Programs for Schools at Blue Hills Trailside Museum
Through field studies and classroom explorations, Mass Audubon school programs provide hands-on, inquiry-based experiences with science content and practices. Our educators enhance students’ scientific understanding of species and habitats; ecological concepts such as food webs, cycles, systems, adaptation, and evolution; climate change; and interrelationships between people and nature.
About Metro South and Blue Hills Trailside Museum School Programs
The wildlife sanctuaries of Mass Audubon Metro South offer a diversity of resources that make our school programs unique and versatile, including a working farm, an innovative art workshop, native wildlife ambassadors, and a variety of unique habitats and wildlife. Our programs use these resources to provide fun, engaging, hands-on experiences that connect students with nature, build observation and literacy skills, and help teachers meet state education standards.
Operated in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Blue Hills Trailside Museum is the interpretive center for the state-owned Blue Hills Reservation and features a natural history museum and outdoor exhibits of native wildlife, including Snowy Owls and a Red Fox. The nearby Blue Hills Reservation has over 125 miles of trails through a diversity of habitats, including forests, meadows, and ponds.
Program Types
In-School and at the Sanctuary
Whether you want to bring nature into the classroom or take lessons outside, our programs for schools offer insight into New England habitats and native species and enrich natural history and science lessons while strengthening students’ connections to the environment.
Blue Hills Trailside Museum offers field trip programs for schools at the Museum, in-school programs led by a Mass Audubon teacher naturalist, and hybrid programs that incorporate both an in-class and in-the-field experience.
Questions? Submit a school program inquiry
Teacher Professional Development
Mass Audubon’s Professional Development programs are designed to increase content knowledge, provide teachers with hands-on, STEM-focused learning experiences, and offer resources for teaching engaging, inquiry-based science lessons in the schoolyard or classroom. In-person and virtual workshops are available, along with consulting and site visits.
Mass Audubon works with districts and schools to engage Pre-K–Grade 12 teachers in meaningful professional development experiences that immerse teachers in the science of nature and the nature of science, furthering teacher expertise in nature-based learning, climate change, environmental literacy, environmental justice, and inquiry-based science. Our instructors are experienced educators, deeply interested in the experiences of teachers, and able to relate to the challenges of classroom teaching.
Mass Audubon offers both school-based PD programs to engage an entire grade level team or department in a deep dive on a particular topic or unit, as well as virtual and in-person public workshops throughout the year that are open to any educator. For an immersive experience, try one of our professional development Summer Institutes!