Cary Institute educators are ready to come to your classroom and welcome you to our 2,000 acre ecological research site! All of our programs promote outdoor, scientifically valid educational experiences for K-12 students, scout troops and other groups. Each program supports the New York State Learning Standards and can be tailored to suit your specific needs. Pre- and post visits by our educator into your classroom are encouraged. If bus logistics prohibit field trips, talk to us about adapting these programs for your classroom and schoolyard.

Primary Producers: the services plants provide to people
Grades 3-12
(2 hours)
This program highlights the importance of plants in producing the food and oxygen that humans and other creatures need to survive and grow. Students will visit the Cary Institute forest to collect data about the pivotal role plants play in the water cycle, and how the plant community changes over time. Programs for high school students use research instruments to study plant physiology. Photosynthesis, sources of American crops, forest ecosystems and decomposition will be covered in this program.

Botanical Bounty: forests and plants for budding scientists
Grades K-2
(1.5 hours)
Geared for younger grades, this program asks students to explore the diversity of plant life while describing plant parts and witnessing the plant life cycle.

Water Life: the ecology of aquatic ecosystems
Grades 3-12
(2.5 hours)
Students will explore aquatic plants, animals and microbes by comparing small ponds and the Wappinger Creek. Students will draw and write about their findings, measure important aspects of water quality, and collect and identify various organisms. Educators can conduct this entire program at a stream or pond near the school, if buses are not available.

Water on the Move: the hydrology of our forest
Grades 3-12
(2.5 hours)
The water cycle comes to life and becomes local and significant. Students ask the question: how do we use, pollute, and move water? By using a stream model and groundwater wells and walking on our trails, students will explore each stop along the water cycle. Our walk will bring us to the Wappinger Creek, a wetland, and the Cary Institute’s Environmental Monitoring Station.

Schoolyard Ecosystem Explorations
Grades 3-12
4 visits ($200)
February to June
This program is specifically for the schoolyard. A Cary Institute educator will work with students to create a map of their schoolyard that links the living and nonliving aspects of their place, focusing on water. We will also collect phenology data, where students will document the changes in climate, earthworm activity, and plant budding from winter to spring.

Registration Information
We offer 3 versions of each program:

• Full program - includes a pre-program and post-program classroom visit by Cary Institute educators and a field program at the Cary Institute: $200


• Field program only - Cary Institute visit, with pre- and postprogram materials provided to teacher: $100


• Classroom program only - 2 classroom visits by Cary Institute educators: $100