Field Trips
Bring Your Group to Ijams for a Field Trip!
Ijams Nature Center offers school classes and other groups a truly unique outdoor education experience. Led by trained naturalists, students notice their senses come alive as they become immersed in the sounds, sights, and scents of their environment.
Ijams field trips focus on inquiry-based education and provide the opportunity for students to investigate their surroundings and discover more about the world around them. All programs are grade-specific and tailored to meet the Education Standards established by the State of Tennessee and Knox County.
Public and private schools, youth organizations, and other groups can participate year-round in Ijams’ outdoor learning opportunities for students. If your group is part of Scouts, please indicate that during the reservation process.
Field trips are typically two hours in length and feature a combination of live animal programs and outdoor learning experiences. Standard programs are from 9:30-11:30 am.*
*If you would like to request a different start/end time, be sure to make note of the change during the request process.
Please note that some programs only are available to certain group sizes and during certain seasons. See the following program descriptions for more information.
BASIC FIELD TRIP STRUCTURE
Most field trips follow the same program schedule:
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(15 min) Introduction
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(75 min) Field-Based Activity (varies by topic)
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(20 min) Live Animal Presentation
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(10 min) Conclusion
Occasionally time limitations, group size, and/or weather conditions may require altering this schedule.
SCHEDULING A FIELD TRIP*
*Ijams will not be booking guided field trips this summer. Only self-guided field trips (Backpacks for $35) & animal presentations (30-45 minutes -- $90)*
Ijams currently is scheduling field trip requests by phone and email on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations can be made for:
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Tuesday (morning or afternoon)
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Wednesday (afternoon only)
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Thursday (morning or afternoon)
Contact Office & Finance Manager at mthomas@ijams.org or 865-577-4717 ext. 147 for more information about booking and reservations. NOTE: A group must have a minimum of eight students to register for a field trip program.
And if you have any questions about program content, please contact Lindsay Whitaker at lwhitaker@ijams.org or 865-577-4717 ext. 114.
Field Trip Scholarships
Ijams is not offering scholarships at this time, however, Ijams Nature Center wishes to help all schools receive their funding needed to enjoy field trips to Ijams with transportation. That is why Ijams is providing the following sample letter for educators to use for requesting support.