For more information: Contact Kathleen Amirault,  Program Coordinator, 781-659-2559 X214

Our programs are designed to support the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks.  They may be adapted to meet your specific needs and modified to be grade or age appropriate.  Other programs may also be adapted for your site or town conservation lands.  Use these descriptions as a starting point for your program reservations. 

Outreach Programs At Your School or Site

Programs are 45 minutes long and may be adapted to fit your needs

Our outreach programs are scheduled 45 minute programs at your school or site. Most of our field trip programs can be adapted to outreach programs. These programs are designed for a maximum of 100 participants, but smaller groups may be suggested for younger ages. Additional presentations may be scheduled to accommodate larger groups.

Habitats
Learn about the diversity of animals and plants and the requirements they need to survive in their habitat.  Each season brings a different perspective so that you can learn how living things adapt as their environment changes. 

Woodlands
Enjoy the woods indoors!  Discover seasonal changes in an ecosystem that many plants and animals depend on for food and habitats.  Find out how producers, consumers, and decomposers interact in the forest. 

Backyard Botany
Discover what your backyard plants need to survive.  Learn how different parts of plants work together to keep plants growing.  Explore the structure of plants-flowers, seeds, fruit, stems, roots, and leaves. Discover how seeds travel near and far. 

Backyard Birds
Songs and calls of birds can be heard throughout the year in a variety of habitats making them the easiest wildlife species to find.  Naturalists use bird mounts from SSNSC collections and other resources to teach identification and characteristics of some New England birds.

Mammals
What makes a mammal a mammal? Learn about several wild and domesticated mammals.  Using live and taxidermied animals from the SSNSC collections learn how each is adapted to fit into its environment.  

Reptiles and Amphibians
Discover the differences and similarities between these two groups and how these cold-blooded (ectothermic) creatures are adapted to live in different habitats.  Why are they so important? Meet some local species of turtles, snakes, frogs, toads and salamanders and learn about their life cycles. 

New England Owls
Learn about these magnificent silent hunters, their unique adaptations and their importance in the food chain.  An optional activity may include dissecting an owl pellet to discover what owls eat.   There is an additional $1.25 fee per student for owl pellets.  Meet a live owl up close. 

Native Americans
Learn about a typical day in the life of a Native American-How they lived, What they hunted, The foods they ate, etc. Explore their relationship with the natural world around them and their interactions with wildlife and nature.

Additional Programs at your school or site

Programs are designed to be 1.0 or 1.5 hours long

Do you have an outdoor site waiting for curious minds to investigate?  Would you like to take a closer look at life cycles, habitats, or perhaps dissect owl pellets?  Naturalists will visit your school or another community site to provide hands-on natural science experiences indoors and outside.  Guided explorations of woodlands, wetlands, ponds, or other natural areas near you are offered year round. Seasonal studies, habitat comparisons, and other field-based environmental science programs are available.  These programs may include “hands-on” activities. Prices vary, please call to learn more.

Other Community and Off-site Program Opportunities

You may wish to explore other important ecosystems and locations within our region, such as Black Pond, Norris Reservation, Wildland Trust properties or conservation areas within your town.  These programs are scheduled for 1.5 hours but may be adapted to be longer.  These programs are not suitable for preschool ages.   Call to set up your program.   

Coastal Explorations  - held at Scituate, Duxbury, or Plymouth beaches
You may journey across a salt marsh and over sand dunes to explore tide pools along the rocky ocean shore.  Learn about life at the edge of the sea and discover how plants and animals survive in this habitat.  Programs will meet at the coastal location selected.  Available May through early October. 

Willow Brook Farm Preserve, Pembroke, MA
Willow Brook Farm is part of a larger conservation area near the Herring Run  (on Route 14) in Pembroke.  The almost two hour walk includes fields, woods, wetlands, and a river.  There are remnants of old farm structures, giant Alleghany Mound Building Ant mounds, and a two-story tower overlooking a tidal freshwater swamp. 

South Shore Natural Science Center

P.O. Box 429

48 Jacobs Lane

Norwell, MA 02061

phone: 781-659-2559; fax: 781-659-5924

ssnsc@comcast.net