Here's How Kids Discover the Trail!
Elementary grades are linked with Discovery Trail organizations. Individual classrooms from different schools visit in pairs and share the day at the site. Most also have shared activities before and after the visits. Curriculum meets NYS Standards.
Families Visit
Take-home materials, including free admission passes, encourage families
to visit. This program seeks to increase use of all Discovery Trail
sites by expanding public awareness of their resources.
KDT! Videos
See how children of all ages discover the trail by watching KDT! videos and for an overview of the KDT! programs watch the new 2011-12 Overview.
Classrooms Connect
Each year pairs of classrooms from different Ithaca schools are linked, and most visit their Discovery Trail
sites together. Fifth graders have two opportunities to share academic experiences with their peers as they prepare for the transition to middle school.
"I love that this program allows all of our children to experience the rich resources of our community. We have many students who would never go to any of the museums or the library if it were not done as part of school. Thank you for providing this enriching experience for us."
—CAROLINE TEACHER
"I think that exposure to the Discovery Trail sites is a wonderful experience for all children and having it as a common experience will help to build a feeling of community across the school district."
—BELLE SHERMAN TEACHER
"We were so thrilled when our daughter came home with the beautiful hardcover book and were so delighted by the generosity that allowed so many children to each have
a copy. We have three children, and they all have been enjoying the book ever since, even acting it out!"
—PARENT
Pre-Kindergarten
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell
ANIMALS IN ART
KDT! BOOK: ART, Patrick McDonnell
Kindergarten
Tompkins County Public Library
BOOKS, FRIENDSHIP, AND FAMILY
KDT! BOOK: Library Lion, Michelle Knudson
First Grade
Museum of the Earth at PRI
DINOSAUR SCIENCE
KDT! BOOK: Digging Up Dinosaurs, Aliki
Second Grade
Sciencenter
POWER THE FUTURE
KDT! BOOK: Our Earth, Clean Energy, Peggy Hock
Third Grade
Cornell Plantations
WILDFLOWER EXPLORATION
KDT! BOOK: Wildflowers: A Peterson’s First Guide
Fourth Grade
The History Center in Tompkins County
EIGHT SQUARE SCHOOLHOUSE: 19TH CENTURY LIFE
KDT! BOOK: The Secret School, Avi
Fifth Grade
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
EXPLORING HABITATS
KDT! BOOK: The Birds of Sapsucker Woods, Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Childs Wells
ROPES COURSE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
KDT! BOOK: The Climb, Book 2, Gordon Korman
