Home Study 2024

Our programs are designed to provide experiential and inquiry-based learning opportunities. Students explore big ideas, i.e., understandings that endure long after the details are forgotten. Programs span across our 412 acres which encompasses wetlands, streams, meadows, forests, ponds and vernal pools. Students practice skills such as asking relevant questions, making careful observations, communicating outcomes, and reflecting upon results. Next Generation Science Standards are incorporated into all offerings. 

Please Note: Unless otherwise noted, all programs will meet in the Youth Education Center. 

CLICK HERE to register

The following will be available to homeschoolers for the Spring 2024 season:

April 22
Vernal Pools: Unique Amphibian Nurseries  10:00 am - 12:00 pm

May 6
The Greenhouse House Ecosystem  10:00 - 11:30 am
Dinosaur Descendants: Egg-cellent Chickens  12:30 - 2:00 pm

May 20
Curious about Curious Goats. 10:00 - 11:30 am
Bumble Bee Basics 12:30 - 2:00 pm

 

bumble bee and dandelion, Hildene Home Study programs at Hildene Bumble Bee Basics

Grades: 2 & 3-4 Length: 1 1/2 hours
OFFERED May 20, 12:30 - 2:00 PM
Gentle and fuzzy, everyone has watched a bumble bee buzzing between flowers in summer; but what about the rest of the year? How do bumble bees overwinter? Where do they raise brood in the spring? How do they fly in the fall when it is chilly or raining? Students discover the answers to these and other questions during this program. They examine the differences in color patterns between species, learn how to enhance pollinator habitat, and may observe queens in search of nest sites, workers foraging or new queens preparing for winter. 
BIG IDEAS: Interdependence; Cycles; Structure and Function. NGSS

Hildene Farm's goat dairy comes alive in Spring with goat kids Curious About Curious Goats

Grades: K-2 & 3-4 • Length: 1 1/2 hours 
OFFERED May 20, 10:00 - 11:30 AM
Students interact with the does and kids at our goat dairy, while exploring the life cycle, adaptations and behavior of goats. Students also learn about the process of milking, feed the goats and help with other chores, as well as identify goat products.
BIG IDEAS: Cycles; and Structure and Function. NGSS

vernal pool program, youth education at Hildene Vernal Pools: Unique Amphibian Nurseries

Grades: 3-5 • Length: 2 hours
OFFERED April 22, 10:00-12:00 pm
With slides, investigation and observation of live animals, students discover the critical support vernal pools provide to certain amphibians. They examine the energy and nutrient source of these temporary pools, become familiar with some of the “obligate” vernal pool species and learn why these pools are called the “hatchery of the forest.” 
BIG IDEAS: Interdependence; and Systems. NGSS

chickens Dinosaur Descendants: Egg-cellent Chickens

Grades: K-1 & 2-4 • Length: 1 1/2 hours
OFFERED May 6, 12:30 - 2:00 PM
From producing food to cleaning up after other farm animals, chickens play an important role on the farm. While students interact with Hildene’s flock, they explore why chickens have a “crop” instead of teeth, how they communicate messages to each other, the 21-day cycle from egg to chick, and have fun observing the quirky behaviors of these creatures. 
BIG IDEAS: Cycles; and Structure and Function. STANDARDS

Investigating the greenhouse ecosystem at Hildene The Greenhouse Ecosystem

Grades 3-5 Length: 1.5 hours
OFFERED May 6, 10:00 - 11:30 AM
Students investigate Hildene’s warm and cold houses to discover how thriving plants are grown year-round. While learning about pests and beneficial insects of a greenhouse, students perform “plant health checks.”   They also plant, harvest and enjoy one of our most popular greenhouse crops, microgreens, while looking closely at plants' structure and function. 
BIG IDEAS: Structure and Function; Cycles; and Interdependence. NGSS