 

Programs List

Click on the drop boxes below to view details about Indiana Dunes National Park program offerings.  Please note, rangers are currently updating these programs to ensure alignment with curriculum standards and interpretation best practices.  Program offerings are subject to change. 

Currently, we are only offering ranger-guided field trips at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Education.

A Grain of Truth

Hike one mile along beach and foredune trails to learn about processes of glaciation, erosion and dune building.
• Grade levels: 4th - 6th
• Seasons offered: Spring, Summer, Fall
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

The Chellbergs had a Farm

Visit a 1900 farm and participate in activities of work and play.
• Grade levels: Preschool - 3rd
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Discover

A sensory program immersing students in an atmosphere that promotes protection of nature and the park.
• Grade levels: Preschool - 3rd
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Fall Fanfare

Learn of fall activities and adaptations that plants and animals use to prepare for winter.
• Grade levels: 1st - 6th
• Seasons offered: October - November
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Habitat Hike

Discover and explore the many habitats of the Indiana Dunes.
• Grade levels: 4th - 12th
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Lake Michigan Alive

Learn the history and significance of Lake Michigan and how it impacts our lives.
• Grade levels: 4th - 12th
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Mount Baldy Moves & West Beach Walks

Learn how wind, water,waves and plants work together to form dunes. Discover ways humans can alter or save the dunes.
• Grade levels: 4th - 12th
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Maple Sugar Time

Discover how maple sugar affected peoples' lives. Learn about technological advances in maple sugar production.
• Grade levels: All Grades
• Seasons offered: First two-weeks of March
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Pinhook Bog

Learn about this special geological feature of the region while walking on a board walk floating on sphagnum moss and seeing the diverse plant life of the bog including insect eating plants and tamarack trees.
• Grade levels: 6th - 12th
• Seasons offered: Mid April - Mid November
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Potawatomi and Fur Traders

Learn about the lifestyles of the Native Americans as they lived with the land and the traders as they came to the region.
• Grade levels: All
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Reflections on Snow

Explore animal tracking , predator/ prey relationships and winter habitats while hiking or cross country skiing in Miller Woods.
• Grade levels: 5th - 12th
• Seasons offered: January - February 15
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Secrets of Succession

Students will discover the forces that shape the dunes and produce the unique succession of plants.
• Grade levels: 6th - 12th
• Seasons offered: Spring, Summer, Fall
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Talk With the Animals

In this puppet show students will see how animals and plants of the outdoors work as neighbors to help one another.
• Grade levels: Preschool - 1st
• Seasons offered: Year-Round
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Water World

Students will investigate the rich diversity of an interdunal pond and examine the pond's surrounding ecosystem of plants and animals.
• Grade levels: All
• Seasons offered: Unavailable at the time
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format

Winter Explorations

Students will understand how plants and animals adapt to survive the winter through discussion and hike.
• Grade levels: All
• Seasons offered: January - February 15
• Indiana curriculum format
• Illinois curriculum format