Field Trips

A group of students sit at tables outdoors, listening to a presenter holding a poster, surrounded by nature.
A group of students examines a map outdoors, engaged in a learning activity, with a focus on geography or navigation.
Kids studying maps outdoors, engaged in a learning activity at picnic tables with materials for exploration.
Children and an adult are engaged in a learning activity outdoors, with a map and school bus in the background.
A group of children in green shirts gather around a map, listening to an adult guide in an outdoor setting.
A group of children in matching green shirts gather around a map, engaged in an outdoor activity with an adult guiding them.
A group of students in green shirts is learning from a teacher about a sand model, likely during an educational session.
A group of children is observing a sand and water model, engaging enthusiastically with the features and elements.
A woman presents a snake to a group of children sitting on the floor, engaging them in an educational activity.
A group of children in blue shirts is attentively watching a seated presenter in a cozy indoor setting.
A group of children sits on the floor, watching an educator with a turtle in an educational setting focused on animals.
Children and adults engage in outdoor learning, exploring water and nature, with papers and tools on a picnic table.
Children are engaged in a hands-on science activity outdoors, observing through containers and taking notes.
Three children are examining charts and a container of water outdoors, likely for a science or nature-related activity.
Two kids are excitedly examining a tray of water in the woods, with nets and magnifiers for exploring nature.
Children and adults are engaged in an outdoor educational activity near a stream, examining specimens on tables.
Children are wading in a stream, exploring and collecting with nets, surrounded by lush green trees on a sunny day.
A group of children exploring a shallow stream, collecting items and enjoying nature among trees and greenery.
Two children are exploring near a calm, clear stream, one crouching on a rock and the other bending down to look closely at the water.
A group of people, including children and adults, engaging in a hands-on activity outdoors, focused on nature and science.
A group of students sit at tables outdoors, listening to a presenter holding a poster, surrounded by nature.
A group of students examines a map outdoors, engaged in a learning activity, with a focus on geography or navigation.
Kids studying maps outdoors, engaged in a learning activity at picnic tables with materials for exploration.
Children and an adult are engaged in a learning activity outdoors, with a map and school bus in the background.
A group of children in green shirts gather around a map, listening to an adult guide in an outdoor setting.
A group of children in matching green shirts gather around a map, engaged in an outdoor activity with an adult guiding them.
A group of students in green shirts is learning from a teacher about a sand model, likely during an educational session.
A group of children is observing a sand and water model, engaging enthusiastically with the features and elements.
A woman presents a snake to a group of children sitting on the floor, engaging them in an educational activity.
A group of children in blue shirts is attentively watching a seated presenter in a cozy indoor setting.
A group of children sits on the floor, watching an educator with a turtle in an educational setting focused on animals.
Children and adults engage in outdoor learning, exploring water and nature, with papers and tools on a picnic table.
Children are engaged in a hands-on science activity outdoors, observing through containers and taking notes.
Three children are examining charts and a container of water outdoors, likely for a science or nature-related activity.
Two kids are excitedly examining a tray of water in the woods, with nets and magnifiers for exploring nature.
Children and adults are engaged in an outdoor educational activity near a stream, examining specimens on tables.
Children are wading in a stream, exploring and collecting with nets, surrounded by lush green trees on a sunny day.
A group of children exploring a shallow stream, collecting items and enjoying nature among trees and greenery.
Two children are exploring near a calm, clear stream, one crouching on a rock and the other bending down to look closely at the water.
A group of people, including children and adults, engaging in a hands-on activity outdoors, focused on nature and science.


Bidwell Park provides an excellent and accessible opportunity to teach valuable lessons of the natural world.  For over thirty years, the Chico Creek Nature Center has provided quality educational programs on the natural systems of Bidwell Park to elementary school students, using the park as a classroom.

2025-2026 Offerings Include:

Program NGSS Grades Length 
Lower Park Discovery Walk K-2 30 or 60 mins
Meet Our Animals  K-2 30 or 60 mins
Scat Lab K-5 30 or 60 mins
Skulls & Pelts Lab K-4 30 or 60 mins
Topography & Erosion Labs 2-5 60 or 90 mins
Aquatic Investigation 3-5 90 mins 

Program Pricing & Timeframes

  • 30 Minute Field Trip: $140
  • 60 Minute Field Trip: $180
  • 90 Minute Field Trip: $220
  • Each program allows up to 30 students, and pricing is per timeframe—not per person—and only changes if you exceed 30 students.

To ensure the best experience, our field trips are designed for small group sizes. If you have more than 30 students, the group will need to be split into smaller groups. One way to accomplish this is through a rotation system.

What is a rotation?

A rotation means dividing your students into two or three smaller groups and having each group attend different field trips in a scheduled sequence. Once a group finishes its first trip, it rotates to the next one. By the end of the rotation, all groups will have completed all selected trips.

Example of a Two-Group Rotation with 30-minute Trips

A typical two-group, 30-minute rotation includes two field trips, but because each group attends both, it results in four total field trips (two trips × two groups) for $560 ($140 x 4). If you have 50 students, we will divide them into two groups of 25. Group 1 attends a trip of your choice, while Group 2 attends a second trip of your choice. After 30 minutes, the groups switch. At the end of one hour, both groups have completed both field trips.

Availability

Fall field trips are available between September 2nd-November 20th, 2025. Spring field trips are available between March 3rd- May 28th, 2026. Start times are between  the hours of 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM with thirty minute increments. 

Meet Our Animals is the only trip we will book outside of the current calendar school year.

Field Trip Reservation Request Form

Please complete the field trip reservation form. Once submitted, a staff member will reach out to you to complete your reservation. If you have any questions, please email naturecenter@chicorec.gov.

Field Trip Overviews 

Lower Park Discovery Walk 

30 or 60 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades K-2
Students are introduced to some of nature's wonders in our very own Bidwell Park. Join our Naturalists for a 30 or 60 minute tour through our World of Trees. Through interactive games, group discussion and observation, students learn about the history of the area and focus on plant and animal adaptations. This hike has a big emphasis on utilizing our senses and observation skills to discover and learn about our surroundings. 

1- NGSS- Lower Park Discovery Walk.pdf

Meet Our Animals

30 or 60 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades K-2
Students are introduced to some of the Nature Center’s animal friends. Join our Naturalists as they bring out various animals and discuss adaptations and survival skills in the wild. Students will have the opportunity to gently touch certain animals including snakes, toads, a tortoise and so much more!

2- NGSS- Meet Our Animals.pdf

 Scat Lab

30 or 60 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades K-4

Students are introduced to animal scat identification and its importance. Join our Naturalists as they bring out scat replicas to observe and touch, and discuss why scat is so important. Students will complete interactive worksheets and use Fact Cards to try and ID the scat. If time, students will go on a guided walk around the Nature Center to hunt for scat.

4- NGSS- of Scat Lab.pdf

Skulls and Pelts Lab

30 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades K-4

Students become young scientists as they explore real animal skulls to discover how different species survive in the wild. Using careful observation, they investigate key skull features—teeth, eye placement, nasal passages, and auditory bullae—to learn how structure connects to function. Students complete interactive worksheets, make evidence-based predictions, and decide whether their skull belonged to a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore.

60 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades K-4
Take our Skulls Lab a step farther by adding pelts! During the pelts portion of this lab students are introduced to animals of Bidwell Park, their pelts and how they are equipped to survive. Through interactive games and observation students identify and learn about different animals skins and their varying purposes.

5- NGSS- Skulls and Pelts Lab.pdf

Topography and Erosion Lab

60 or 90 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades 2-5
On this field trip, students will explore how the landscape is shaped by water. Students are divided into two groups. One group participates in the topographical map station (learning to identify the natural features of the local watersheds) while the other group is engaged at the stream table (observing the creation of valleys, cliffs and deltas while learning about erosion, deposition, meandering, undercuts, head-cuts, sandbars and more!) Groups switch stations about halfway through. During the 90 minute lab, the groups combine at the end and take a short hike to Big Chico Creek to observe and discuss erosion/deposition in action!

3- NGSS- Topography and Erosion Lab.pdf

Aquatic Investigation 

90 minutes - Meets NGSS for Grades 3-5
Students are introduced to macroinvertebrates and water ecology while enjoying beautiful Big Chico Creek. Join our Naturalists for a brief discussion before heading down to the creek for hands on learning. Students will use nets, hand lenses and ID charts to collect and identify macroinvertebrates, and determine what the presence of different species indicates for the health of the stream. Students will be wading in the creek from ankle to mid-thigh, and must have closed-toed shoes that can get wet. A towel and a change of clothes/ shoes  are strongly encouraged.

6- NGSS- Aquatic Investigation.pdf