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EDUCATION PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
ABOUT OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMS
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The Living Classrooms Foundation provides students of all ages and abilities with outstanding opportunities for experiential learning.
Living Classrooms Foundation uses hands-on education and a low teacher-to-student ratio and hands-on learning to make science come alive for students.
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Living Classrooms Foundation and the National Aquarium also offer several grant-funded programs for specific Baltimore City and Baltimore County schools.
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National Aquarium Programs at Masonville Cove
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Learn about field trips, school programs, and summer programs for school-aged children.
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Half-Day Field Trips
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Up to 30 Students
$300 for 2.5 hrs
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30 to 45 Students
$400 for 2.5 hrs
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Full-Day Field Trips
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Up to 30 Students
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$600 for 5 hrs
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30 to 45 Students
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$750 for 5 hrs
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Field trips at Masonville Cove are coordinated and led by Living Classrooms Foundation's team of trained educators. Contact us to schedule a program or to learn more.
Full Day Programs
Who Killed Rocky Rockfish?
Suggested For: Grades 2-5
During this murder mystery trip students will use their observation and critical thinking skills to investigate the suspects: Solute Sally, Hot Water Harry, Lindsay Litter, Oscar Osprey, and Food Chain Frank and help the detectives at Masonville Cove solve the mystery of Who Killed Rocky Rockfish. While investigating students will learn about water quality and how humans impact the health of the Chesapeake Bay and the plants and animals that inhabit it.
Full or Half Day Programs
Customized Lesson Plans
Suggested For: All Grades
Don’t see a program that fits quite right for your students? Have our education team develop a custom program tailored to your students’ learning goals and objectives! Mix and match from a menu of available lessons, experiments, and activities to design a day that’s sure to make lasting memories.
Birdy Bonanza
Suggested For: Grades 2-5
Spend a fun-filled day exploring and learning about our feathered friends. Through a variety of hands-on activities students explore different bird adaptations that help them survive such as their beaks, feathers, and how they construct their nests. On our beautiful nature trails, your young ornithologists will hone their skills of species identification and how birds interact in our ecosystem. No birding day is complete at Masonville Cove without learning about our resident Eagles! Take a walk in their shoes and find out the challenges and conservation efforts that have impacted eagles over the years.
Exploring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Suggested For: All Grades
Discover your connection to the Chesapeake Bay and learn about this unique ecosystem through hands-on investigations and interactive activities. Students are introduced to the concept of Watershed and how our actions on land impact the health of our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.
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Half Day Programs
Budding Botanists
Suggested For: Grades 2-5
This day is All About Plants!  Students will explore Masonville’s Nature trails and learn how to identify different native plants and test their skills at identifying the different plant parts in nature.  In the lab, students will learn about plant anatomy beginning with a seed dissection and then get up close and personal- viewing leaves, roots, stems, and flowers through a microscope.  But plants aren’t just on land! Discover how aquatic plants adapt in our watery environments by modeling adaptation in this hands-on lab.
Erosion, Weathering, and Landslides, Oh My!
Suggested For: Grades 2-4
In this half day field trip students will discover if water has the power to create canyons, test their engineering skills while they try to prevent a landslide and look for signs of erosion in the field during a nature walk on our beautiful waterfront property!
Hidden Hibernators
Suggested For: Grades K-2
Now you see them, now you don’t! Where did they go? Learn about the mysteries of hibernation and the magic of camouflage in these hands-on explorations. Students will try to successfully prepare for winter and hide in plain sight as they learn about our hidden hibernators.
Wonders of Wildlife
Suggested For: Grades 2-5
This program will take you on a journey to explore and engage with the Wonders of Wildlife! Hands-on activities will help students grow or deepen their understanding of different forms of wildlife communication, how some wildlife can seem invisible when in plain sight, and how to use clues in nature to determine what wildlife has been nearby. Students will get the opportunity interact with different animal artifacts and meet one of Masonville Cove’s animal ambassadors!
Stream Study:
Baltimore's Water Quality
Suggested For: Grades 5 and Up
Dip your toes in the water of Stream Ecology while investigating the water quality of Masonville Cove’s stream. Participants will learn about the Patapsco River’s Health by conducting abiotic water quality tests such as Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Salinity, and Turbidity. Learn from the stream’s macroinvertebrates by completing a biotic index and discover how much these little critters can tell us about the health of our local waterways!
Terrapin Tales
Suggested For: Grades 3 and Up
Calling all herpetologists! Learn how scientists study Diamondback Terrapin populations by examining nests, measuring eggs, and determining survival of hatchlings from simulated terrapin nests. Consider threats such as predation and human impacts and gain understanding of how you can help save Diamondback Terrapins. After your data is collected in the lab, take a break with our resident Terrapins, Topaz and Pearl as they show off their unique adaptations that make them so special!
Insect Encounters
Suggested For: Grades K-3
Students will experience what it’s like to be an insect at Masonville Cove! First students will embark on a journey through the Monarch’s life cycle, overcome obstacles and hopefully get some help along the way as they journey to Mexico for Fall migration. As a Mason Bee students will learn about the important social structures and groups that bees form to help them survive and thrive in their environments. Students then head out on one of our many nature trails on a Bug Hunt classifying the creepy crawlies found along the way as insect or non-insect by identifying characteristics of an insect.
Island Fever
Suggested For: Grades 3-8
Students are introduced to the concept of urban heat islands and investigate temperatures of different surfaces when exposed to heat/light with infrared thermometers. Combined with hands-on experiments that investigate how plants help cool the hearth and engineering design challenges to address the problem of Urban Heat Island, students will gain an understanding of why urban areas tend to be hotter than rural, more natural areas.
Tracks and Scat
Suggested For: Grades 1-5
You may not see them, but we know they were there! Nature leaves us clues all around telling us who has visited an area. Learning how to identify tracks, scats, and other clues left behind from various animals can help us know a lot about the habitat around us. Put your observation skills to work and see if you can solve nature’s mysteries!
FEE-BASED GROUP FIELD TRIPS
Experience Masonville Cove in-person! A variety of programs and experiences are available with live instruction and hands on activities.
See you soon!
Both of these innovative education programs are managed by Living Classrooms Foundation and made possible by grant funding.
School Leadership in Urban Runoff Reduction Program (SLURRP) is a South Baltimore Gateway Partnership funded program that educates students about storm water runoff and the effects that it has on their "schoolshed." This program combines outreach programs led by Living Classrooms Foundations, teacher-led lessons, action projects, and an immersive full-day field trip to Masonville Cove to provide students with a Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (MWEE).
Baltimore Environmental Education Summer Math and Reading Trailblazers (BEE SMART) is a summer program for rising 3rd through 5th grade students that uses STEM as a vehicle to motivate student learning, increase participants' reading levels, and ultimately prevent summer learning loss. The BEE SMART program is based out of South Baltimore, but provides opportunities for students to spend time at multiple locations (including Masonville Cove) throughout the summer.
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GRANT-FUNDED PROGRAMS FOR MASONVILLE AREA SCHOOLS
Living Classrooms Foundation works with other education and youth programs to offer valuable environmental and outdoor education and recreation opportunities.
SUMMER SCIENCE AND NATURE PROGRAM
Learn, Make New Friends, and Experience Nature with us at Masonville Cove in Living Classroom Foundation's exciting Summer Program.
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Summer 2024 Registration is Open!
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Explore, Discover, and Engage at the Nation's First Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership -- Masonville Cove!
Check our Events Page for Registration Each Month!
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DROP-IN
FIELD TRIPS
