The environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Powdermill Nature Reserve is located in Rector, PA, amidst the rolling Laurel Highlands, where wildflowers, trees, songbirds, and salamanders can be examined. The classroom and exhibition areas in the nature center as well as the trails outside provide meeting and program spaces for field trips and workshops. The world-class research programs at Powdermill take advantage of the biodiversity of the Allegheny Mountains.

Programs are adapted from recognized curricula, including Project WILD, Project WILD Aquatic, Keystone Aquatic Resource Education (KARE), Pennsylvania Songbirds, Project Food, Land, and People, Project Learning Tree, Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), Pennsylvania Reptiles and Amphibians, and The Wonders of Wetlands.

Programs are supported by the Mudge Environmental Education Program and the Martha Edwards Lazear Foundation.

For more information and directions to Powdermill Nature Reserve, click here to visit the website.

Scheduling
Maximum group size is 45. Activities are 1.5 to 2.5 hours long, depending on the age of the group and the activity selected; two programs with a lunch break can be arranged.

Reservations
Call the Powdermill Education Department at 724.593.6105.

Required Chaperones
All children’s groups must be accompanied by an adult chaperone. Groups larger than 15 children require one additional adult for every 15 children.

While at Powdermill, the students remain your responsibility. Make your students' visit a safe and educational experience by remaining with them throughout the visit. We encourage you to become involved in the program with your students. Respect for plant life, animal life, and natural features of Powdermill should be reinforced prior to the program. Nothing may be picked, collected, or removed from the reserve.

Fee
1.5-hour program: $60 for up to 10 participants
Additional guests: $6 per person

2 or 2.5-hour program: $70 for up to 10 participants
Additional guests: $7 per person

Classes/Field Trips

Using the Senses
Pre-K to Kindergarten, 1.5 hours
A unique way for young children to experience the natural world. Students discover the environment using the senses of hearing, sight, touch, and smell. An exercise emphasizing colors and shapes in nature is included. 

The Closer You Look
Pre-K to 6, 1.5 hours
Close observation of trees reveals their structure, parts, and detailed characteristics. An art project reinforces students' newfound knowledge of Pennsylvania's trees.

Stream Sense
Grade K–3, 1.5 hours
This activity allows young students to visit the stream without doing the advanced stream study. Students use their senses to increase their awareness of stream ecosystems.

Shapes, Patterns, and Numbers in Nature
Grade 1–3, 1.5 hours
Examining the outdoor world, students find shapes, patterns, and numerical arrangements within the enviroment. A great way to learn mathematical concepts and develop keen observation skills.

Seasonal Changes
Grade 1–3, 1.5 hours
Observing wild animals and plants can reveal a lot about the changes that occur as the forest passes from season to season. Students make weather observations, draw plants, and search for animals and signs of animal behavior as they learn about these seasonal changes.

Animal Adaptations and Habitat
Grade 2–5, 1.5 hours
As they walk through the forest, students learn the components of a healthy habitat. A search for live animals is followed by close examination to determine the special characteristics that allow each animal to survive within its habitat.

Energy Flow: The Sun to You
Grade 4–6, 1.5 hours
An active simulation demonstrates the flow of energy and nutrients through an ecosystem, from the capturing of solar energy by green plants to the decomposition of dead organic matter. Another simulation shows the importance of food chains and food webs.

Creative Writing in the Outdoors
Grade 4–6, 1.5 hours
The natural setting as well as poems by Frost, Dickinson, and Muir, serve as inspiration while students are guided through a creative writing exercise.

Birds and Their Adaptations
Grade 4–6, 2.5 hours
By building their own three-dimensional birds, students discover how unique adaptations help birds survive in their habitats. Two simulation games focus on the behavioral adaptations of birdsong and migration.

Investigating Insects
Grade 4–8, 2.5 hours
Students discover the fascinating world of insects in this comprehensive activity. An art project allows students to design their own insects, complete with adaptations. Moving outdoors, the group studies live insects while learning about life cycles, classification, and ecology.

Create a Critter
Grade 5–12, 2 hours
Focusing on adaptations of stream animals, each student draws and names an imaginary "critter." This activity is a great prelude to the stream study.

Stream Study
Grade 5–12, 2.5 hours
In this investigation of a mountain stream habitat, students determine stream quality by collection and identification of stream inhabitants as well as by chemical testing. The water cycle, watersheds, food chains, and environmental problems are also covered.

Crack, Crumble, and Carry
Grade 6–9, 2.5 hours
In this geology activity, students experiment and observe demonstrations of the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition. Thought-provoking questions and discussion forge the connection between the experiments and the results of these processes in nature. The activity concludes with an interpretive walk to examine how these forces shape our landscape.

Movers and Shakers
Grade 6–9, 2.5 hours
Pennsylvania's geologic history is explored in a series of simulations and exercises. The activity focuses on the types of rock and their origins, the importance of sedimentary rock as a record of Earth's history, tectonic events and mountain orogeny, and the aging of rocks by the use of index fossils.

Land Use Simulation
Grade 7–12, 2 hours
Students participate in a simulation regarding land use in a hypothetical community. Assuming the roles of local politicians and special interest groups, they formulate a plan for development of land while taking economics, zoning regulations, and environmental concerns into consideration.