Field Trips

Exit Glacier Educational Programs are offered in the spring once the Exit Glacier Road has opened for the season – usually by early May, and again in the fall before the road gets closed due to snow – usually mid-October. These dates vary each year depending on snowfall. If the road is closed during your scheduled trip, other opportunities may be available. Our staff will do their best to help you make arrangements.

To schedule a field trip call [phone] or email CJ Rea at e-mail us. In your email, please provide the following information:

• Teacher contact name
• School name, address, telephone number
• Teacher's e-mail address
• Grade level(s) and or age of students
• Number of students and chaperones (for field-trips only). Groups must have at least one adult chaperone for every 10 students.
• Preferred date of fieldtrip or classroom visit.
• Preferred start time for fieldtrip (9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. for Exit Glacier)

Since all programs are arranged on a first-come, first-served basis, the sooner you make your arrangements, the more likely you are to get your first choice of date and time. Most programs are booked by March - after that point it may still be possible to schedule a program, but dates and times are limited. Since fall programs do not fill up as quickly as Spring Programs it is usually possible to schedule programs once the school year begins in August.

What To Bring

Directions

 

Field Trip Programs

 

Home Sweet Home

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Home Sweet Home

Kindergarten
A First Field Trip Experience. Students hike between stations at Exit Glacier where they learn about Moose and their Antlers, Animal skulls and pelts, Mosquitos and Glaciers.

 

Tidepool Trekking

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Tidepool Trekking

K-1st grade (Seward Only)
A 90 minute hands on exploration of the local intertidal ecosystem of Lowell Point State Park.

 

Habitat is Where I'm At

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Habitat is Where I’m At

1st-2nd grade
On a 90 minute walk with a ranger students will explore the habitat of animals that make their home near a glacier.

 

Landscape Fast and Slow Change

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Landscape Fast and Slow Change

2nd grade
A 2hr program where students put the concepts of fast (minutes and seconds) and slow (days and years) change in landscapes into practice. Students fill out a map as they travel to look at causes of change. (Combine with pre-visit in classroom programs)

 

Did you Know that Clouds have Names?  

NPS Photo

Did you Know that Clouds have Names?

3rd grade
Students investigate the clouds in the sky and consider their impact on features on the ground. Use a cloud key to identify clouds and look at the way features like mountains influence clouds. (Combine with pre-visit in classroom programs)

 

Beach Ecosystems

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Beach Ecosystems

2nd to 4th grade
A 75 minute trip to Seward’s Fourth of July Beach will reveal living and non-living wonders of the local ecosystem. Students will learn about plankton, tides, algae, marine mammals, invertebrates, fresh and saltwater and how these things interact in the ecosystem. This program also emphasizes biodiversity and our role as stewards to these places.

 

Water Water Everywhere

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Water Water Everywhere

4th grade
In this 2.5 hr program students will take in the watercycle through a series of hands on experiments and investigations. As they traverse the trails at Exit glacier they’ll consider groundwater, view transpiration as it happens, learn about precipitation while investigating clouds. Then they’ll put it all together to understand the watershed of the Exit Glacier valley. (Combine with pre-visit in classroom programs)

 

Glacier Tracks

NPS Photo

Glacier Tracks

4th-6th grade
Students will explore this recently deglaciated landscape looking for the clues that Exit Glacier left behind. Moraines, striations, trimlines and succession will all be introduced along the way. Students will be challenged to imagine how glaciers impact their own lives. (Combine with pre-visit in classroom programs)

 

Getting to Know Algae

NPS Photo

Getting to Know Algae

6th grade -Seward Only
This field trip is limited to Seward schools in order to lessen any impact on the beach. Students will get to see 50+ species of algae and learn to tell the major phyla apart. They will collect one of each macrophytic phyla and press it back in the lab at school. They’ll learn about scientific data collection and specimen handling. They’ll see the state permit used to ask permission for their sampling and they will provide the state with information on the species they harvest. Ultimately, their view of algae will be changed to consider its many benefits to the ecosystem. (Combine with pre-visit in classroom programs)