Educational Programs // Grade 3 through Adults

Absolutely Animals!
This program offers three topics to choose from to fit the specific needs of your curriculum.

• Topic 1 – Adaptations Learn about the many physical and behavioral adaptations of animals that enable them to survive life in the wild.
  
  
• Topic 2 – Native Wildlife Learn about a few of the native species that call Kentucky home.
  
  
• Topic 3 – Habitats Learn what a "niche" is and how having its own niche helps each animal survive.
  

Wings Over Kentucky
What is the largest bird of Kentucky? What is the state bird? Discover the answers as we introduce students to the state's native birds. Find out how birds fly, and learn about the adaptations that help different birds survive and thrive in Kentucky.

The Earth Beneath Our Feet
Learn about the major geological features of Kentucky through a short hike to a fossil bed and experiments that illustrate the rock cycle. This program can be customized to examine, discover, and compare the physical and chemical properties of soil, while exploring the multitude of microorganisms that live in the soil.

Aquatic Ecosystems
One of our most popular programs! Explore the diversity of life that creates an aquatic ecosystem. Use scientific methods to collect and identify various specimens of aquatic life, from insects, to fish, and maybe even an amphibian or two. Learn why these ecosystems are critical to the health of our planet.

Our Green World
Explore a temperate forest habitat, or focus on the identification and classification of native plant life. See the role that plants play in the different natural cycles and our daily lives.

Kentucky Herps
Meet some of the most fascinating animals in Kentucky. Learn about reptiles and amphibians while seeing some of these creatures up close in our Environmental Education Center. Forest staff explain the important role these creatures play in the ecosystem and why they are some of the most misunderstood members of the animal kingdom.

Kentucky Insects And Arachnids
Learn the difference between spiders and insects, as Forest staff lead your group on an invertebrate safari. Observe some of the adaptations that have made insects the most diverse class of animals on the planet. Investigate and evaluate the differences and similarities in anatomy and behavior of several familiar insect families.

Earthkeepers
Native Americans have a special relationship with the natural world. Learn about that relationship through stories and hands-on activities. Explore the Forest while learning about North America’s native people- their culture, lifestyle and reverence for life.

Orienteering: Which Way Do We Go? (For grades 6 and up)
This program can be adapted to the age and ability level of the participants. Learn how to understand and apply basic map information, how to read a topographical map, and how to take and follow compass bearings from one location to another.

Bring A Book To Life (for grades 4 through 7)
Jefferson Memorial Forest is proud to offer this one-of-a-kind program which immerses students in the actual experiences of the characters from two Newbury Honor Books, Jean Craighead George’s My Side of the Mountain, and Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet. Identify wild edibles, build shelters out of materials gathered in the forest, learn how to build a fire with flint and steel, and more! For the best experience, we recommend that your students complete the book prior to their visit.

All programs will meet Kentucky Core Content Guidelines. Our educational staff will help you plan your program so that it meets the needs of your group.

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