| Field Trips
Where: Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park and Jornada Experimental Range
Cost: $2.50 per student; all adults are free
Maximum Group Size: 100 (minimum group size 45)
Length: All day
In collaboration with the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, the Chihuahuan
Desert Nature Park provides an opportunity for students to learn about
science, agricultural research, and the desert during a daylong field
trip. Students visit 3-5 hands-on activity stations (see list below).
After lunch, students are teamed with scientist guides on the “Desert
Discovery Walk,” a guided exploration of the desert. Students come
away with an appreciation for all that exists in the desert, an area many
of them once considered a wasteland. Call the Nature Park office (505-524-3334)
to book your school's trip. This program is open to all schools in southern
New Mexico and West Texas.
Animal Adaptations
Students are introduced to local desert animals and their physical and
behavioral adaptations. Use of live animals is key to giving students
an up-close look at some of the more elusive animals found in the desert.
Classify It
Students observe similarities and differences within groups of items.
They then
group the items into different categories based on visible characteristics.
Cow Rumen
Students learn about the digestive system of a cow, the difference between
the cow’s digestion and human digestion, and the microclimate within
the cow’s rumen.
Desert Plant Adaptations
Students are introduced to five native Chihuahuan Desert plants (barrel
cactus, ocotillo, creosote bush, yucca, and honey mesquite). By playacting
the plants’ adaptations, students gain knowledge and have fun.
Social Insects
Students are introduced to the social insects (ants, bees, and wasps).
After learning what makes these groups similar, students play an active
game that shows the benefits of sociality on food gathering, storage,
and defense. The game is really a simple scientific investigation and
requires students to pay attention to instructions, compare two situations
with data, and communicate their results.
Xeriscape
Students learn about the essential things that all plants need to survive,
some of the adaptations of desert plants, and that xeriscaping can help
conserve water resources while providing an attractive landscape.
Desert Science In The Classroom (Classroom Visits)
Where: In your classroom
Cost: $60 for first presentation; $30 for additional, same-day presentations
(additional travel charges may apply for schools outside Las Cruces, NM
- generally $25 + 45 cents per mile)
Maximum Group Size: 35 per presentation
Length: Approximately one hour per presentation
The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park can bring a bit of hands-on science
and the desert to your classroom. All programs provide an opportunity
for students to learn about science through hands-on activities. Each
program is aligned with New Mexico and Texas state standards. Current
programs include:
Arthropod Identification
This class program introduces students to the largest group of animals
- arthropods. Using five groups (insects, arachnids, centipedes, millipedes,
and crustaceans), students will learn some of the characteristics of arthropods.
Then students conduct scientific observations of preserved arthropod specimens
to complete their own data table.
Classification
Students learn what classification is and are given various items to group
into sets based on similarities and differences. Students go outside to
collect their own items to group into their own personal classifying system.
Habitat Stats
Students use scientific methods to investigate how many different kinds
of arthropods are found in different habitats in your schoolyard. Students
will conduct a complete scientific investigation, including making predictions,
collecting data, and sharing results. NOTE: This program can be done twice
(once in the fall and once in the spring) to compare different species
numbers found during each season (discounted price for the second program).
Weather
Students are introduced to the different components of weather: temperature,
wind, cloud type, and precipitation. They will learn which instruments
(thermometer, anemometer, etc.) are used to measure each component and
will go outside to conduct weather measurements using these instruments.
Vegetation Measurement *
This program allows students to conduct a full scientific investigation
in the schoolyard to learn about plant composition (what kind of plants
are present), plant cover (how much of the ground is covered in plants),
and plant size. We use vegetation monitoring protocols to measure plants
in two different sites (e.g., edge vs. center of area, arroyo vs. non-arroyo).
The sites we choose will depend on the characteristics of the land near
your school.
*You need an area of native vegetation within easy walking distance of
your school for this program.
Additional programs are coming soon. Call the Nature Park office (505-524-3334)
to schedule your classroom presentations.
Schoolyard Desert Discovery
Project
Where: Your school (with option for a field trip to the Nature Park)
Cost: Free to participating schools
Ages: 1st to 12th grade (Program is age appropriate for the group)
Maximum Group Size: Variable
Length: Depends on activity chosen - from 1 hour to many class periods
In collaboration with the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research
program at New Mexico State University, the Nature Park coordinates a
program that allows students to be scientists as they learn about ecological
research by participating in it. Students work with scientists to conduct
studies on weather, microclimates, soil, vegetation, arthropods, and birds
in their schoolyard. A 360-page teacher handbook contains detailed information
on each of the 28 activities. The handbook includes procedures, reproducible
student pages in English and Spanish, and tables showing how each activity
correlates with national and New Mexico standards. Click here
for more information about getting your school involved.
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