School & Group Programs

Give your classroom or community group a one-of-a-kind experience with KNC. Check out the programs below to learn more about KNC’s educational offerings. Bring your group for a field trip to KNC, or we’ll come to your location.

Our educators have a busy summer planned and we have very limited dates available for summer programming. To request programming for the summer months, please complete our Summer Program Request Form and the registrar will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you’re planning ahead for the 2025-2026 school year, please complete our 2025-2026 Field Trip Request Form.

See the programs and details on planning your trip below. Please call or email the Registrar with any questions. We look forward to seeing you!

Contact Us

Registrar
(269) 381-1574 ext 24

If financial assistance is needed for a school program, please email or fill out the Program Financial Assistance Application Here>

Year-round Programs

A Sense of Nature (Grades PreK-1)

Grade:  All ages, but specifically well-suited for PreK-First grade 

When: Fall/Winter/Spring at KNC or anytime at your site  

Investigate many of nature’s wonders using your five senses and gain a new perspective. Observe the colors, shapes, patterns and textures of natural objects and get curious about the world around you! 

Topics: Living & non-living, observations, questions & patterns, senses 

Green Plants Grow (K–3rd grades)

When: Fall, Winter, Spring at KNC. Anytime at Your Site 

They’re green and all around us, but often overlooked. Take a closer look at plants with KNC, learning about what plants need to grow, how they grow, their different parts and why they’re so important.
Topics: Earth materials, living and non-living, plant parts, seeds, seed transportation 

Incredible Insects (1st–3rd grades)

Grade:  1st-3rd grade 

When: Fall/Winter/Spring at KNC or Anytime at Your Site 

Insects may be small, but they can be found thriving in diverse and amazing habitats. Learn what sets insects apart from other creepy crawlies by learning about their different characteristics and the life cycle of an insect. Meet a live insect brought by the educator. Head outside to go on a bug hunt and compare it to what you have learned about insects!

Topics: insects, insect body parts, life cycle, adaptations, metamorphosis  

Creature Features (All Ages)

Grade: All ages 

When: Anytime at KNC or Anytime at Your Site 

Held indoors in cold weather.
Learn about the habitats, diets, and adaptations of our animal ambassadors. Get an up-close look at different bio facts and meet a live animal handled by one of our trained educators.
Programs:
  • 30 Minutes: Meet an ambassador animal
Ambassadors to choose from:
  • Snakes: Corn snake, Milk snake
  • Turtles: Eastern box turtles, Painted turtle
  • Amphibian: Frog
  • Insect: Madagascar hissing cockroaches
  • Spider: Curly haired tarantula

A Forest's Family Album (1st-3rd Grade)

Grade: 1st-3rd grade 

When: Fall/Spring at KNC or Anytime at Your Site 

Learn about parts of a tree and their function.  In the woods, we will examine each stage of a tree’s life.  As we move through the tree’s life cycle, learn how each stage is important in its growth and how each stage contributes to the forest habitat in which it lives.  Discuss why and how we should preserve a healthy and well balanced forest. 

Topics: form and function, energy flow, photosynthesis, ecosystem 

Super Seeds (1st–3rd Grade)

Grade: 1st–3rd grade 

When: Fall/Winter/Spring at KNC or anytime at your site 

We are on a search for seed travelers! Discover the secrets of the plant life cycle, how they grow and reproduce, and why a plant’s flowers and seeds are so different. 

Topics: Animal and plant needs, life cycle, plant characteristics, plant parts and importance of sunlight (photosynthesis) 

 

 

Introduction to Mindfulness in Nature and Zentangle (All Ages)

Grade:  All ages 

When: Fall/Winter/Spring at KNC or Anytime at Your Site 

Learn how the practice of paying attention to the present moment can train your brain to focus. Learn how nature can help you be mindful.  Practice breathing and noticing outdoors. Practice a mindfulness art technique called Zentangle that helps promote mindfulness, calm and focus.  

Topics:  Mindfulness, brain function/focus, calming techniques, benefits of nature on nervous system, Zentangle introduction 

 

Michigan Mammals (3rd-5th Grade)

When: Fall/Winter/Spring at KNC or Anytime at Your Site 

Learn about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores using actual animal artifacts.  Students will have the opportunity to observe and feel various animal furs and skulls to identify and differentiate various mammals in Michigan.
Topics: carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, animal adaptations, animal tracks 

Michigan's Natural Resources (4th-6th Grade)

Grade: 4th-6th grade
When: Fall/Spring at KNC or Anytime at Your Site
Discover some of our most important natural resources from water and timber to rocks and minerals. Learn where they come from and how we depend on them. Onsite, focus on how our landscape was formed long ago by glaciers, and what clues to our past we can find in the very rocks around us!
Topics: Local geography, maps, identification of natural resources, human use of natural resources, renewable vs nonrenewable resources, Michigan history 

Who Eats Whom? Food web (4th–5th grade or 1st–3rd grades)

Grade:  4th–5th grade or 1st–3rd grade (2 versions) 

When: Fall/Winter/Spring at KNC or anytime at your site 

Build a food chain from the ground up and follow the flow of energy from producers to consumers and from sunlight into soil. Get active, meet a live animal and discover who eats whom in the forest.  

Topics: Flow of energy, trophic levels, food chain components, habitat characteristics, environmental changes, animal traits & survival 

 

Seasonal Programs

Maple Sugaring (All Ages, 1 hour)

Grade: All Ages

Where: at KNC

When: February 24 – March 28

Walking tour on the Fern Valley trail ending at the Sugar Shack with syrup tasting.

field trip
School Field Trip in winter

On-site Program Fees

Financial assistance may be available for schools/programs with a high percentage of free and reduced lunch students. Please contact Jen Rice for more information. 

On-site programs last for approximately 1 ½ hours and include a guided hike or outdoor movement activity. Groups are welcome to stay on KNC’s campus after their program to take a self-guided hike, play or eat lunch. Please let us know your plans. 

Program Fees 

  • $200 fee per trip, with a maximum of 30 students in a class/group  
  • $60 non-refundable deposit required to hold date
  • Trips are 90 minutes unless otherwise noted.
  • Extended length trips are $265.00
  • One chaperone for every 5 students is recommended (teacher included).
  • Teacher and recommended chaperones are free.   
  • Additional adults (beyond recommended number) are $5/person. 10 chaperones maximum per program.

On-site Program Add-ons  

  • Self-guided Scavenger Hunt materials: $10/program  
  • Animal Ambassadors ($30/Program)
    • Snakes: Corn snake, Milk snake
    • Turtles: Eastern box turtles, Painted turtle
    • Insects: Madagascar hissing cockroaches
    • Spider: Curley haired tarantula

10% discount will be applied if you book 2 or more class/programs for the same day. A maximum of 4 classes/programs can be accommodated in one day.  

Programs are held outside so please come prepared for the weather!  

Off-site Program Fees

Off-site programs are approximately 1 hour and can be held indoors or outdoors. Please dress for the weather.

Financial assistance may be available for schools/programs with a high percentage of free and reduced lunch students. Please contact us at for more information. 

Off-site program fees:                                                                       

  • Within a 20-mile radius:  
    • $200.00 for up to 30 students (includes mileage)  
  • Outside 20-mile radius:  
    • Add $15 for each additional 10 miles outside the radius  

Off-site Program Add-ons 

  • Self-guided Scavenger Hunt materials: $10/program  (suitable for schoolyard environment)
  • Animal Ambassadors ($30/Program)
    • Snakes: Corn snake, Milk snake
    • Turtles: Eastern box turtles
    • Insects: Madagascar hissing cockroaches
    • Spider: Curley haired tarantula

Our Pop-up Programs are also available at a lower price on your site with groups of 10 or less.  These programs are great for birthday parties or small daycare groups. Learn more here >