School Programs

2021/2022
STANDARDS BASED PROGRAMS

"Children are our legacy" - that was the lens through which President Emeritus, Seth Bongartz, fostered Hildene's school programs. Today, and into the future, youth education at Hildene is at the very heart of our mission. While programming will look different this school year, in our dedication to school-aged children, their teachers and caregivers, we are introducing school-based and home-based versions of some of our most popular regular programming.

The Hildene Education Department is offering programs with COVID- best practice protocols in mind. These options are based on our regular programming. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Social Studies State Standards are incorporated into all 2021/2022 alternate offerings.

While our educators are fully vaccinated, due to continuing COVID-19 concerns, all programs are held entirely outside and educators will observe all social distancing guidance issued by school districts. We are offering two options: 1) we will bring the natural science programs to you and your students, to engage in on your school grounds and in surrounding natural areas, or 2) programs are available to you and your learners to undergo on the Hildene campus, with a Hildene educator. In either case, the emphasis is on observation and inquiry skills as well as hands-on learning, with a love and respect for the natural world at the heart of each offering.

Natural Science

Black Capped Chickadee, Winter education

Winter Adaptations: Coping with the Cold

Grades: 2-5 • Length: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED WINTER 2021/22

Colder temperatures and shorter days bring about many changes in the world around us. Students explore forest life through observation and exploration to discover the ways plants and trees adapt to winter’s challenges. They also examine the familiar black-capped chickadee to discover its remarkable survival strategies and complex language of calls. Weather permitting, students take a close look at the unique designs of snowflakes and examine the processes that form them. BIG IDEAS: Structure and Function; Cycles; and Interdependence. NGSS

Under and Over the Snow

Grades: 1-3 & 4-5 • Length: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED WINTER 2021/22

How do animals adapt to Vermont’s long cold winter? Through outdoor activities, students examine the survival strategies of animals in winter and learn basic track identification skills. They investigate prints and track patterns, learn to move like the mammals do, and practice their tracking skills in the woods nearby. BIG IDEAS: Structure and Function; and Place. NGSS

Curious About Curious Goats

Grades: K-2 & 3-4 • Length: 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED SPRING 2022

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

Pond Critters (at Hildene ONLY)

Grades: 1-2 & 3-4 • Length: 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED FALL & SPRING 2021/2022

Pond dwelling critters are remarkable for their diversity of size, shape and adaptations for finding food, moving and breathing. Students explore the pond critters in Hildene's pond to make observations and to identify how they are adapted to live in a watery world. Students also become familiar with the differences between the young and adult forms of their critters and build a pond food web. BIG IDEAS: Diversity; Interdependence; and Structure & Function. NGSS

Bumble Bee Basics

Grades: 2 & 3-4 Length: 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED FALL & SPRING 2021/2022

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

Fall in the Dene (at Hildene ONLY)

Grades: K-1 & 2-4 • Length: 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED FALL 2021

Discover what is happening on our dene farm as the animals and gardens are prepared for winter. While students investigate Hildene’s vegetable gardens and greenhouse, they discover the strategies used by certain crops to allow them to survive all winter in the ground and then be harvested as delicious vegetables in the spring. Students also collect seeds from the gardens, helping to prepare the farm for the next growing season. Through interacting with Hildene’s farm animals and participating in chores, students learn about the many tasks that are done to ready the barn and the animals for winter. BIG IDEAS: Structure and Function; Cycles; Diversity; and Interdependence. NGSS

Wild & Wary: Vermont's Turkeys

Grades: K-2 & 3-4; Length: 1.5 hrs

OFFERED FALL 2021

Unlike earlier times, the turkey we enjoy today isn’t a wild bird, but rather farm-raised. While tasty, the domestic turkey is not nearly as fascinating in behavior or development as its wild cousin. With interactive activities, students explore the history, habitat, life cycle and behavior of Vermont’s wild turkeys. BIG IDEAS: Interdependence; Cycles; and Change Over Time. NGSS

Mighty Monarchs

Fall • Grades: K-3 • Length: 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED FALL 2021

Monarchs are the only butterflies to migrate north and south each year, yet no single insect completes the round-trip journey. Students explore the conservation of this butterfly, while learning about its habitat, life cycle and migration, including tagging and releasing a monarch. BIG IDEAS: Interdependence; Cycles; and Structure & Function. NGSS

Secrets of Seeds

Grades: 1-2 & 3-4 • Length: 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED FALL 2021

How are animals, catapulting, and the forces of wind, water and gravity linked to seeds? Students explore this and other questions during our investigations of seeds. Students examine how seeds are formed, identify the parts of a seed that grow into a new plant, and inspect selected seed bearing structures to look for evidence of how the seeds travel. BIG IDEAS: Interdependence; Cycles; Reproduction; and Structure and Function. NGSS

History

Windows To The Past (at Hildene ONLY)

Grades: 5-12 • Length: 1 1/2 hours

PROGRAM OFFERED NOVEMBER - APRIL 2021/22

Students take a tour of Hildene, built by presidential son Robert Lincoln and his wife Mary in 1905, to learn about the family and their lives at the turn of the century. Students also visit the exhibit The American Ideal: Abraham Lincoln and the Second Inaugural, which includes one of Lincoln’s stovepipe hats of which there are only three in existence.

Robert Lincoln, a captain of industry, served as president of the Pullman Company from 1901 to 1911. Students learn about his Pullman career through a visit to our fully restored 1903 Pullman car, Sunbeam. The interpretive exhibit “Many Voices” focuses on the Pullman Company that built the cars; the privileged families and executives who travelled in them, and the Pullman porters who worked in them. The fourth voice is of those who visit the car and the conclusions they draw from the experience. BIG IDEA Historical Connections; Forces of Unity and Disunity & Nature of Conflict. STANDARDS

LIVE, VIRTUAL: Pullman Porters: Unsung Heroes, Former Slaves, Labor Organizers, Middle Class Citizens & Civil Rights Activists

Grades: 6-8 • Length: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

OFFERED FALL & WINTER 2021/2022

During this live virtual program, students discover the critical role that Pullman porters played in giving rise to America’s Black middle class, the formation of the black labor movement, and the momentum for the civil rights movement. This slice of history spans 100 years, beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Students engage in activities relating to what it was like to travel and work on a Pullman car and actively participate in discussion about the porters’ enduring fight for social change and justice in America. BIG IDEAS: Historical Connections; Human Rights; Impact of Economic Systems; and Nature of Conflict. STANDARDS

Contact Us

For information call Diane Newton, Education Director, 802-367-7965 or 802-874-4787 or email newton@hildene.org.

Registration Information

Fall & Winter 2021/2022 programs are offered by Hildene Educators either at schools (outside), or on the Hildene campus for schools and homeschool families/pods.

Programming Details: Our programs have been reconfigured to meet COVID protocols, and we are flexible in meeting your learners’ and/or Institution’s specific needs. Spring 2021 programs are offered by Hildene Educators either at schools, or on the Hildene campus for schools and homeschool families/pods. School program fees: $4 per student, plus mileage if applicable (0.56/mile). Homeschool/Hildene-based fees: $25/family. For more information on programming, contact Education Director Diane Newton: 802-367-7965 or 802-874-4787, or email: newton@hildene.org.

Lunch, Trails & Farm Animals: Groups may bring brown bag lunches to eat in our picnic area and are also welcome to explore our walking trails. Interpretive signs along the Goat Dairy/Farm Trail highlight trees, shrubs, ferns and other natural features. This trail loops through Hildene Farm with our herd of goats and cheesemaking facility.

Photography & Video
You are welcome to take flash-free still photographs of your group’s activities. Please contact Diane Newton prior to your visit for permission to shoot video.

Please note we are a pet free campus. Thank you for your understanding.

School Programs

Natural Science

History

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