( VC = Also available as a variable length class, OP= Also available as an outreach program)

 *Many of our programs can be modified for Special Education and/or Special Needs

Guides enhance observation skills while pointing out the native plants, animals, ecology, geology, and how we interact with nature on a daily basis. Our specially trained wildlife interpreters will determine your group's interests and highlight aspects of nature that appeal to the group. 

Anything, viewed closely enough, becomes mysterious and filled with unexplored directions. We will be learning how to observe, absorb and appreciate all facets of nature - stretching our vision as well as our bodies. Challenge your perceptions - run, focusing only on passing colors. Learn to identify plants by smell alone. Observational (Yoga) postures loosen & strengthen our bodies and sharpen our vision. This walk relaxes the body and invigorates the mind.

Howdy stranger, What brings you to these parts? Texas is home to a multitude of non-native settlers (even our official state critter is from out of state). Learn about the arrival of fire ants, our newest mosquito, and those impending 'killer bees.' Discover how 'out-of-town' trees are getting our birds drunk, and how all of us 'established' folk react and adapt to each new arrival.

Join us on a exo-skeletal safari as we locate the secret hideouts of bugs, beetles and spiders. Watch a robber fly chase a pebble and marvel at the intricacy of inflated plant houses (galls). Learn the difference between insects and arachnids as we peek into the lives of the small and multi-legged.

Go wading in a wide, limestone creek and examine the plants & animals that live there. Be prepared to get wet!

Adopt some earth friendly ways for use at home and school. Small changes in what you do every day can really help our planet. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Delve into the seemingly unfathomable complexity in the interactions of life around us. Is there any way to predict the outcome of an introduced change in the local ecology? How do we become competent caretakers of our environment?

Listen and let yourself drift through a shifting panorama of landscapes as Texas emerges from the Cretaceous ocean, animates itself with myriad, changing life forms and finds itself in the here and now. How have human settlers changed our local ecology? Join the speculation of what wild Texas will look like in the future.

What does the world sound like to a bat? What do raccoons think about as they settle down to rest? Is there any way to know? Enter the world of cognitive ethology - the study of animal character, thought processes and rationality. In this thought provoking walk we will consider the radically different ways that other organisms perceive the world and how that knowledge can be important to humans.

This exciting indoor or outdoor program is designed to awaken students to the incredible diversity of the natural world and to open their eyes to the potential for discoveries that wait around every corner. Mysteries abound and science is always opening doors to new frontiers. The scientific method is discussed as an indispensable tool for answering unexplainable questions. Topographic and geological maps are employed to show students their value as tools for exploration. Various natural science fields such as botany, zoology, ecology and geology, are discussed in a 'hands-on' style with an eye toward how young scientists can uncover revelations about the natural world on every hike.

Galls are strange swellings that occur on just about any part of a plant. These bizarre, often beautiful productions are usually caused by insects. There are many types of plant galls and each insect produces a totally unique, characteristically shaped gall. This walk explores the fascinating interactions between plant and insect that cause galls to form. We will also probe the depths of gall ecology: How galls attract inquilines (uninvited intruders), why plants feed the larval gall insects (intentionally?) and how galls are important to humans.

The white rock escarpment in southwest Dallas marks the transition zone between hard limestone above and soft shale below. Our Journey begins in the upland on the Austin Chalk and drops down the hillside onto the Eagleford Shale. On this expedition through space and time our points of discussion will include such items as: Visions of a Cretaceous ocean with swimming monsters, common minerals and fossils of each formation, how the escarpment formed and why plants and animals of today favor a particular rock type.

This program takes us outside onto the school grounds or into your front yard to rediscover those things we daily overlook. This is an exploration into the fascinating life histories of common plants and animals that have become camouflaged by seeming familiarity.

Breath the cool night air as you rest beneath the moon. This 1 hour program expands beyond planetarium walls to view the night sky in its ever-changing state. Why does the moon appear different every night? Where do you look to find the planets? What did ancient people see when they looked at the stars? Darkness finds a new depth; the once pale stars shine with fresh brilliance. Bring a pillow. This program is available for small or large groups.
*A short hike through woods (at Windmill Hill Preserve) and up a hill, ends in a wide meadow enclosed by dark cedar trees.

Darkness transforms the park into wilderness. Bring the night into focus with a refreshing hike through dark forest & open prairie. This half-mile trip wanders beneath stars & over wooden bridges, through strange smells & sounds, and nudges the edge of a pond. Drop the daylight details & expand into night vision.

Texas is full of wild places to explore. Learn how to hike in deep and still 'stay found' with or without map and compass.

Learn how to identify the common trees, shrubs, vines and wildflowers of our area. What do you call this plant part? How is this leaf different from its neighbors? Develop the skills for identifying unfamiliar plants on your own.

Enter the fascinating and largely unexplored world of plant dynamics. Explore the ways in which plants warn each other about insect attackers, how they keep themselves from being eaten or even encourage it, and how they keep other plants from getting too close for comfort.

Draglines and leaping into space. Ballooning. Iridescent green fangs. How do spiders sense the world? Texas is home to roughly 900 spider species. Discover which ones are on the trail and what they are doing.

These walks are for Boy Scout & Girl Scout troops of all ages. Each walk introduces a badge topic and provides the tools for achieving the badge. Call for a list of badge topics we support or click on the links for more information.

Take a look at how plants and animals adjust to the changing seasons, why seasons happen, and about natures never ending life cycles.

This 45 minute-1 hour program opens the door to the fascinating world of nature through sensory experiences. Children listen to animal sounds, quietly count the number of insects they can spot in a minute, see spider webs appear when misted with water, discover different leaf shapes, smell wonderful scents and feel a variety of textures in this exciting walk.

Why do plants and animals become endangered or extinct? How are some species contending with difficulties while others perish? Meet some plants and animals who have learned how to live with the most noisy and destructive of neighbors.

The animals all become invisible as we walk by. Discover who lives here and how to spot them. Who eats who and would any of them eat you? Join us at the scene of the investigation as we uncover clues from the traces and tracks the animals have left behind.

Skip the portable TV. Learn how to strap on the essentials & snuggle up to wilderness.

Indians occupied Texas for thousands of years. Discover how they lived, what they ate, what they used for medicine and how they prospered for so long.

Collect and identify aquatic life at the duck pond. See how big bullfrogs really are. How would you cause a water strider to get its feet wet? How do you tell the difference between dragonflies and damselflies? Come explore the wet and the wild. Be prepared to get a little muddy! (Nets and sampling equipment provided.)

This is a topic to bite into. An orally entertaining peek into the rich storehouse of wild Texas edible plants. Note: Children should always be strongly cautioned about the dangers of eating wild food.

Much of the precise knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants by the Indians has been lost. Modern science is slowly re-discovering what the Indians knew thousands of years ago. Join us on a search for wild Texas plant medicine.
 

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Royce & LuCretia Milam Copyright © September 2002 Wild Vision. All rights reserved.