Operation Explore
Bringing NYC's Youth in Touch with Nature
Operation Explore - Environmental Learning Year Round
The best way to learn about the environment is to experience it directly. Operation Explore allows New York City public school students in grades four through six, their teachers and parents, to do just that. For over twenty-five years, Operation Explore has linked classroom science activities with the outdoors. Three distinct but interrelated environments - aquatic, farm, and forest - are explored through hands-on day and overnight experiences. Last year 30 classes from all ten New York City Department of Education regions participated.
For More Information:
Visit the Operation Explore Brochure (250 kb pdf) or contact
Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center
79 Farmstead Lane
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Phone: (845)831-8780
Fax: (845)831-3416
Email: skfarm@gw.dec.state.ny.us
** Please put "OPEX" in the Subject Line.
Where do you go on the field trips?
The Seashore
Classes visit a coastal habitat at Gateway National Recreation Area in Queens, Brooklyn or Staten Island where the seashore habitat is explored. National Park Service Rangers guide students throughout the day, ensuring a focused and professional educational experience.
The Farm
A visit is made to a working farm at the Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center in Wappinger Falls, NY. Here students learn how their food is produced and discover the interdependence of urban and agricultural communities. Everyone gets to see and do things they may have never experienced before: a chance to plant seeds, feed cows, and grind corn.
The Forest
During the same trip, the class travels to the Taconic Outdoor Education Center at Clarence Fahnestock State Park in Cold Spring, NY, for a two-night environmental education experience. In small field groups, students explore the dynamics of forest and aquatic habitats and their inhabitants. From early morning until bedtime, students, teachers, and parents are connected to the outdoors in a personal way. It is an experience that lasts a lifetime.
Goals ...
Helping Students:
- To acquire a lifelong appreciation of the natural environment.
- To understand the interdependence of all living things.
- To recognize their roles as stewards of the land, air, and water locally and globally.
- To develop problem-solving skills and greater self - confidence.
Assisting Teachers:
- To supplement the curriculum with experiences in outdoor environments.
- To understand the role of environmental education in the curriculum and it's value in developing science literacy.
- To use environmental education as a model for interdisciplinary learning.
Working with Parents:
- To provide an opportunity for parents to interact with their children and teachers in a cooperative effort which supports year-long learning.
- To recognize that the natural environment is an exciting learning place for their children and themselves.
- To support their children toward lifetime exploration in the outdoors with their family and friends.
- To promote appreciation and stewardship of natural resources in local communities.
How is this exciting program coordinated?
Operation Explore is a partnership of six agencies directly offering services to the New York City community. These are: the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; New York City Department of Education; National Park Service at Gateway National Recreation Area; Cornell Cooperative Extension; New York City Department of Environmental Protection; and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
