Quick links:
Explore our classes:
Animal Signs
Look for tracks, nests, and more to discover animal habits and relationships.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
Archery
Learn and build NASP-style archery skills through practice and games.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Outdoor skill-building
Archery Engineers
Go through the scientific process to study how design impacts arrow speed.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Aquatics Lab
Participants will perform physical and chemical tests and collect aquatic bugs to determine the health of a local water body.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
Big Freeze (Winter Ecology)
Discover the myriad of ways plants and animals adapt to the harsh Minnesota winter.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
Birds
Use binoculars to observe the bird diversity and explore what makes them unique.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
Cross-Country Skiing
Make the winter fun and active by learning to cross-country ski.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ High physical activity
✔️ Outdoor skill-building
Earth Exploration
Use a rock collection, models and find fossils to learn about the earth’s “rocky” history and cycles.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Fungus Among Us
Get up close with wild fungus and the role it plays in the ecosystem.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
GPS Pathfinders
Enjoy the outdoors with a small team while using GPS units to find caches and solve a mystery.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ High physical activity
✔️ Outdoor skill-building
Group Challenges
Learn about yourself and others to build team skills via group challenge solving.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Team building and challenges
Ice Age
Employ atlatls, travois, and more to examine how animals adapted to the Pleistocene Ice Age.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Karst Geology
Take a dive into the local landscape to learn how geology impacts our daily lives.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
Oneota
Apply archeology skills to delve into how the prehistoric Oneota peoples may have lived.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Orienteering
Put your navigation skills to the test by finding your way through the prairies with a compass and map.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ High physical activity
✔️ Outdoor skill-building
Pond Study
Use nets and stereoscopes to investigate how macroinvertebrate structure impacts function.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Outdoor exploration and observation
River Canoeing
Skill-build and connect with nature from the water on our 3.5-mile section of the Root River. Minimum grade required: 6th
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Outdoor skill-building
Rock Climbing
Challenge yourself and support others through safe risk-taking on our rock wall.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ High physical activity
✔️ Team building and challenges
Root River Hike
Find new ways to enjoy the outdoors through art, games, and beautiful views on a hike to the Root River.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate or high physical activity
✔️ Introduction to the outdoors
Settler Life
Visit a replica cabin and do chores to analyze how 1850’s Settler-Colonists made their homes in Minnesota.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Snowshoeing
Play games and stay warm by tromping through the snow on snowshoes.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ High physical activity
✔️ Introduction to the outdoors
Survival
Build confidence in your outdoor experience through shelter building and fire-making.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Introduction to the outdoors
Team Navigation
Work together to explore the outdoors while learning a new way to navigate via a large game of hide and seek.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Team building and challenges
Trees and (Dichotomous) Keys
Make observations and use a dichotomous key to explore the diversity of Midwest tree species.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours or 1.5 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Low physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Tree Tops High Ropes Course
Challenge yourself, expand your comfort zone, and encourage others while traversing 30 feet above the ground. Minimum grade required: 4th
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ High physical activity
✔️ Team building and challenges
Wildlife Ecology
Use models and hike through different ecosystems to study wildlife population dynamics.
· Summary
· Pre-Visit Activity
· Post-Visit Activity
⏱️ 3 hours
🏃🏾♀️ Moderate physical activity
✔️ Meet academic standards and gain content knowledge
Interested in Learning More About an Eagle Bluff Trip?
Fill out our inquiry form and our groups manager will get back to you with more information!
Naturalist Programs
From 6:15-7:15 p.m. each evening, students can delve deeper into nature topics or history through stories, slide shows, or character presentations presented by the Eagle Bluff staff. Naturalist programs are unlike day-classes; they are designed to help students wind-down after an exciting day, they may include other schools, and are presented to groups of up to 250 people. Due to staff availability, we will choose programs for your group based on your students’ ages. You may rank your naturalist program preferences on your scheduling form, but our ability to accommodate requests may be limited.
MOSS Stories
Professor Moss shares “magical” stories of nature and explains the science behind local animal adaptations.
⏱️ 1 hour
🐸 Live animal program
RaptorFORCE
Discover the long relationship between humans and raptors and how we have impacted each other throughout time
⏱️ 1 hour
🦉 Live animal program
RaptorCARE
Understand how Eagle Bluff trains, cares for, and uses our raptor ambassadors for educational purposes.
⏱️ 1 hour
🦉 Live animal program
STARLAB
Explore the seasonal constellations, their science, and their stories in our very own planetarium.
⏱️ 1 hour
Invasive Species
Learn the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems and how you can help.
⏱️ 1 hour
🐢 Live animal program
RaptorPHYSICS
Learn the principles of flight and how birds have adapted to sustain flying.
⏱️ 1 hour
🦉 Live animal program
Rattled
Observe the unique adaptations and behaviors of one of Minnesota’s only venomous snakes.
⏱️ 1 hour
🐍 Live animal program
Unhuggables
Hear the myths and realities of typical “nuisance” animals and the positive impacts they have on ecosystems.
⏱️ 1 hour
🦨 Live animal program
Legends in the Sky
Listen to and act out star stories from all over the world to learn about the similarities and differences between cultures.
⏱️ 1 hour
Reptiles
Gain knowledge on some of Minnesota’s reptiles: how they live, what makes them unique, and why they are important.
⏱️ 1 hour
🐍 Live animal program
Spiders, Ticks, & Mosquitos
Find out the roles of these disliked creatures in the natural world and discover the parts they play in the ecosystem.
⏱️ 1 hour
🕷️ Live animal program
Nighttime Neighbors
Learn about Minnesota’s nocturnal animals and how their senses differ from ours.
⏱️ 1 hour
🦨 Live animal program
Evening Activities
Evening Activities are led by your school staff or chaperones from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Please download your activity’s lesson plan from below and ensure that the adults leading the activities have a copy of the lesson plans in advance. Your Eagle Bluff liaison will have your supplies available, set-up the classroom, and assist with directions and answer questions prior to the start of the evening activity. They are designed to be flexible and meet a variety of your needs.
Campfire
Enjoy each other’s company and the outdoors over a fire. Staff or group-led; s’mores optional.
· Full Lesson Plan
· Teacher Packet
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🌙 Outdoor
✔️ Group bonding and enjoyment
Eagle Bluff Olympics
Get competitive with mentally and physically challenging team activities.
· Quick Reference Guide
· Full Lesson Plan
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🏢 Indoor
✔️ Team building and challenges
S.T.E.A.M. Experiments
Explore various Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math topics by working together to complete experiments.
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🏢 Indoor
✔️ Team building and challenges
Night Hike
Enjoy each other’s company and the outdoors over a fire. Staff or group-led; s’mores optional.
· Quick Reference Guide
· Full Lesson Plan
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🌙 Outdoor
✔️ Group bonding and enjoyment
Owl Pellets
Investigate owls through the dissection of their pellets. Extra charge per pellet.
· Quick Reference Guide
· Full Lesson Plan
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🏢 Indoor
✔️ Exploration and observation
Project Teamwork
Keep the group bonding going through a variety of activities which cultivate teamwork.
· Quick Reference Guide
· Full Lesson Plan
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🏢 Indoor
✔️ Team building and challenges
Yard Games
Get competitive with mentally and physically challenging team activities.
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🌙 Outdoor
✔️ Group bonding and enjoyment
Movie
Relax after a long day of activities with a movie night; bring your own or use our Netflix.
⏱️ 1.5 hours
🏢 Indoor
✔️ Group bonding and enjoyment
Your Choice
Students love it when you customize your own activity! Popular choices include: talent shows, capture the flag, journaling, board games, or gaga ball.
Trip Journals
General Student Pages
- Cover Page
- My Feelings About Eagle Bluff
- En Route to Eagle Bluff
- Bus Games
- My Thoughts About Nature
- Welcome to Eagle Bluff
- The Four Respects
- The Dorm
- Nature Word Search
- Crossword Puzzle
- My Last Day
- Thinking Back
- “New Me” Pledge
- Thank Yous
- Blank Page
Evening Activity Pages
Class-Specific Pages
- Advanced Orienteering
- Animal Signs
- Archery
- Archery Engineers
- Aquatics Lab
- Big Freeze
- Birds
- Cross-Country Skiing
- Earth Exploration
- Fungus Among Us
- GPS Pathfinders
- Group Challenges
- Ice Age
- Karst Geology
- Oneota
- Pond Study
- River Canoeing
- Rock Climbing
- Root River Hike
- Settler Life
- Snowshoeing
- Survival
- Team Navigation
- Trees and Keys
- Treetops Ropes Course
- Wildlife Ecology
Naturalist Program Page
A journal page designed for use with any Naturalist Program (there are no program-specific pages.) You will need one page per night you are at Eagle Bluff.
Teacher Manual
The teacher manual include tips for helping with journals, as well as keys for crossword puzzles and word finds.
