Majors: By Category | Alphabetically
Minors: By Category | Alphabetically
Ages 7+
You’ll find out what reptiles and amphibians live on the Sun Foundation property. You will be able to see and touch many of the animals. You’ll find out what they eat and where you might find them. This is an introduction to herpetology. If weather permits, we’ll head to a pond to see some animals in their natural environment. Please wear appropriate clothes.
Read MoreAges 7 - 12
Joins us and special guest Brian “Fox” Ellis as we spend the afternoon fishing and learn some stories with Agassiz!
Read MoreAges 8+
Spend the afternoon hiking in the creek bed to see what rock and fossil treasures you’ll find.
Read MoreAges 8+
Utilizing a discovery and inquiry-based approach to learning, this class reintroduces insects to students in a whole new light, inviting students to broaden and expand their perspective and understanding of these creatures, and build creative and critical thinking skills. We will examine many different habitats at the Sun Foundation to learn about the insects found in each.
Read MoreAges 7-11
In this class, you will learn all about the metamorphosis of the monarch from tiny egg to butterfly and what makes them so amazing. We will take a short hike where you will learn to identify the host plant (milkweed) and look for eggs and caterpillars. If we find caterpillars we will bring them back to our tent and put them into an enclosure with their favorite leaves. Over the week, you’ll be able to come back and check on them to see how quickly they grow. After our hunting excursion, Connie will show you how to make a hanging monarch butterfly of your own to take home.
Read MoreAges 7-12
Join us for fun traditional Native American songs and games. Learn about echolocation during Bat & Moth, and a Native American song to call in deer efore we play Deer and Hunter, and many more fun nature based games!
Read MoreAges 7-11
Discover the wild with Nature Ninjas! Spend the afternoon in the woods connecting with nature through activities in awareness, camouflage, stalking, and fun survival skill activities for younger campers. It’s an adventurous way to build skills and connect with nature.
Read MoreAges 8+
This class will be a fun-sized version of the proposed major class. Students will explore one of camp's habitats and do creative writing prompts that use observation of the natural world as inspiration for poetry, a story, or more personal reflection.
Read MoreAges 7+
A few hundred years ago, Illinois was covered mostly in expansive grassland habitats known as prairies. In this class, we’ll immerse ourselves in the Sun Foundation’s prairie and explore it’s science through hiking, activities and an animal encounter or two.
Read MoreAges 7+
This class will be a shorter version of the Major class, we will work from both dry and wet natural history specimens preserved wet in jars, such as frogs, fish, turtles, mud puppies, as well as dry, specimens, such as bones, skulls, dried plants, seeds, and marine collections such as starfish, shells and seahorses. In each session, we will begin with drawing, add watercolors to our drawings and the last hour will be working with self -hardening clay, making small sculptural forms inspired by our natural history collections. Ages 7+
Read MoreAges 7+
Many people are familiar with large fish that live in the Illinois River, but may not be as familiar with the many different kinds of small fish that make creeks and small streams their home. In this minor, we will use different types of nets and traps to survey sections of Crow Creek for small fish, such as shiners, darters and dace. Students will learn about the diet and behavior of each type of fish and how to identify them. Ages 7+
Read MoreAges 7-12
Let’s explore Crow Creek looking for all the amazing animals who call this ecosystem their home!
Read MoreAll day major Ages 13-18
This class is for students who have participated in the basic Ancestral Survival Arts Program and want to fine tune old skills based on their interests. Each day will comprise part of the day working on hard skills based on group interest, with options such as tracking (cluster tracking, drawing tracks), fire build(bowdrill, etc.) shelter creation, cordage and advanced textile arts (quadbraid, finger weaving), traps, edible and medicinal plants and advanced camouflage. The second part of the day will be immersive practice in applying multiple skills simultaneously, such as awareness practice and games, stalking through the woods while in camouflage and practicing ancestral weaponry OR tracking and trailing in teams while blindfolded. The fun and flow of theis class will be dictated by student interest & initiative!
Read MorePee Wee • Ages 5-7
In this class, students will create our very own masterpieces, trek though nature and explore science in the outdoors. We will use clay, paint, and other art materials to create art. Join us as we explore the marsh, forest, and trails on this exciting adventure. Gear up for a week of games, play-based learning, and fun while we capture the beauty around us!
Read MoreAll Day Major • Ages 13 -17
Luke McNally, Damion Schierer, Luke Scalise
More than a game, Coyote Warriors builds upon a foundation of
athletics to teach young people about teamwork, conflict, work ethic,
awareness and maintaining a healthy mind and body. This course is
about building confidence in teens. By facing hard work and struggle
in a fun environment, we equip students with tools to better prepare
for work and school beyond nature’s classroom. Coyote Warriors relies
upon an ancestral understanding of team sports blended with modern
science and a hint of the spiritual. It is a chance to escape the
contemporary world, examine ourselves in nature, and return to the
challenges of modern life with new training for adulthood. These lofty
ideals are achieved from the ground up, starting from a foundation of
running and team rivalry. Please note, scholarships are not available
for this class.
Ages 18+
Luke McNally, Damion Scheirer, Luke Scalise
Building upon the principles of Coyote Warriors, the advanced class offers young adults a chance to continue their Coyote Games experience, while engaging in more complex challenges including leadership, acts of service, and planning for their adult life. Facing a period of major transition, young adults will benefit from developing their professional interests, collaborative discussions about continuing education, and finding and vetting professional mentors. In addition to playing doubleball, activities will include learning from other Art & Science in the Woods instructors, advanced workouts, and cross-country travel around Blue Heron Farm. Participants will take field trips to the marsh and old growth forest, conduct acts of service in benefit of their fellow Campers, and gain training and hands-on learning in the ecology, agriculture, and natural resource management of the farm.
Read MoreAges 8 - 12
We will explore immediate diverse habitats, such as the woods, prairie, marsh and river. We’ll take our sketch books with us making nature notes and then return to our barn to explore the amazing forms and colors of nature. We will also work from a diverse set of scientific specimens including preserved turtles, frogs, fish, mud puppies, and crayfish We take them out of their jars and can get up close and personal using them as inspiration for both drawing, watercolors and sculptural work in self-hardening clay. We will also have other natural history specimens such as bones, skulls, dried plants, seeds and pods, and marine specimens to provide inspiration. Sharon will also weave stories of Amazonian explorations into her art instruction with lessons about biodiversity and conservation.
Read MoreAges 8-12
Spend a week exploring the Sun Foundation’s natural spaces and the living things that build healthy ecosystems! In addition to plenty of hiking and science-based field activities, we’ll also build a mini museum collection of our favorite findings and research how they contribute to our environment.
Read MoreAges 11 +
Come explore some of the older ways of cooking, processing foods, foraging, processing wild game, using plant dyes, making lip balm, candles, homemade kites and fermentation.
Read MoreAges 8-12
We will explore the Sun Foundation property, looking for native reptiles and amphibians. We will show you how to find and identify animals. We will discuss what they eat and how to take care of them. You’ll get to catch, touch and hold them. Plan to get hot, wet and dirty! Please make sure to wear clothes that are appropriate. Class will be all day on Wednesday.
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