Fun Field Trip:
First Graders Visit the Popular Environmental Education Center After Year-long Wait

Excited first-graders in casual field-trip attire aboard the bus to Hammond.

Not all our students were comfortable with a lizard and turtle on the loose.

Our students listened very attentively and were very well-behaved.

October 2, 2008 -- On a sunny Friday, September 26, 2008, Mrs. Anderson’s first grade class went to the Environmental Education Center (EEC) in Hammond, Indiana. An excited group boarded the bus at approximately 9:30 in the morning and arrived back at school close to 1:30 p.m. The EEC is such a popular elementary-aged field trip that our students waited a year for their visit.

“The facility is wonderful,” says Megan Anderson. “And our knowledgeable guide, Jen, touched on all the areas of conservation, preservation, and wildlife we’re teaching our kids about at school – everything from recycling to understanding traits animals have that suit their habitat. For example, we talked about lizards’ protective scaly skin and swimming turtles’ webbed feet. The kids were so cute when our guide placed the lizard and the turtle on the floor with the children.” Anderson smiles and adds, “The turtle moved faster than the lizard ever did and the kids [seated in a circle around the animals] were more unsure about the turtle!”

The EEC is a project of the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department available to any Lake County school troop or organization. Features include a 40-foot “Tree of Life,” interactive computer stations, video stations, a craft room, indoor trout stream with fully-functional wetland, educational trail along George Lake, and ReUz Center.

According to Anderson, “We sat on chairs made from recycled materials and carpet made from recycled water bottles. We fed rainbow trout and made a craft to recycle materials. The kids loved the trip, and it really reinforced our curriculum.”


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