Turtle Point Environmental Science Center Curriculum
All classes include a tour of the building, gardens, boardwalk, butterfly house and a close encounter of the animal kind.
Pre-K
Animal Tales & Scavenger Hunt
Who’s hiding at Turtle Point? Students will listen to fun animal stories before exploring Turtle Point and meeting the animals.
K-2nd Grade
Feelin’ Crabby
Students will compare and contrast several species of crabs. Instruction will focus on claws
and their uses, exoskeletons, and shells. An art activity includes creating a hermit crab and
selecting the perfect shell for its home.
Kindergarten
Hug A Bug
What do creepy crawlies and flitting fliers have in common? Students will identify body
parts of insects and arachnids and will take home an art project that reinforces the
concept of metamorphosis.
Common Critters
The basic characteristics of each animal group found at Turtle Point will be
discussed. Students will understand the basic needs of these animals and how to
group them based on body characteristics.
1st Grade
Making Tracks WINTER ONLY
Come join us on a discovery of who creeps around Turtle Point. Students will get to
know some of the animals that share their backyard by investigating animal tracks and
making plaster tracks.
Loafing in Logville
Students will do a field study of animal habitats. Classifying, graphing, and data
collection are involved.
Know Bones About It
Get up close and personal with your skeleton! This class includes discussion of form
and function of the human skeleton as well as an art project that reinforces the names
and positions of bones in the human body.
2nd Grade
What’s on the menu?
What would you feed a grasshopper? Or how about an owl? Join us for an investigation
in food chains that includes a take-home project and other activities.
Scales and Tails
Students will learn about animal adaptations while studying fish. Your students
will get to show their creativity by designing their own fish.
Water You Doing?
Join us for a journey through the water cycle. Students will become a droplet of
water and will discover many paths that water can take on the journey.
3rd Grade
Chatty Chirpers
Have you ever tried to eat with a beak? Discover the unique abilities of a bird’s beak
while learning the basics of bird anatomy. This class involves fun activities including
bird watching, eating like a bird, and bird identification.
From Plow to Chow
Come garden with us and find out how food gets to your plate. Students will learn about seed
germination, gardening and other agricultural basics. This class includes a fun project that
students will take home.
Fur that Flys
Learn to love bats, a common but misunderstood animal of Alabama. This class
includes an art project and a game that will help students understand how bats use
their senses on a daily basis.
3rd & 4th grades:
Beach Bash
Students will distinguish between different kinds of sand using grain size, color
and particle mixture. Students will have to group themselves with like sands to form a ‘beach’.
The groups will then be challenged to find the actual beach that their sand came from on a map
by using latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.
4th Grade
To the Moon and Back!
Come join us for an astronomical adventure!! The lesson includes fun activities and
a study of the moon.
Hooray for Herps
Join us for a herp adventure! Students will compare and contrast reptiles and amphibians while discussing the concepts of metamorphosis, endothermic, and ectothermic. Students will take home a project relating to reptiles of this region.
Our Natural Natives
Discover historical uses of our natural resources while exploring the conservation
practices of Native Americans.
5th Grade and Up
Get Your Bearings
Hunt for clues, answers and treasures using a handheld GPS unit. Students will also
learn to use a compass and map.
Team Building
Class limited to 25 participants. Challenge your students to a day of
activities designed to build leadership and cooperation skills. This class is also great
for staff development.
Fierce, Feathered Flyers
Birds of prey have amazing skills and senses. Take a journey through the night and
learn about the biology of raptors through the dissection of owl pellets.
The Great Clean Up
Teams of students will be given the challenge of completing a hazardous waste clean-up on the
beach. Teams must devise a plan that stays within budget and uses available tools and
resources. The waste must be disposes of properly with as little environmental impact as
possible.