Teacher Professional Development
Finding your Roots in STEM: Project Learning Tree
Hybrid Workshop: Live Zoom Sessions & Self-Paced NGSS/SEEd Aligned Content
Join USEE and the Ogden Nature Center to learn how environmental education can support SEEd and learners of all ages. We'll get together live for pre and post course content via Zoom. Participants will be able to choose their own learning adventure by participating in a self-guided course from Project Learning Tree. This award-winning curriculum from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative is aligned to NGSS and also supports SEEd standards. Participants will be able to choose from K-2 "Treemendous Science", 3-5 "Energy in Ecosystems" or 6-8 "Carbon and Climate" to gain ideas, content and lesson plans for outdoor and virtual learning. Participating teachers will receive 6 license renewal points.
This workshop is free for all K-8 public and charter school teachers. Other participants are welcome to participate at a discounted rate. Please contact Stefanie Zwygart at to find out more information.
Dates for 2022/2023 will be posted soon!
MONARCH ART AND SCIENCE TEACHER TRAINING -OPEN TO ALL UTAH K-12 PUBLIC AND CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHERS
Want to raise monarch butterflies in the classroom? We will show you how and give you the supplies you need (including 5 monarch caterpillars) along with activities to engage and inspire your students. Join us online for an engaging workshop. Participants must register with the Ogden Nature Center and space is limited and registration will open in February 2021. Email Sarah Lambson at for more details.
The next workshops will be held virtually. Participants that sign up for the Think OUTSIDE the Box workshop will receive priority registration for the Monarch Workshops.
Dates for 2022/2023 will be posted soon!
Creature Features (iSEE) Virtual Visit and Lesson Plans
Explore the adaptations of different groups of animals with the Ogden nature Center
Pre-curriuclum for the Creature Features Program
Post-curriculum for the Creature Features Program
Bird Breakfast Cafe Lesson Plan
Bird Breakfast Cafe Images of Birds
Bird Breakfast Cafe matching worksheet
Bird Breakfast Cafe 3rd Grade Worksheet
Bird Breakfast Cafe 4th Grade Worksheet
Reptiles vs. Amphibians Lesson Plan
Reptiles vs. Amphibians Worksheet
Virtual School Field Trips
Looking for some science lessons in a virtual format. The Ogden Nature Center is providing free resources for teachers and students thanks to generous support from UEN and the Reimagine Teaching program. Play the video clip in class or assign for at home learning to learn about science and nature. Activities are provided that relate to each video topic.
To download or view the video click on the title of each field trip.
- Pond Virtual Field Trip Video- (K-4th) - Students will explore pond life at the Ogden Nature Center and find out what lives in and around ponds, identify macroinvertebrates and explore metamorphosis.
Pond Scavenger Hunt- Where to Find Ponds in Utah
- Pond Critter Count Worksheet
- Macroinvertebrate ID Guide
- Birds Virtual Field Trip video (K - 6th) - Students will find out what makes a bird a bird as they visit the bird breakfast cafe, and sharpen their bird identification skills by using a bird identification guide and trying their hand at a bird scavenger hunt.
- Utah's Ecosystems Virtual Field Trip Video (3rd-6th) - Students will explore Utah's diverse landscape as they discover the forces that create our wetlands, forests and deserts, and investigate plant and animal life and the adaptations that help them survive in each habitat.
- All about Trees Virtual Field Trip Video (1st-6th) - Explore the world of trees with a video about how humans use trees, learn the parts of a tree, and download a tree scavenger hunt that you can use at school, at home, or around the neighborhood.
- Owl Tales Virtual Field Trip video (1st-6th) -Watch a fun video about owls and owl pellet dissection, download a worksheet about owl parts, and get information on how to obtain owl pellets to dissect and explore yourself. There are also some instructions for creating cool owl crafts.
- Parts of an Owl Worksheet
- Owl Fact Sheet
- Example of Owl Fact Sheet
- Owl Coloring Sheet
- Owl Mask Craft
- Owl Pellet Lesson Plan and Worksheet
- Where to order owl pellets for the classroom - Click here
- Animals and Plants Prepare for Winter virtual field trip video (K-4th) -Learn how our animal friends do many of the same things that humans do in getting ready for and surviving winter -- even if they do them a little differently. Watch a fun video, with a work-along worksheet, do a winter adaptations matching activity, and download a card game about the kinds of signs animals can leave behind.
Schoolyard Games and Activities
Backyard Nature Activities
Stuck at home and looking for nature activities. Try one from the list below.
Rock Painting - Have your kiddos find, wash and paint rocks to make garden décor or place along a trail or path. Give them a challenge by asking them to paint many rock to create a shape like a snake or snail.
Scavenger Hunt - Challenge your child to a backyard nature challenge. Use the list attached or create your own. A fun way to do this activity is to write the items on a piece of paper, fold them up and place them in a jar or hat. Have your child pick one item at a time and find it in their backyard. When they find it they can grab a new challenge from the jar.
Mud Pies - Use old tins or containers to make a mud pie. Decorate with things found in nature. You can also challenge your child to make cookies, cupcakes or cakes. Past the images to our Facebook page. We want to see your beautiful works of art!
Nature Bracelets - Use packaging tape or masking tape to create a nature bracelet on a walk. Place the tape (sticky side up) around your childs wrist and ask them to collect flowers, leaves, plants and grass as they walk and stick it to their bracelet. Past the images to our Facebook page. We want to see your beautiful works of art!
Virtual Wild Wednesdays
Don't forget to check out our Facebook page on Wednesdays at 3:45 for Wild Wednesdays. We will bring you stories, activities and live animals as we continue to learn and love nature.
Click on the title of program below to view past Wild Wednesday programs.
Snow, Snow, Snow - Join us as we explore different types of snow, animal tracks and why Utah has the greatest snow on earth.
Nature's Hoarders - Be honest, is your basement filled with toilet paper and hand sanitizer? You're basically the human version of a squirrel. Animals hoard food as a winter survival technique. Tune in to learn who else in the animal kingdom hides food.
All that SCAT- Join us as we explore the ins and outs of animals. Today we are talking about poop.
Animals Prepare for Winter - Ever wonder how animals survive the cold and snowy winters here in Utah? Join us as we look at some amazing winter animal adaptations.
Gobble, Gobble! - Discover the amazing adaptations of Turkeys!
Mother Nature - Help us celebrate Mother’s Day by looking at outstanding moms in nature. From the elephant who endures 22 months of pregnancy and gives birth to a 200 lb baby to the mommy orangutan who nurses her baby for 7 years!
Frogs and Toads -Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a frog and a toad? Can toads give you warts, do frogs pee through their skin? We will answer these questions and more as we explore these creatures up close.
Tweets and Twitters - Check out songbirds social media as you learn how birds communicate.
Patterns in Nature -Spots, stripes, and spirals, and all sorts of other shapes show up throughout the natural world. Join us as we learn about different shapes and patterns common in nature and how they help animals and plants survive and thrive.
Alien Invasion - What is an invasive species? Why are they harmful to native species? Find out these questions and more as we look at invasive plants at the Nature Center.
Fathers in Nature - Learn all about he crazy and outstanding ways fathers in nature take care of their babies.
Summer Celebration - Celebrate the summer solstice with the Ogden Nature Center. Find out why some days are longer than others. With the help of a few live animal friends, discover how animals and plants, inlcuding us, adjust to the long days of summer.
Red, White and Blue: A Special Independence Day Program with Des Ta Te the Bald Eagle.
The Pond and Beyond - The dog days of summer are finally here! There’s no better time to grab a net and explore what lives within our ponds. You never know what or who you might find.
What's the Buzz? - Buzz on over to the nature center to learn all about Utah’s bees. Over 900 species of bee call Utah home. Find out what makes bees so special and why we need them buzzing around.
Who Eats Whoom? - Learn about predator prey relationships with the help of one of our bird predators and its prey. Get an up-close look at live animals, skulls, pelts, teeth, and more while learning about the traits that help animals survive in the wild.
Who's a Buteo - Meet Ontario our Red Tail Hawk while discovering what makes a buteo a buteo. Observe firsthand how buteos differ from all other raptors.
Endangered and Threatened in Utah - With the help of Laser our desert tortoise discover what it means to be an endangered species. Learn what causes animals and plants to become endangered and what you can do to help.
Migration - Explore animal migration with the help of a fantastic falcon.
Seed Adventures - From hitchhiking on our shoes, being carried in the bellies of animals, and soaring through the wind, seeds go through quite an adventure to find new areas to grow. Explore the unseen, wild world of seeds.
A Tale on Tails - Bouncing, balance, and bait are just a few things animals use their tails for. We will explore a variety of ways critters rely on this part of their body.
Insect Safari - Become an entomologist for a day as we learn all about insects. We will be using field guides, nets and bug boxes to catch and identify as many insects as we can.
Stinky Tales - Badgers, Otters, Ferrets -Oh My! -Investigate the smelly world of mustelids. Explore a local endangered mustelid and find out why the skunk, although smelly, doesn’t fit in this group anymore.
Nature's Natural Timekeepers -Fall has arrived! Help us bring in the new season as we learn how animals and plants adapt to a changing environment of less sunlight and cooler temperatures.
Mammal Mania -Learn about the many amazing mammals that live in Utah and the Great Basin region.
Salamander Secrets -Join an ONC teacher/naturalist as you uncover the secret lives of salamanders. Meet a live tiger salamander as you learn about their life history, habitat and more.
Batty about Bats - Utah has 18 species or kinds of bats! Kick off the Halloween season by learning about these misunderstood and amazing flying mammals.
Amazing Arachnids -Spiders and Scorpions are some of nature’s most feared creatures. Get up close and personal with a tarantula and explore what makes these creatures so creepy.
Living Close to the Land - Join the Ogden Nature Center education team for tales and demonstrations of plant and animal uses by indigenous cultures.
Veteran's Day Program - Join Ogden Nature Center as we celebrate our veterans with Navy veteran Heidi and Des Ta Te the bald eagle!
Free Equipment Rental
Currently suspended until further notice
The Ogden Nature Center in partnership with Utah State University and Red Butte Garden has materials that teachers can check out for free! Reserve online, then pick up your materials or bin at the Ogden Nature Center.
To reserve materials such as pond nets, microscopes or field guides, go to https://extension.usu.edu/utahnatureexplorers/
Borrow and pick up an ethnobotany bin for use with your students before or after attending our onsite Living Close to the Land, Field Ecology or Trees program. For more information on what the ethnobotany bin includes go to http://www.redbuttegarden.org/botany-bins/