Bring your class to our classroom – the Metroparks Interpretive Centers and land around them. Our Interpretive staff can provide a wide array of programs that take advantage of the unique immersive environment only the Huron-Clinton Metroparks can provide.

Field trips are available year-round.

Educational Program Guide

We bring our Interpretive team to your school for an educational experience that also provides great food for thought. We can customize a presentation to work closely with your in-class curriculum.

Educational Program Guide

Homeschool isn’t just for home. Not when you can take your lessons out to the Metroparks. It’s the best place to learn about science, nature, the environment … and more. At the Interpretive Centers, homeschool groups are welcome to register for any of the topics covered in our educational program guide. We can also customize programs for your specific needs; just talk to our Interpretive staff to work with your group on scheduling a program.

Educational Program Guide

These can include live presentations from Metroparks Interpreters as well as pre-recorded programming. Some programs offer additional hands-on traveling trunk materials or video content to enhance and extend the curriculum.

Download Synchronous Program Guide

Funded through a grant from the Four County Community Foundation, we are offering free experiential field trips to public schools in:

• Lapeer County – Almont, Attica, Dryden, Metamora, and Imlay Townships
• Macomb County – Armada, Bruce, Ray, Richmond, Shelby, and Washington Townships
• Oakland County – Addison, Brandon, Oakland, and Oxford Townships
• St. Clair County – Berlin, Emmett, Mussey, and Riley Townships

Classes will receive FREE field trips, including program and transportation to either Stony Creek or Wolcott Mill Metropark. Hands-on, enrichment experiences that provide real-world context and give new meaning to concepts related to agriculture, history, nature and science will be offered. For schools that are unable to take field trips due to pandemic restrictions, new outreach programs to the schools will be made available. The project will run the duration of the 2023 – 2024 school year or until all funds have been designated for use.

Stony Creek and Wolcott Mill Metropark grant funded field trips are full. 

In this five-week class, you will learn how to design your own rain garden! Rain Gardens filter and cool stormwater so that our streams and rivers run clean. Join us to receive step-by-step instruction to create your garden, protecting your home against flooding and helping the birds and butterflies. And in the process, you will become a neighborhood expert!

Participants must attend all five classes and plant or adopt a rain garden to earn their Master Rain Gardener certificate, sign, and t-shirt. Classes are held virtually, along with one rain garden in-person tour date for a more hands-on learning experience (tours are optional). Classes will be held Thursdays beginning January 25 and running through February 22.

This class is held in partnership with the Metro Detroit Master Rain Gardeners Group, Washtenaw County, Friends of the Rouge, Friends of the Detroit River, the Clinton River Watershed Council, Huron River Watershed Council, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner, River Raisin Watershed Council, Friends of the Detroit River and Alliance of Downriver Watersheds.

Full scholarships are funded through a grant from EPA – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grant: Protecting Lake Erie Marsh and Waters are available for residents in the following zip codes: Detroit (48209, 48217), Ecorse (48229), Inkster (48141), Lincoln Park (48146), Melvindale (48122), River Rouge (48218), Riverview (48193), Romulus (48174), Taylor (48180). Email Jill Martin (jill.martin@metroparks.com) for scholarship details.

Ages: Adults 18 and up.
Time: 10 a.m. – Noon
Cost: $89 Early Bird Rate ($145 after January 9). FREE for residents in specific zip codes listed above.
Location: Virtual with In-Person Tours

Pre-registration is required. To register please visit: https://therouge.org/master-rain-gardener/

If you have questions or to see if you qualify for a full scholarship, email jill.martin@metroparks.com or call 810-227-2757 x6067.

The Metroparks Get Out And Learn initiative offers scholarships to teachers for FREE field trips and in-school programs in under resourced areas. Qualifying teachers can receive a scholarship for their class that will cover all program fees for either an in-person field trip at a Metropark or an outreach program hosted at their school and will reimburse the cost of transportation (up to $500) to and from a Metropark for in-person field trips.

To qualify, your school must be able show data from the Center for Educational Performance and Information that they are at least 50% economically disadvantaged. More information at https://www.mischooldata.org/econdis-counts-data-files/

To be reimbursed for transportation expenses through the scholarship, awarded teachers will need to be able to submit the following items, and will receive instructions for doing so once you are awarded:

• Invoice to the Metroparks for your transportation reimbursement.
• Your school’s W-9 Form: Request this form from your school’s finance office.
• Your school’s Certificate of Insurance: Obtain this from your school’s finance office.

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis if teachers meet the qualifications. For questions, contact Jennifer Jaworski, Chief of Interpretive Services at Jennifer.jaworski@metroparks.com  and reference G.O.A.L. scholarship.

Wheels To Woods provides funding to PreK-12 schools and other youth groups to cover transportation costs for educational field trips to nearby forests or forest products companies. Any PreK-12 school in Michigan is eligible to apply. Wheels To Woods reimburses actual transportation costs up to $350 per bus and $1,000 per school. Click here to learn more and to apply.

The Huron-Clinton Metroparks are a haven for birders because of the variety of our habitats. And because we provide waypoints for literally hundreds of bird species. Follow us on social media (#HCMetroparks) or read our Bird Of The Week Blog to learn more about the birds you’ll find in Southeast Michigan. Or go on a bird search at any of the Metroparks and share your sightings by tagging us and using #BirdOfTheWeek.  

Click here to read our Bird of the Week Blog.

Got a question about wildlife, nature or the Metroparks? Be sure to ask “Dear Kevin.” Who’s Kevin? He’s Kevin Arnold, our Southern District Interpretive Service Supervisor. And he’s here to answer your questions about regional habitats, animals, native plant species, science, agriculture and regional history. Just send your questions to DearKevin@metroparks.com. Kevin posts questions and answers on our Facebook and Instagram stories, so be sure to follow us.

• All About Trees
• Animals of Oakwoods Metropark Word Search
• Find and Count Pond Creatures
• Frog Identifier/Caller (From Froggyvoice.com)
• Hibernation Songs and Activities
• How Do Animals Spend the Winter
• Make a Mokuk
• Make A Leaf Man
• Melt-An-Ice Cube Game
• Plant Life Cycles
• Predator/Prey Adventure Crossword | Answers
• Tree Rings
• Turtle Puppet and Play
• Wildflowers of Oakwoods Metropark Word Search
• Winter Walk: Animal Tracks
• Word Scramble

Preschool Pre-program Packets

• Crawling Cuties
• Life When It’s Snowy
• Mammals Are Marvelous
• Outstanding Owls
• Shells Scales and Pollywog Tails
• We’re Fond of Ponds
• When I Was A Baby (Life Cycles)

Animals

• Beavers Along The Trail – Take a virtual trip with us and learn about the beavers that live in Oakwoods Metropark!
• Deer Along The Trail – Take a virtual trip with us and learn about the deer that live in your Metroparks.
• Egg Anatomy – Let’s take a closer look at what makes up an egg!
• Eggs and Chicks – Watch baby chicks hatch from their eggs!
• Feeding Helga The Tiger Salamander – It’s feeding time for Helga the tiger salamander!
• Feeding Snappy The Snapping Turtle – It’s feeding time for Snappy the snapping turtle!
• Foxes of Michigan – Join your Metroparks to learn about the two fox species we have here in Michigan!
• Get To Know Michigan Turtles – Learn all about MI Turtles and see how you can help a turtle cross the road safely!
• Meet Bud and Buster The Belgian Draft Horses – Watch with us as you learn about Belgian Draft Horses!
• Meet Felix The American Toad – Learn about this toad species, its characteristics, their call and more!
• Meet Lucky The Blanding’s Turtle – Join us in learning all about blanding’s turtles!
• Meet Radar the Great Horned Owl – Join us to learn about Oakwood’s resident Great Horned Owl, Radar.
• Meet Severus The Corn Snake – Watch with us as you learn about corn snakes!
• Meet The Awesome Opossum – Watch with us and learn about these fascinating marsupials!
• Meet The Eastern Box Turtle – Join your Metroparks and meet the eastern box turtle!
• Meet The Eastern Fox Snake – Join your Metoparks in learning about the eastern fox snake!
• Meet Woody The Wood Turtle – Join your Metroparks in learning about wood turtles!
• Preschool Turtle Time – Join your Metroparks as we have fun learning about turtles!
• Wolf vs Coyote – Join your Metroparks in learning about Michigan’s Wolf and Coyote!

Bird Feeding

• Bird Feeding with Karen: Intro
• Bird Feeding with Karen: Sunflower Feeders
• Bird Feeding with Karen: Suet Feeders
• Bird Feeding with Karen: Peanut Feeders
• Bird Feeding with Karen: Baffles
• Bird Feeding with Karen: Mealworms

Birds

• Basics of Bird Identification – Learn the basics of how to identify different birds you might see or hear.
• Birding & eBird – Join your Metroparks in learning more about birding and how to use eBird!
• Learn All About Ranger the Red Tailed Hawk – See why Ranger’s home is at your Metroparks.
• Look at the “Purdy” Eggs: Part 1 – Look at our extensive egg collection from Michigan ornithologist William Purdy.
• Look at the “Purdy” Eggs: Part 2 – Learn more about ornithologist William Purdy’s egg collection!
• Momma Bird Raising Her Babies – Preschool – Hear a story, sing a song and watch a puppet show!
• Skunks Along The Trail – Take a virtual trip with us and learn all about skunks!
• Stevie Squirrel And His Cousins – Preschool – Sing a song and watch a puppet show that’s all about squirrels!
• What Is Bone? – Join your Metroparks in taking a look at what makes bones so unique!

Crafts

• DIY Bird Feeder Using Plastic Recyclables – Learn how to make your own bird feeder out of plastic recyclables!
• DIY “Hand”made Flowers – This is an easy do it yourself craft that the whole family can be a part of!
• DIY Homemade Magnifier – Learn how to make your own magnifier that you can use on a micro hike outside.
• Fingerprint Art: Bug Edition – Let’s draw together and get a bit messy with this easy fingerprint art project! [Jar.jpg]
• Hand Print Art – Learn how to make an owl using your hand print!

Earth Day

• Learn How to be an Earth Day Steward with Stellantis – Join your Metroparks while we team up with Stellantis to educate and inspire visitors about Earth Day.

Nature

• 50 Years of Earth Day – Learn how Earth Day has evolved to be the world’s largest environmental movement.
• Binoculars 101 – Join your Metroparks as we learn all about binoculars!
• Maple’s Sweet Story at Kensington Metropark – Take a virtual tour of the farm’s Sugar Bush.
• Museum Moment: I See A Saw – Learn about the saws in Lake Erie Metropark’s Marshland Museum’s collection!
• Removing Invasive Species: Garlic Mustard – Learn how to identify garlic mustard and its proper removal.
• What’s That Smell? – Learn about skunk cabbage that can be found in your Metroparks.
• Virtual Soil Series Part 1 – Learn about the 5 ingredients that make up soil through interactive activities.
• Virtual Soil Series Part 2 – Join us as we investigate where the abiotic (non-living) ingredients in our soil come from.
• Virtual Soil Series Part 3 – This video focuses on the biotic (living or previously-alive) components of soil.
• Virtual Soil Series Part 4 – Learn why soil is such an important resource.

Science with the Metroparks

• Science with your Metroparks: Blow Up A Balloon with Science – Blow up a balloon with household items! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Fossil Making – Learn how to make your own fossils with your Metroparks! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Make A Model Comet – Learn how to make your very own comet! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Make An Edible Mineral Model – Make a model of minerals and then eat it! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Make Your Own Crystals – Make crystals with items found in your home! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Make Your Own Lava Lamp – Make a lava lamp with household items! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Make Your Own Rock Cycle – Make a rock cycle from items around home! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Make Your Own Tie–dye Paper – Make tie–dye paper with household items! [PDF]
• Science with the Metroparks: Two Ways To Make Your Own Slime – Make slime in two different ways! [PDF]
• Observations & Questions Part 1: Making Observations
• Observations & Questions Part 2: Asking Scientific Questions
• Observations & Questions Part 3: Types of Scientific Questions

Trail Adventures

• Bike Safety At The Metroparks – Make your bike ride more enjoyable with these bike safety and courtesy trail tips!
• Exploring The Marsh In Spring At Lake St. Clair Metropark – See different plants and animals around the marsh!
• Micro Hike With Your Metroparks! – Take a micro hike with us and get up close to nature. After, try it out at home!
• Relaxing Canoe Trip In Stony Creek Metropark – Come take a virtual canoe trip with us!
• Relaxing Walk In Stony Creek Metropark – Take a virtual walk with us. Take in the views and sounds of nature!
• Spring Hike To Explore Ecosystems At Indian Springs Metropark – See what is going on in the spring time!
• Sounds Of The Marsh – Listen with us to hear nature calling.

Get to know nature – and the Metroparks – through the eyes of our Interpreters on our Nature Blog, where we share trail experiences, identify interesting plants and take journeys through time to learn about how our local ecology has adapted and evolved. 

Click here to explore our nature blog.

Seek by iNaturalist

Take your nature knowledge up a notch with Seek! Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of birds, amphibians, plants, and fungi and participate in monthly observation challenges. Download the app onto your phone or tablet. Click here to learn more. 

We can work with your troop or pack to offer badge or merit badge classes. We work with scouting officials, including Merit Badge Counselors, to help your scouts advance in the ranks. Call one of Farm or Nature Centers to learn about our regularly scheduled badge courses or ask us if we’re able to accommodate the badge requirements you need. 

Click here to explore farm and nature centers.

Bring your scouting group out to one of our group campsites for a day in the sun or a night under the stars. Our campsites are also perfect for hosting jamborees or other ceremonies. Advance registration is required.  

Group camp is available at the following parks, click on the park below to learn more about their group camp:

• Hudson Mills Metropark
• Kensington Metropark
• Lower Huron Metropark
• Wolcott Mill Metropark