Louisiana's
outdoor
classroom!

IMMERSIVE FIELD TRIPS

Experience the swamp like never before! Teachers can choose to take to the water with either a McGee's swamp tour or paddling excursion and add on-site programs. All options incorporate the Louisiana State Educational Standards for Students into your field trip.

SWAMP TOURS (GRADES K-12)

Depart on a 90-minute tour through the Atchafalaya Basin on one of our comfortable tour boats. While on the tour, you'll explore the diverse natural beauty and rich ecological systems of America's largest and most mysterious ecosystem. Local guides will explain from personal experience what it's like to live on a houseboat or survive off the swamp--all while pointing out the abundant plants of the area and getting up close and personal with the wildlife.

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Louisiana Student Standards

KINDERGARTEN

K-ESS2-2
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.

K-ESS3-1
Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.

K-ESS3-2
Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for and respond to severe weather.

FIRST GRADE

1-LS1-1

Use tools and materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.

1-LS1-2

Read grade-appropriate text and use media to determine patterns in behavior parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

1-LS3-1
Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are similar, but not exactly like, their parents.

SECOND GRADE

2-LS2-2

Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

2-LS4-1
Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

2-ESS1-1
Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

2-ESS2-1
Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

2-ESS2-2
Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

THIRD GRADE

3-LS2-1
Construct and support an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.

3-LS3-1
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from their parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

3-LS4-2
Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

3-LS4-3
Construct and support an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

3-LS4-4
Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

3-ESS2-1
Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.

3-ESS2-2
Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions around the world.

3-ESS3-1
Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impact of a weather-related hazard.

FOURTH GRADE

4-LS1-1
Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

4-ESS2-1
Plan and conduct investigations on the effects of water, ice, wind, and vegetation on the relative rate of weathering and erosion.

4-ESS3-2
Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.

FIFTH GRADE

5-LS1-1
Ask questions about how air and water affect the growth of plants.

5-LS2-1
Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

5-ESS3-1
Generate and compare multiple solutions about ways individual communities can use science to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

SIXTH GRADE

6-MS-ESS3-4
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.

6-MS-LS2-1
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

6-MS-LS2-3
Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

SEVENTH GRADE

7-MS-ESS2-4
Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.

7-MS-LS2-5
Undertake a design project that assists in maintaining diversity and ecosystem services.

7-MS-LS3-2
Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

7-MS-LS4-4
Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.

EIGHTH GRADE

8-MS-ESS2-1
Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.

8-MS-ESS2-2
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.

8-MS-ESS3-1
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

8-MS-ESS3-2
Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

8-MS-ESS3-3
Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.

8-MS-LS1-4
Construct and use argument(s) based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of survival and successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

8-MS-LS1-5
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

8-MS-LS4-2
Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

HIGH SCHOOL

HS-ESS2-5
Plan and conduct an investigation on the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.

HS-ESS2-6
Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.

HS-ESS3-1
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.

HS-ESS3-2
Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.

HS-ESS3-3
Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.

HS-ESS3-4
Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

HS-LS2-1
Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity, biodiversity, and populations of ecosystems at different scales.

HS-LS2-4
Use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.

HS-LS2-6
Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

HS-LS2-7
Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.

HS-EVS1-1
Analyze and interpret data to identify the factors that affect sustainable development and natural resource management in Louisiana.

HS-EVS1-2
Obtain, evaluate and communicate information on the effectiveness of management or conservation practices for one of Louisiana’s natural resources with respect to common considerations such as social, economic, technological, and influencing political factors over the past 50 years.

HS-EVS1-3
Analyze and interpret data about the consequences of environmental decisions to determine the risk-benefit values of actions and practices implemented for selected issues.

HS-EVS2-1
Design and evaluate a solution to limit the introduction of non-point source pollution into state waterways.

HS-EVS2-2
Use a model to predict the effects that pollution as a limiting factor has on an organism’s population density.

HS-EVS2-3
Use multiple lines of evidence to construct an argument addressing the negative impacts that introduced organisms have on Louisiana’s native species.

HS-EVS3-1
Construct and evaluate arguments about the positive and negative consequences of using disposable resources versus reusable resources.

PADDLING EXCURSIONS (6-12)

Great for older students looking for more adventure. Whether your students are new to paddling or seasoned adventurers, our various trails will be able to accommodate you and your group's thirst for exploration. Our guided paddles for students offer a unique and eco-friendly way to experience the swamp by quietly gliding among the cypress trees. Not only will the experience teach your students about the swamp, it will also foster communication, leadership, team building skills, and fellowship.