Home School Group Field Trips

Experiential Learning Programs: STEM/Wilderness Skills

Our adventure activities pair perfectly with our outdoor environmental education programs! We have designed outdoor hands-on programs with North Carolina and South Carolina state standards and outdoor survival skills in mind,  but they can be tailored to cover your school’s goals and standards. Our program staff has decades of education and experience in experiential education with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in the field. So we are excited to create an immersive learning experience for your students that encourages curiosity, teamwork, and fun!

Program options include: 

Zipline-palooza!       Do you think you can guess whether a heavier or lighter object will move faster on a zipline? Can you guess the angle of the zipline for an object to have a safe landing? Experiment with gravity, weight, friction, and how these and other forces affect the motion of zipliners by building a small-scale model. Working in small groups, students will create their own design and then compete with other groups to see who can create the fastest zipline while keeping safety in mind. Longer programs include a study on simple machines and how they are used in our Treetops Adventure Park. Add this to our Treetops Park or Ziplines so that students can experiment with and experience physics in action!     NC & SC standards: NC 5.P.1, 7.P.1, 7.P.2, Psc.1.1, Phy.1.1, Phy.1.2; SC 4.S.1, 5.P.5, 6.P.3, 8.P.2, 8.P.3, H.P.2, H.P.3

• Cost $10/student/hour
• Time:  1-2 hours
• Grades: 5th and up
• Number of students: 10-30

Fire Building Skills     Have you lost your electricity at home and needed to light a candle or a fire?  Have you been camping in the woods and lost your matches? The simple skill of starting a fire and following safety procedures to keep it lit and safe can be an important life skill.  Learn how to build & start a fire using primitive materials with fire safety procedures, then practice in small groups to build a small fire. Longer programs include learning about “Leave No Trace” principles, where students will learn and practice essential outdoor ethics.

• Cost $10/student/hour
• Time:  1-2 hours
• Grades: 4th and up
• Number of students: 10-20

Outdoor Survival Skills    What if a fun day hiking leads to getting lost in the wilderness?  What if your car breaks down on a family road trip in the woods?   What life skills are essential to have in a survival situation?  Students will work in groups to sort through items they would prioritize for a camping trip, then practice building shelters using minimal materials. Longer programs include foraging for materials and wild edibles, and learning how to create knot-tying tarp shelters.

• Cost $10/student/hour
• Time:  1-2 hours
• Grades: 3rd and up, 7th and up for knot tying
• Number of students: 10-20

Forest Ecology     Take an inside look at plants, and how they interact with other living and nonliving things in their environment. This ecology-based class offers hands-on learning for students to get to know trees up close and personal through tree identification, decomposition exploration, and hiking on our 100 acres of property.

• Cost $10/student/hour
• Time:  1-2 hours
• Grades: 3rd and up
• Number of students: 10-30

Wildlife Ecology     Animals are everywhere!  This program will take a moment to look around our area for evidence of animals and their habitats, and think about how they interact with their environment. Students will also discover how animal adaptations affect their chances of survival using experiential, hands-on activities.  NC & SC state standards: NC 4.L.1.2, 5.L.2.2, 8.L.3.1, 8.L.3.2 SC 2-2.2, 5-2.5, 5.L.4B, 6.L.4B, 7.EC.5B

• Cost $10/student/hour
• Time:  1-2 hours
• Grades: 6th and up
• Number of students: 10-30

Town Hall Meeting     Students will roleplay different interest groups in a debate about the ecological, social, and economic advantages and disadvantages of building a theme park attraction in their fictional community. This activity teaches students the importance of and how to have a civil and ethical debate with their peers, and will leave them empowered to enact change in their local community!

• • Cost $10/student/hour
  • Time:  1.5 hours
  • Grades: 5th and up
  • Number of students: 10-40

Group Cooperative Games  are custom-created fun and competitive experiences designed to instill confidence, cooperation, communication, and connection between group members. We offer a program full of team challenges that focus on working together.  While completing their goal, they are engaged in high-excitement activities that require them to think outside of the box.  Packed with fun, your group will be challenged while laughing, joking, and having a ball! 

• Cost $10/student/hour
• Time:  1-2 hours
• Grades: 4th and up
• Number of students: 10+

Reservations are REQUIRED, please call group sales at 828.450.3400 or groups@adventurecenterofasheville.com

Our activities instill personal development and self-confidence, encourage cooperation with others,
enrich problem-solving skills, and offer fun outdoor activities with a challenge.