Past Events › Homeschool Programs

Wisconsin has been a home to many outdoor enthusiasts who loved spending time outdoors and wanted to protect nature. We will learn about some of Wisconsin’s famous conservationists, from Aldo Leopold to John Muir and Gaylord Nelson.

Our planet is covered by more water than anything else. We will learn all about the properties of ice and the different ways ice is found in nature.

We will learn about phenology and the connection Aldo Leopold had with recording observations over time. Then, we will use technology to record observations and compare them to others taken before.

Winter is a time when animals like to burrow underground and sleep, or hibernate, for the winter months. We will dig up some facts about burrowing animals and why they choose to make burrows.

The sun is the source of all energy on earth and makes life here possible. We’ll learn all about the benefits the sun provides as we track the movement of the sun with a shadow plot, hold an ice race, and take temperatures throughout the Nature Center’s habitats.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a meteorologist? We will step into their shoes as we learn about and collect the data needed to make a forecast.

Imagine all of the different art that can be made using natural materials! We will use what nature has provided us to make beautiful creations.

Join us for a seasonal favorite! We'll learn basic tree identification, try tools used by pioneers to “tap a tree,” taste the sap from maples and cook it down to syrup. Through stories and historic artifacts, we will teach the history of maple syrup making from past to the present.

Nature is full of April fools! We’ll learn about adaptations such as mimicry and camouflage that animals use to fool us and each other. We’ll even learn about the ultimate tricksters – carnivorous plants!

Spring is a time for new growth, and what better way to start that new growth than by planting the garden at ALNC! We will put on our work gloves, fill our watering cans and head out to the greenhouse and garden to start the growing season.

Legend has it that every spring a rabbit would visit children’s homes during the night and leave a woven nest with an egg in it as a sign that spring had arrived. Learn to dye eggs naturally with berries, spices and other natural dyes to mimic the variety of colorful eggs found in nature!

Earth Day was a day started by Wisconsin native, Gaylord Nelson, with the goal of taking care of our Earth through eco-friendly activities. Join us as we discover some of the green features of the building while working on outdoor restoration projects in the spirit of Earth Day.

Things sure have changed since the middle of winter time! We will record phenological observations and then use cameras and other technology to track and compare these observations with others, even those taken by the Leopold family at the shack!

Across from the Nature Center driveway is the City of Monona’s Woodland Park. We’ll explore this wonderful, wooded area for newly emerging spring wildflowers and mushrooms!

Aldo Leopold wrote: “When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” During this program, we define, compare and contrast different types of communities and explore the different natural communities found at the Nature Center.

Wetlands provide a unique home to specialized plants and animals, and help people too. Put on your muckin’ shoes to explore the mysterious inhabitants of wetlands!

Now is a great time to reflect on all of the activities we did during the winter and spring! You will get to make your very own nature journal to take home with you and record in throughout the summer time.

Registration Deadline: September 5, 2014
Save with our fall Package and let us help add an environmental education component to your home school curriculum! This package includes all 15 sessions from September 9th through December 16th.

Registration Deadline: Friday, September 12, 2014
Go on a Nature Quest Scavenger Hunt to find objects and signs of animals in the prairie! We’ll play “Camouflage” in the tall grass and use matching cards to find the specialized plants that make up the prairie. If your team is the first to discover all clues you win Prairie BINGO!

Registration Deadline: Friday, September 19, 2014
Ever wonder where minerals come from or how rocks are made? We will observe, discover and learn about the 3 types of rocks and how they each are formed.

Registration Deadline: Friday, September 26, 2014
Work in teams to make an insect “nest” and create scent trails to food and other survival needs! We’ll also communicate like bees (through “dance”) and catch insects on land and in the water to study.

Registration Deadline: Friday, October 3, 2014
Take a tour inside of one of nature’s amazing machines – leaves! We’ll learn all about chlorophyll and how photosynthesis works. We’ll then hike to see what colors are appearing on our trees and learn why they change color and fall off in autumn.

Registration Deadline: Friday, October 10, 2014
We will learn all about Wisconsin’s past, present and future climate. Learn the difference between weather and climate, record current weather data, and learn how we can help be a part of the solution.

Registration Deadline: Friday, October 17, 2014
Come join us for a smorgasbord of science featuring a favorite fall fruit. We’ll dissect an apple, discover how flowers turn to fruit, make apple art and learn about physics and reactions with apple eruptions!

Registration Deadline: Friday, October 24, 2014
“Bats eat bugs, they don’t eat people!” Learn the David Stokes song and multiple fun facts about bats. We’ll play a game on bat echolocation, learn how mother bats find their young in hibernacula, and one participant will “become” a bat complete with bat adaptations.

Registration Deadline: Friday, October 31, 2014
Seeds and trees are both packed full of energy! We’ll start our adventures with a hike to identify trees and plants then we’ll go on a seed scavenger hunt to learn the many ways in which seeds can travel.

Registration Deadline: Friday, November 7, 2014
Fall is a time of change, for people, plants, animals and weather. From beetles to bergamot, learn how different species adapt to the changing seasons and prepare for the long winter ahead.

Registration Deadline: Friday, November 14, 2014
A quadrat is a simple device for marking out a small area. By recording information from a number of quadrats placed within a larger study area, scientists obtain a sample of the whole area, which may be too big to describe in full. We’ll spend the afternoon plotting in the prairie and measuring the maple field!

Registration closes at midnight the night before programming.
“You always can tell what a bird does eat when you look at its beak and you look at its feet.” Students will learn how birds make a living with our hands-on activity. We’ll examine study mounts before exploring the land with binoculars in search of our resident species.

Registration closes at midnight the night before programming.
Explore objects too big or too small to see with the naked eye! From water molecules to the atmosphere we’ll use microscopes to enlarge small objects & organisms, learn about and build molecules. We’ll make the far away and extremely small come to life!

Registration closes at midnight the night before programming.
Join us for an afternoon under the stars as we explore our solar system; including planets, moons and constellations. We’ll get an up close and personal look at these celestial bodies using one of our newest tools – NOAA’s Science on a Sphere.

Registration closes at midnight the night before programming.
See and learn about snowshoe styles from past to present as we learn the science and culture behind this mode of winter travel. Afterwards, we’ll head outside to explore the winter landscape on snowshoes, practice basic skills, and play some games!

This option includes all Home School sessions (Tuesdays from 1-3pm) from January 6, 2015-June 2, 2015. Registrants cannot use missed sessions on future programs.

When snow falls, we love to sled and skate. But at the end of the day, we go home where it is warm and safe. What about all those animals out there in the forests, prairie and pond?

Magnets are in use all around us, from your refrigerator door to doctor’s offices! Did you know the earth is one giant magnet, and that for centuries people and animals have used the north and south poles for navigation?

Winter is a wonderful time to discover animal signs and homes! Through games, a take-home craft project, and an interpretive hike, youth will search for sign of the inhabitants of Wisconsin’s wetlands, prairies, and forests!

Machines, from airplanes to tweezers, are at work all around us. Without the help of machines, it would be much harder for people and animals to do work.

Learn about the glaciers that formed the landscape of Wisconsin and what formations they made along the way. We’ll hike up a drumlin, learn about kettles, kames, eskers and moraines!

The frozen fun continues for another week! After learning about glaciers of the past, we’ll spend this week learning about glaciers today and how they are changing!