The Chula Vista Nature Center is an interactive learning environment displaying San Diego Bay’s native wildlife. Over 15,000 school children annually enjoy field trips to the Nature Center.
The Conservation Education Program teaches students from Kindergarten to 12th grade about:
- Biology – How different is the anatomy of a bird from the anatomy of a lizard, a fish, an eel, and me?
- Wildlife – Learn the track marks of a rattlesnake so you can identify them on your own explorations.
- Endangered species – What wildlife is at risk of extinction? Why does it make a difference? What can I do to help?
- Watershed ecology – If you think that the plants that grow on land have nothing to do with the fish swimming in the Bay, think again.
- Habitat preservation – If this watershed were developed into a condo complex, what wildlife would be impacted? How severely?
“My favorite subject is science because we go to the Nature Center every week and see for real what’s in the textbook. I wouldn’t have believed male animals can have babies until I saw the pregnant male seahorses.” Kate, 7th grader |
Field trips to the Nature Center happen every day of the school year. During the field trip, students participate in a guided tour by a highly trained Nature Center interpretive guide, with an emphasis on watershed protection, recycling, pollution, native plants and animals, as well as practicing responsible outdoor recreation. The tour is led through the Nature Center’s native animal exhibits and classes have time to explore the trails of the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. Field trip scholarships are available to classes that would not otherwise be able to visit. Teachers are required to attend a one-time orientation workshop where they receive instruction as well as a curriculum tool kit to prepare their students for the trip. The tool kit consists of a standards-based curriculum, pre- and post-tests and instructions needed to implement the lessons. Download Field Trip Orientation form here |
Chula Vista Elementary District teachers, do not need to attend the orientation.
Groups of 8 or fewer can be admitted without taking the Field Trip Orientation Workshop, but they do need to make a reservation. Materials for use during the visit will be provided by email in advance of the visit.
All groups need a reservation and are limited to 30 children at a time. Teachers, Scout and Youth Group Leaders: Call (619) 409-5900 for more information.
Chula Vista Elementary School District Program
The Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) and the Nature Center have partnered together to provide standards-based, hands-on science classes to schools throughout the district since the Nature Center opened in 1987.
One or two classes visit from local schools each day and use the Nature Center as their outdoor classroom, participating in lessons like Crawling Crabs and Geology Rocks. Two open houses are offered to CVESD teachers each year so they can learn about all of the programs available for their students. This year, grant funding has been awarded to the program to help pay transportation costs for many of the visiting classes.
Mueller Charter Leadership Academy Nature Smart Studies Program
In July, 2009, Mueller Charter School in Chula Vista and the Chula Vista Nature Center began a special partnership. Recognizing the value and importance of hands-on learning in a natural setting, the Nature Center opens its doors for 7th and 8th grade students in the Mueller Charter Leadership Academy (MCLA) to study science.
Every Monday and Tuesday, 8th grade groups from MCLA study physical science on site at the Nature Center. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, 7th grade groups come to study life science.
In addition to receiving rigorous instruction on the state science standards, the students have the opportunity to think, write and experiment in a beautiful natural setting filled with local history and native plants and animals. As students learn science, they also learn about the bay community, and the vital importance of conservation, respect for nature, and sustainable living.
