Cayuga Nature Center

Programs

Cayuga Nature Center naturalists and educators present fun, educational programs for anyone! Any program can be specifically designed to suit the needs of children in pre-school, elementary, middle, and high school, or adults in college and all types of corporately-assembled groups. Most programs can be taught in one hour, but you may choose one or several to do during your visit. We can also design and tailor environmental education programs based on a request.

Educational Programs

Below is a list of the programs we currently offer here at the center:

Live Animal Programs
Get up close and personal with our live animals at CNC! From reptiles or birds, to mammals or amphibians, we can customize programs to focus on animal adaptations or specific animals such as snakes and lizards to give your students a wild and amazing animal experience!

The Living Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are alive! Where did they come from? What is living in them now? We'll take an exciting look at New York and the life of the Finger Lakes Region through its ancient sea past, gargantuan glaciers, and on to the Finger Lakes we know and love today.

Pond and Stream Exploration
Become a limnologist and explore Cayuga Nature Center's streams and ponds. We will seek and identify nymphs, larvae and other water critters. Help us monitor our water quality.

Wilderness Survival
Activity and lesson topic choices include Shelter Building, Outdoor Navigation (compass usage, maps, landscape clues), Fire building, Cooking, Useful Wild Plants (seasonal focus on edible and other usable species) and Wildlife Tracking and Stalking.

Pioneering
With our pioneer homestead as a backdrop, we can explore and learn what life must have been like in the 1770's! Students will join a founding family, and together they will work on various projects including fire building, stalking and hunting skills, and collecting wild plants.

Cayuga Nature Center Guided Tour
Want to see a little bit of everything that CNC has to offer? Take a guided tour through our historic lodge overlooking Cayuga Lake, see our live animals, take a short hike to learn the ecology of some of our five miles of trails, and climb to the top of TreeTops, our six-story tree house! (Ideal for smaller groups of all ages)

The Journey of the Butterfly (seasonal)
Our Butterfly house is open from late June to early October, and preparations for the return of our guests set the stage for exploration and imagination. We will learn about butterfly lifecycles, habitat and identification. All groups will collect butterflies from our wild flower filled prairie.

Maple Sugaring (seasonal)
Making maple syrup is a great Northeastern United States tradition that began among the Native American nations of eastern North America, including the Finger Lakes region. This tradition was passed on to the settlers and made its way into the efficient systems we use today. Come out to the Cayuga Nature Center and learn about maple sugaring. Find out how sap becomes the syrup we pour on our pancakes!

Educational Program Rates

Onsite at Cayuga Nature Center

$4 per person per hour

Minimum of $100 per program/visit

Offsite Programs

Includes additional fees for milage and travel time.

Enrichment Programs

Cayuga Nature Center naturalists will present hands-on discovery activities indoors and out. Each class will include games, exploration (outdoors whenever possible!), and time for reflection. Enrichment programs are offered for Kindergarten-2nd grade age groups and for 3rd-5th grade age groups. These programs are held one hour a week for six weeks. Limit 12 students per class.

Nature Nuts (K-2nd grade)
Cayuga Nature Center Naturalists will present hands-on discovery activities, indoors and out, that will encourage an active exploration of the natural world. Do plants really die in the fall? What do animals eat when it gets cold? Where do insects go in the winter? Each class will include games, crafts, instructions and plenty of time for fun.

Amazing Animals (K-2nd grade)
This program provides younger students with a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with live animal ambassadors from the Cayuga Nature Center. Small group sessions will teach appropriate animal-handling skills ateach child's personal pace and will offer opportunities for creative interpretation of new concepts through simple art projects.

My Side of the Mountain (3rd-5th grade)
This series uses the popular book by Jean Craighead George as a touchstone to explore a variety of wilderness observation skills that will encourage students to take full advantage of their own backyards. Students will gain skills in trail blazing, tracking and stalking, wild edibles and other areas that will help them to create a special place for themselves in nature.

Wildlife Investigations (3rd-5th grade)
This program offers a hands-on exploration of animal characteristics, adaptations and habitats over the course of six weeks. Using a succession of live animal subjects, students will engage in fun activities, emphasizing a progression of skills including scientific observation and the development and testing of hypotheses.

Enrichment Program Rates

Cost: $75 per class, or $450 for total (6-week) course

Cost: $100 per class or $600 (6 week class) course for Amazing Animals and Wildlife Investigations

Teacher In-Service

Teacher in-services are for teachers, educators, scout leaders, and curious community members. These in-services are informative, hand-on and extremely fun. Contact your school or TST BOCES for in-service credit.

Upcoming In-Services:

Stay tuned for more in-service dates as they are organized.

Camp Experience

CNC also offers camps at different times throughout the year, including one week of winter camp in February, one week of spring camp in April, and ten weeks of summer camp. For each week of camp held at CNC, campers explore nature on our diverse property. All themes and activities are centered around environmental and outdoor education, so not only do children have fun being exposed to our animal collection, six-story tree house, high and/or low ropes course elements, and nature trails, but they also walk away with knowledge and appreciation for the natural world. Download the 2010 Summer Camp brochure below to see what we themes we had at camp this year, and see what might interest your camper!

2010 SUMMER CAMP BROCHURE

Upcoming Camps:
Stay tuned for more camp dates as they are organized.

Russ Friedell, our Camp Director explains the fun experience your camper can have at Cayuga Nature Center!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiijChwuEDU

To reserve programs, contact Jessica Bennett at finance@cayuganaturecenter.org