The world of natural science is full of adventure and excitement, where youth can take their own ideas and theories about the world and apply them for real tangible results that they can actually observe for themselves.

Learning Science Is Exciting And Adventurous

What is it about coming out to science camp on Catalina Island with Mountain and Sea Adventures (MSA) that excites students, and sparks a lifelong love for the marine environment and world of natural sciences?

Outdoor education merely teaches youth how to open their eyes to perceiving the grand beauty of the natural world all around them. Field science becomes the vehicle for students to immerse themselves deeper and deeper in their awe-inspiring surroundings. Soon any aversion to academic learning is replaced by an ever-increasing urge to enjoy the fun activities of their outdoor educational experience.

In this sense, outdoor education is one of the most important academic experiences for youth, for it reveals to them that learning is not only fun, but also one of the most exciting endeavors they can embark upon.

Learning To See The Wonder Of Nature

Children love to play and make believe, exploring and discovering their environment in a way they never tire of. Natural sciences takes this exploratory sense of adventure in youth to its zenith, by showing them that there are no limits to what they can discover and learn through their own field research.

The scientific method is the process of learning to ask the right questions, to have that same sense of wonder that a child has, so that you can set all your pre-existing ideas aside and arrive at your own understandings based on your own experience.

In fact, science is the last frontier of creative thought – where the inventive imagination of the left-brain meets the intellectual analysis of the right brain.

Rather than teaching your students that science is about definite laws, encourage them to see science as a field of limitless possibilities where they can bring their ideas and theories into the material world.

Immersing Your Students In The World Of Natural Sciences

The beautiful thing about studying natural sciences is that you do not have to wait until you are in a nature preserve or other exotic location to begin immersing your students. In fact, the natural world is all around us, all the time! Even when sitting in the classroom, the natural world is still unfolding its wonder.

Of course, you don’t have to stay in your classroom; even a short visit to your sports field or one of the plazas on your campus can be an exciting opportunity to immerse them in field biology.

Preparing Your Students For Their Outdoor Education Camp Experience

Just a few visits to the natural surroundings in their own school campus can prime your students for more, empowering them to begin seeing the world around them through the eyes of a field scientist.

By the time your students make it out to camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island, or Camp Oakes in Big Bear, they have a head start on field biology that allows them to take full advantage of their incredible resources at camp, and to enjoy MSA’s life changing program to its fullest potential.

Bringing It Home: Implementing Your Camp Experience Into Your Classroom

By the time your students complete their camp experience and return to school, they have had their perspectives and ideas about science transformed. Science has now become a living breathing part of their life, a tool that they can use to increase their love and appreciation of the natural world.

Natural science does not begin when the school bell rings, and it does not end when they leave campus at the day’s end. When given the right perspective by their teachers, youth can come to see how their entire life is a laboratory for scientific research and experimentation.