Take learning outdoors
Gray Park offers self-guided, curriculum-connected field experiences for educators, families, and lifelong learners.
Each program includes an interpretive script and a bin of hands-on activities and artifacts that help participants investigate water, plants, wildlife, seasonal change, and the story of Gray Park.
Programs are currently self-guided. Future guided learning opportunities will be shared when they become available.
Each program includes an interpretive script and a bin of hands-on activities and artifacts that help participants investigate water, plants, wildlife, seasonal change, and the story of Gray Park.
Programs are currently self-guided. Future guided learning opportunities will be shared when they become available.
Choose a learning program
Each program is designed for particular grade levels and offers a different way to investigate the landscape.
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Plan a Park Grades 3, 4, and 7 Students explore the grasslands, riverside forests, wetlands, and river habitats that make Gray Park important to the Sheep River watershed. They also consider the community benefits of setting land aside. Phenology in the Park Grade 3 and up Students slow down and observe seasonal changes in plants and animals. Using field guides, animal track models, and lifecycle models, they compare how living things change throughout the year. |
Flood Detectives Grades 5, 6, and 8 Students use observation, inference, and their knowledge of weather, climate, and ecosystems to investigate whether Gray Park has flooded before and what clues might suggest future flooding. Engineers of the Ecosystem Grades 3, 4, and 7 Students investigate how beavers reshape waterways to meet their needs and why those changes can benefit wetlands and wildlife. The program shows how beavers and people both engineer landscapes. |
How a Gray Park learning visit works
Gray Park’s learning programs are designed to make outdoor education easier to lead. Choose a program, check when its materials are available, and request a date. Western Sky provides the interpretive script, activities, and artifacts you need to guide your own learning experience.
Select the program that best fits your participants’ grade level and learning goals.
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Review the program calendar, then submit the request form for the program and available date you would like.
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Western Sky will deliver the kit on the agreed date with an itemized packing list. A responsible adult leads the self-guided program and returns the kit complete, clean, and dry by the agreed return date.
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Before borrowing a kit
Gray Park learning kits are provided for non-commercial educational use and must be used under responsible adult supervision.
Borrowers are responsible for caring for the materials during the lending period. After using a kit:
The complete Educational Kit Lender Agreement is included in the program-request form.
Borrowers are responsible for caring for the materials during the lending period. After using a kit:
- Dry all laminated surfaces
- Remove organic materials from the bin
- Clean off dry-erase markings
- Handle footprint casts carefully
- Check the packing list for missing items
- Return the kit complete, clean, and in the same condition in which it was received
The complete Educational Kit Lender Agreement is included in the program-request form.
Before you visit Gray Park
Gray Park programs take place outdoors, and conditions can change throughout the year. Before requesting a program, confirm kit availability and review current information about parking, trails, seasonal conditions, accessibility, and anything else your group should know before arriving.
Ready to plan a learning visit?
Check the program calendar first to see when materials are available. You can then submit the request form for your preferred program and date.
Questions? Email [email protected]
Questions? Email [email protected]