field trip offerings
Take your learning to the next level! We believe learning takes place beyond the classroom walls - and even beyond the school field! The Future Leaders staff will collaborate with teachers to listen and address their unique classroom needs. A field trip is a perfect opportunity to deepen curriculum concepts right out the backdoor.
Here are a list of possible field trip options in any season for K-12. As always, we are open to Bow Valley school requests for field trips and want to work with you to ensure your staff and students’ needs are being met.
K-12 example Field Trips
Walking field trip (year-round, 2-3hrs): we recommend this option for Kindergarten to Gr.3 classes. We collaborate with teachers to create walking field trips to, for example, the Highline Trail, Quarry Lake Park, Montane Trail or along the Bow River pathways in Banff and Canmore. This walking field trip is customized to your classroom’s needs and has a wealth of opportunity for students to connect with seasonal patterns, explore with all their senses and learn about local ecology. The walking field trips have rich curriculum ties with K-3 Science, Earth & Living Systems
Îya Mnathka (Mt. Yamnuska) (Spring and Fall, full-day): we recommend this option for Gr.4-12. Join our staff on a hike on designated trails that feel like a walk through time. From lush meadows and Aspen groves below, the ascent leads you to the prominent McConnell Thrust Fault, a classic geological feature in the Canadian Rockies. The length of this trip hike can be adjusted. For strong hiking groups, we recommend the 7km round trip to the East Ridge lookout point (520m elevation) and for smaller legs, we recommend a 2km roundtrip hike with games. This field trip includes informative content presented by our staff along the way and can be adjusted to meet your curriculum requirements and connects readily to topics in Science and Social Studies such as Energy Systems, Earth Systems, Geological processes, Evolution, Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Canada’s history.
Quarry Lake Park (Spring, half-day): We recommend this option to connect with Grade 5 Science, Wetland Ecology. Explore the riparian zone of nearby standing water and moving creeks at Quarry Lake Park. This field trip explores the lifecycle of frogs, the water cycle and humans’ role in water conservation.
Sacred Guardian Buffalo Mountain (Tunnel Mountain) (Spring and Fall, full-day): Are you ready to reach the summit? Well-suited for Gr.7-12, Buffalo Mountain is accessible by foot from the townsite of Banff. This field trip is a great opportunity to physically challenge your students (and yourself!) and feel the benefits of reaching a summit together while exploring concepts along the way connected to Science and Social Studies curriculum. The 4.8km roundtrip hike with 260m of elevation typically takes about 3 hours and would require students to bring a backpack, packed lunch and water bottle.
To inquire or request a field trip, please contact education@biospherenstitute.org
