for parents
and teachers
teacher resources
SNCO programs encourage curiosity, observation, and hands-on exploration of the natural world and space. These resources are to help teachers and families prepare learners before visiting, extend learning afterward, and continue scientific discovery at school or at home.
preparing for your visit
Our pre-visit resources are designed to help you get the most out of your experience with SNCO. Whether you’re preparing for a field trip to our campus, getting ready for an outreach visit at your school, or planning a planetarium experience, these materials provide helpful background information, vocabulary, and activities to build excitement and understanding ahead of time.
nature exploration activities
Our Nature Exploration Activities are designed to bring hands-on discovery into your home or classroom. These easy to use resources encourage curiosity about the natural world through simple, engaging activities that help students observe, explore, and connect with nature wherever they are. Perfect for extending learning beyond a visit, they inspire young learners to think like scientists and discover the environment around them.
nature walks
animal adaptations
scavenger hunts
sit spots
More activities coming soon!
space exploration activities
Our Space Exploration Activities are designed to bring the wonder of the night sky into your home or classroom. These easy-to-use resources encourage curiosity about space through simple, engaging activities that help students observe, imagine, and explore the universe around them. Whether you’re looking up at the night sky or exploring space concepts indoors, these activities help learners make connections to Earth’s place in the universe and spark a sense of wonder about what lies beyond.
making a planisphere/star wheel
This activity is adapted from skyandtelescope.com
solar system scale model walk
This activity is inspired by common solar system scale modeling used in outdoor/science education.
activity note
These activities are adapted from trusted educational sources and are used in some of our astronomy programs; for classes scheduled for an astronomy immersion field trip with SNCO, we recommend saving these experiences for your visit.
discovery kit support
Our Discovery Kits bring hands-on, nature-based learning directly into your classroom. Each kit is filled with engaging materials, like biofacts, books, and a teacher guide, to support meaningful exploration over the course of two weeks, all at your own pace. To extend the experience even further, a naturalist visit can wrap up the unit with a lesson connected to your kit. The videos here highlight sample activities and model how to teach them, giving you a helpful preview of the interactive learning your students will experience.
Flying Wild’s Fill the Bill activity setup video. Check out this activity in our Avian Analysis Nature Discovery Kit!