Prairie Loft Springfest

Sunday, April 22   1-6pm

A celebration for the planting season. Agriculture & nature activities, art, music, food and fun for all ages. Free admission!

Download a list of activities and exhibitors here: 2012 Springfest activities.pdf

Flatwater Music Festival

Friday and Saturday June 29 & 30

A festival of music, culture, community and fun. Live music, kids’ activities, workshops, food, vendors & more. Visit the Flatwater page for details.

Vendors: Interested in joining us? Download an application: FF Vendor letter app 2012.pdf

Harvest Celebration

Sunday, October 7  1-6pm

Honoring our area’s heritage and future. Farmers market, hayrack rides, farm animals, agriculture demonstrations, food & fun. Free admission! see 2011 Event Schedule

School Field Trips

We offer programs to schools, summer programs, homeschool collaboratives, and other educational organizations. All classes are hands-on and active, with a variety of activities in every session. Activities may include team building activities, nature hikes, art projects, farm to table, animal studies, exploration of gardens, fields, and pasture, and more.

Our field trip lesson plans meet state standards. Download details here: NE State Standards Prairie Loft.pdf

Pricing

Due to the nature of field-based programming, Prairie Loft aims to provide instructors to maintain a 15:1 student:instructor ratio for all programs. Please bring teachers and adults with your group to maintain a teacher:student ratio that is age- and ability-appropriate. Program fees are kept as minimal as possible and cover basic Prairie Loft staff and materials costs.

Cost for field trips are as follows:

Up to 2 hour program for 5-15 students = $2/student ($20 minimum fee)

Up to 2 hour program for 15-50 students = $3/student

Longer field trip programs are available. Please ask.

Other lesson topics are available, and we can adapt our offerings to provide the best learning experience for your students. Please contact us to inquire about a field trip for your group!

PRESCHOOL and EARLY ELEMENTARY LESSONS

My Farm
Through art, exploration, and stories, young students explore interactions that exist in a farm environment. Activities vary seasonally and may include the Learning Barn, a pasture hike, visits to the corn and soybean fields, gardening, storytelling, and art activities.

Birds, Bugs & Other Wonders
Who lives in the trees? Who flies in the sky? Birds & bugs, that’s who! Explore Prairie Loft to discover habitats in the pasture, fields, grass, and sky. This class involves music, art, and a discovery hike. Students will make an art  project to take home.

Farm Seasons - Spring
Spring has arrived! This class includes an interactive story of a year of seasons on the farm and an exploratory scavenger hunt/ hike to discover the many ways spring emerges at Prairie Loft. Students will even pretend to be a spring rainstorm and an emerging seed!

Farm Seasons - Fall/Winter
How do plants and animals prepare for colder weather? This class includes an interactive story of a year of seasons on the farm and an exploratory scavenger hunt/ hike to discover the changes nature makes as temperatures turn colder. Activities may include harvest activities, autumn leaf art, animal tracking, winter stories and games, etc.

ELEMENTARY and MIDDLE SCHOOL LESSONS

Animal Adaptations
This class explores how animals have specific adaptations that help them survive in their living environments. Students will play interactive games to discover predator/prey relationships. We’ll explore the surrounding natural areas to look for animal signs to discover who lives there, what their physical adaptations are, and how those adaptations aid in their survival.

Plant Parts
Students will learn more about the 6 primary parts of a plant, and how each part serves an important function – for both the plant and people. Vegetables grown on a farm will be the cast of characters from which these ideas will be explored, with edible examples included when possible.

Lunch Detectives

What’s in your lunch? Where did it come from before it landed on the grocery store shelf? We’ll trace our food back to its origins and learn about the people and systems involved along the way. This lesson works well if your group brings a sack lunch.

Tree Treasures

Be a tree! Students will act out the components of a tree to learn how phloem, xylem, and other tree parts function. We’ll look at tree rings, stumps, logs, and living trees to discover more about trees and their role as buffer zones on the farm. We’ll also play an interactive game to learn about products people make from trees.

Birds

Beaks, bills, feet, wings, tails, eggs, nests... Birds come in all shapes and sizes, and we will discover why! Students will take part in activities to discover bird adaptations, habitats, and food sources. We’ll take a hike to find birds and their habitats in the pasture, woodlands, and farm fields. Students will take home a project to extend the learning at home.

Small World

Who lives right under our feet? We’ll closely study a few square feet of ground in and around the farm fields. We’ll use the scientific method to draw conclusions about relationships between plants and animals in this tiny world, then use the learning to expand our view of larger ecosystems.

Soil

What could be more important to a farm than healthy soil? In this class, students will begin by learning about how rocks and minerals break down to form different types of soil and what makes soil “healthy”. Then, students will do a comparative study of 3 different soil types – garden, pasture, dry land field – and through some guided scientific inquiry, determine what type of soil they have and how it impacts the plants and animals that live there.

Producer, Consumer, Decomposer
The Earth is the ultimate recycling machine! Whether in a woodland setting or on the farm, this closed-system flow of energy for recycling materials from producer to consumer to decomposer can be easily discovered. An interactive, educational game sets the stage, after which students will explore the fields and surrounding areas to determine what plants and animals are the key players in this ongoing cycle of nutrients and energy.

Other lesson topics are available, and we can adapt our offerings to provide the best learning experience for your students. Please contact us to inquire about a field trip for your group!

BACK TO PRAIRIE LOFT HOME

Family Outdoor Club

Third Saturday of Each Month   10-11:30am

Outdoor activities geared toward kids ages 2-8 with their parents or guardians. Outdoor exploration, art activities, take-home projects, and more. $5 per family per Saturday.

Note: No Family Outdoor Club in April. Come to Springfest instead!