School Programs
Updated 27 February, 2025
Registration for school programs funded by Yukon Government’s Department of Education remains open for the 2024/25 school year.
We’re excited to be bringing a brand-new suite of programming to students and teachers in Yukon. The new programs feature updated learning activities, more time for inquiry-based and self-directed learning, and more time to explore all that Yukon Wildlife Preserve has to offer!
Our programs take place mostly outside. Please make sure your students are prepared to spend a day outdoors, whatever the weather!
Our Philosophy
Our programs are an opportunity for students to actively engage with the natural world and wildlife in ways not feasible in the classroom. We give students opportunities to explore nature in depth and provide ample opportunities for inquiry-based learning.
We believe:
- Students need to be active participants in their learning;
- Nature is not just a science lesson – its a life lesson with science;
- Wildlife and natural spaces are not just a science lesson;
- Exploration and inquiry are vital parts of learning.
Some of the ways this philosophy is expressed in our programs includes:
- Programs are special, unique experiences crafted for the interests and ability of that grade.
- ‘Seeing all the animals’ is a passive activity; more depth is required for the most successful programs.
- Stories have been used to share information for thousands of years; we continue to use them to connect students to the world around them.
- We relate to wildlife and nature through science, social studies, English language arts, physical and healthy education, and more.
- We create opportunities for unstructured learning – games and activities where students get to choose how and what they will engage with.
- We recognize that children don’t see things the way we adults do – that a muskox is cool, but sometimes the bug on the ground is cooler. Our activities take this into account, preferring the immediate, touchable experience to the look from afar experience.
Our Resource
In addition to 12+ species of Yukon’s Boreal and Arctic Species on a 700 acre site, our school program resources and facilities also include:
- Learning Centre for indoor play, stories, lunch and shelter from inclement weather;
- Bathrooms (outhouses);
- Emergency transportation and first-aid materials.
Programs are conducted outdoors. In the event of severe or prolonged inclement weather it may be necessary to cancel and try re-booking a program.
Included in Programs
Through our partnership with Yukon Government’s Department of Education, programs are available at no cost to schools or students.
- One to two hours of staff-led, curriculum-based outdoor programming,
- A dedicated indoor or outdoor space for lunch (depending on weather),
- Time to explore the Preserve at your own pace.
- Pre-visit classroom activities to help build knowledge prior to your field trip,
- Post-visit classroom activities to reinforce and expand on what you learned.
Funded programs do not include:
- Transportation to and from the Preserve,
- Guided tours of the Preserve,
- Additional programming beyond the scheduled time,
- Programming for classes from outside Yukon.
If you would like to request additional programming not covered by Department of Education, please contact us at education@yukonwildlife.ca. Charges may apply for programming outside of the scope of our funding agreement with Department of Education.
Program Schedule
For the 2024-25 school year, the following programs are available every day that school is in session. Programs begin at 11:00am (10:00am for grades 10 and 11) and run until the end of the school day.
- Kindergarten
- Grade 1
- Grade 4
- Grade 5
- Grade 7
- Grade 10
- Grade 11
- Grade 8
Weather
Our programs take place mostly outside. While some indoor spaces are available for warming up and eating, you should anticipate being outside for most of the day. Please ensure your students are prepared to spend at least 90 minutes outside.
If the weather is below -30 degrees Celcius, our programs will not run. We’ll contact you to organize a rebooking.
If you need to cancel, due to weather, staff illness, transportation issues, or other circumstances, let us know as soon as possible. We’ll work with you to rebook the program at the next available opportunity.
Cancellations
If you need to cancel, due to weather, staff illness, transportation issues, or other circumstances, let us know as soon as possible.
If we need to cancel, due to weather or other circumstances, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
Either way, we’ll work with you to rebook you as soon as possible.
Program Descriptions & Curriculum Connections
These programs are free for Yukon students thanks to our partnership with Department of Education.
Kindergarten - Big Bison Bodies
Available starting November 4.
The smallest students learn from the biggest bison!
By meeting the largest animals resident at the Preserve, students will gain an understanding of how animals meet their daily needs. They will explore how different parts of the bison help it stay warm, find food, and deal with danger. They will then continue to explore the Preserve and see how other animals and plants deal with these same daily needs.
Schedule
- 11:00: Arrive, orientation
- 11:15: Bison observations and games
- 11:45: Guided exploration time
- 12:00: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 12:30: Self-guided exploration time
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Plants and animals have observable features
- How do the different features of plants and animals help them meet their basic needs?
- What basic needs do plants and animals have in common?
- What are your basic needs?
Content
- basic needs of plants and animals
- habitat — food, water, shelter, and space
- adaptations of local plants and animals
- structural features or behaviours that allow organisms to survive
- features include roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, shape, size, feet, teeth, body covering, eyes, ears
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Ask simple questions about familiar objects and events
- Planning and conducting
- Make exploratory observations using their senses
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Discuss observations
- Represent observations and ideas by drawing charts and simple pictographs
- Applying and innovating
- Transfer and apply learning to new situations
- Communicating
- Share observations and ideas orally
Grade 1 - What's That?
Available starting November 4.
An introduction to Yukon life.
Students will explore Yukon Wildlife Preserve, meeting some of the animals and plants that thrive across the territory. From moose to musk ox to moss, students will build a basic understanding of life in Yukon.
Schedule
- 11:00: Arrive, orientation
- 11:15: Observation activities; bison and deer
- 12:00: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 12:30: Self-guided exploration time
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Living things have features and behaviours that help them survive in their environment
- How do local plants and animals depend on their environment?
- How do plants and animals use their features to respond to stimuli in their environments?
- How do plants and animals adapt when their basic needs are not being met?
Content
- classification of living and non-living things
- Is it living or non-living? Is it a plant, animal or something else?
- differences between conventional scientific and indigenous ways of classifying
- names of local plants and animals
- g., common, indigenous and scientific
- structural features of living things in the local environment
- How do stems, roots, leaves, skeleton or no skeleton or exoskeleton, lots of legs, few legs, eyes, etc. help us understand organisms?
- behavioural adaptations of animals in the local environment
- dormancy, hibernation, nesting, migration, catching food, camouflage (stick bugs), mimicry (fly that looks like bee), territorialism (squirrels fighting), etc.
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world
- Ask questions about familiar objects and events
- Make simple predictions about familiar objects and events
- Planning and conducting
- Make and record observations
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Sort and classify data and information using drawings, pictographs and provided tables
- Compare observations with predictions through discussion
- Identify simple patterns and connections
- Evaluating
- Compare observations with those of others
- Applying and innovating
- Transfer and apply learning to new situations
- Communicating
- Communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language, drawing, or role-play
Grade 4 - Mule Deer Sensing and Responding
Being a deer is hard work!
Students will use the common mule deer as a template for understanding how animals, plants, and other living things sense and respond to the world around them. They’ll also test their own senses against the elements to see if they could survive as a mule deer.
Students will get up close and personal with mule deer inside the Preserve’s mule deer enclosure.
Students will explore Yukon Wildlife Preserve to see how other living things differ from the mule deer and from the students themselves, and how much we have in common.
Schedule
- 11:00: Arrive, orientation
- 11:15: Sensing and responding activities
- 11:30: Mule deer enclosure walkthrough
- 12:00: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 12:30: Self-guided exploration time
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- All living things sense and respond to their environment.
- How do living things sense, respond, and adapt to stimuli in their environment?
- How is sensing and responding related to interdependence within ecosystems?
Content
- sensing and responding:
- humans
- other animals
- plants
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world
- Observe objects and events in familiar contexts
- Make predictions based on prior knowledge
- Planning and conducting
- Suggest ways to plan and conduct an inquiry to find answers to their questions
- Make observations about living and non-living things in the local environment
- Collect simple data
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Sort and classify data and information using drawings or provided tables
- Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings
- Evaluating
- Make simple inferences based on their results and prior knowledge
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of evidence
- Applying and innovating
- Transfer and apply learning to new situations
- Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
- Communicating
- Represent and communicate ideas and findings in a variety of ways, such as diagrams and simple reports, using digital technologies as appropriate
Grade 5 - Guts!
Multicellular organisms have organ systems that enable them to survive and interact within their environment.
Students will get hands-on with some of the food used at the Preserve as they participate in guided dissections. They’ll also explore the Preserve to expand their knowledge of different body systems.
Schedule
- 11:00: Arrive, orientation
- 11:15: Self-exploration time
- 12:30: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 13:00: Dissection (quail, mouse, and/or fish depending on the day)
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Multicellular organisms have organ systems that enable them to survive and interact within their environment.
- How do organ systems interact with one another?
- How do organ systems interact with their environment to support basic needs?
Content
- Basic structures and fuctions of body systems
- Digestive
- Musculo-skeletal
- Respiratory
- Circulatory
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate a sustained curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest
- Make observations in familiar or unfamiliar contexts
- Identify questions to answer or problems to solve through scientific inquiry
- Make predictions about the findings of their inquiry
- Planning and conducting
- With support, plan appropriate investigations to answer their questions or solve problems they have identified
- Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Identify patterns and connections in data
- Compare data with predictions and develop explanations for results
- Demonstrate an opennes to new ideas and consideration of alternatives
- Evaluating
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of evidence
- Identify some of the social, ethical, and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations
- Applying and innovating
- Contribute to care for self, others, and community through personal or collaborative approaches
- Transfer and apply learning to new situations
- Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
- Communicating
- Communicate ideas, explanations, and processes in a variety of ways
Grade 7 - Natural Selection of Caribou
How did caribou become caribou?
Evolution by natural selection can be a challenging concept for students to grasp! In this program, students see the results of natural selection in modern caribou and work with staff to evolve their own caribou to explore how the needs of the animal influence its evolution.
Schedule
- 11:00: Arrive, orientation
- 11:15: Caribou evolution simulation
- 11:45: Caribou enclosure walkthrough
- 12:30: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 1:00: Self-guided exploration time
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things.
- Why do living things change over time?
- How do these changes affect biodiversity?
Content
- organisms have evolved over time
- change in traits of populations over time
- survival needs
- all organisms need space, food, water, and access to resources in order to survive
- natural selection
- the natural process by which certain traits that have a greater fitness for their environment lead to a reproductive advantage; this process happens within a population over time because of genetic variation
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem
- Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions about the natural world
- Identify a question to answer or a problem to solve through scientific inquiry
- Formulate alternative “If…then…” hypotheses based on their questions
- Make predictions about the findings of their inquiry
- Planning and conducting
- Observe, measure, and record data (qualitative and quantitative), using equipment, including digital technologies, with accuracy and precision
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Construct and use a range of methods to represent patterns or relationships in data, including tables, graphs, keys, models, and digital technologies as appropriate
- Seek patterns and connections in data from their own investigations and secondary sources
- Use scientific understandings to identify relationships and draw conclusions
- Evaluating
- Reflect on their investigation methods, including the adequacy of controls on variables (dependent and independent) and the quality of the data collected
- Identify possible sources of error and suggest improvements to their investigation methods
- Demonstrate an awareness of assumptions and bias in their own work and secondary sources
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of evidence (qualitative and quantitative)
- Applying and innovating
- Communicate ideas, findings, and solutions to problems, using scientific language, representations, and digital technologies as appropriate
Grade 8 - Seamus's Cellular Garden Party
Life processes are performed at the cellular level.
The Preserve is a great place to observe life proccesses in action on the macro scale, but this program will take students to the micro scale. Students will explore how the processes we see all around us are connected to cellular processes.
Schedule
- 11:00: Arrive, orientation
- 11:15: Microscopic orientation
- 11:30: Sample collection and investigation
- 12:30: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 1:00: Self-guided exploration time
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Life processes are performed at the cellular level
Content
- characteristics of life
- cell theory and types of cells
- photosynthesis and cellular respiration
- the relationship of micro-organisms with living things
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest
- Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions about the natural world
- Identify a question to answer or a problem to solve through scientific inquiry
- Formulate alternative “If…then…” hypotheses based on their questions
- Make predictions about the findings of their inquiry
- Planning and conducting
- Collaboratively plan a range of investigation types, including field work and experiments, to answer their questions or solve problems they have identified
- Construct and use a range of methods to represent patterns or relationships in data, including tables, graphs, keys, models, and digital technologies as appropriate
- Seek patterns and connections in data from their own investigations and secondary sources
- Use scientific understandings to identify relationships and draw conclusions
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Construct and use a range of methods to represent patterns or relationships in data, including tables, graphs, keys, models, and digital technologies as appropriate
- Seek patterns and connections in data from their own investigations and secondary sources
- Use scientific understandings to identify relationships and draw conclusions
- Evaluating
- Reflect on their investigation methods, including the adequacy of controls on variables (dependent and independent) and the quality of the data collected
- Identify possible sources of error and suggest improvements to their investigation methods
- Demonstrate an awareness of assumptions and bias in their own work and secondary sources
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of evidence (qualitative and quantitative)
- Exercise a healthy, informed skepticism and use scientific knowledge and findings from their own investigations to evaluate claims in secondary sources
- Consider social, ethical, and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations
- Applying and innovating
- Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through personal or collaborative approaches
- Co-operatively design projects
- Transfer and apply learning to new situations
- Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
- Communicating
- Communicate ideas, findings, and solutions to problems, using scientific language, representations, and digital technologies as appropriate
- Express and reflect on a variety of experiences and perspectives of place
Grade 10 - Thermal Energy
Energy is conserved, and its transformation can affect living things and the environment.
Students will use a thermal imaging camera to explore how energy transfers between animals, plants, and inanimate objects. They’ll also look at human structures to see how our energy use is playing out in practice. Students will build their knowledge of energy transformations by constructing complex energy chains and webs.
Schedule
- 10:00: Arrive, orientation
- 10:15: Energy transformations workshop
- 11:15: Thermal camer introduction
- 11:45: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 12:15: Self-guided exploration time and thermal camera activities
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Energy is conserved, and its transformation can affect living things and the environment.
- Where does energy come from and what happens to it?
- How does energy in the form of radiation affect living things?
- How do energy transformations affect the environment?
Content
- energy change during chemical reactions
- practical applications and implications of chemical processes, including First Peoples knowledge
- nuclear energy and radiation
- law of conservation of energy
- potential and kinetic energy
- transformation of energy
- local and global impacts of energy transformations from technologies
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest
- Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions, including increasingly complex ones, about the natural world
- Formulate multiple hypotheses and predict multiple outcomes
- Planning and conducting
- Collaboratively and individually plan, select, and use appropriate investigation methods, including field work and lab experiments, to collect reliable data (qualitative and quantitative)
- Assess risks and address ethical, cultural, and/or environmental issues associated with their proposed methods and those of others
- Select and use appropriate equipment, including digital technologies, to systematically and accurately collect and record data
- Ensure that safety and ethical guidelines are followed in their investigations
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Seek and analyze patterns, trends, and connections in data, including describing relationships between variables (dependent and independent) and identifying inconsistencies
- Construct, analyze, and interpret graphs (including interpolation and extrapolation), models, and/or diagrams
- Use knowledge of scientific concepts to draw conclusions that are consistent with evidence
- Analyze cause-and-effect relationships
- Evaluating
- Evaluate their methods and experimental conditions, including identifying sources of error or uncertainty, confounding variables, and possible alternative explanations and conclusions
- Describe specific ways to improve their investigation methods and the quality of the data
- Evaluate the validity and limitations of a model or analogy in relation to the phenomenon modelled
- Consider the changes in knowledge over time as tools and technologies have developed
- Consider social, ethical, and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations
- Applying and innovating
- Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through individual or collaborative approaches
- Transfer and apply learning to new situations
- Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
- Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry
- Communicating
- Communicate scientific ideas, claims, information, and perhaps a suggested course of action, for a specific purpose and audience, constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions, and representations
Grade 11 (Life Sciences) - Taxonomy Party
Organisms are grouped based on common characteristics.
Taxonomists have been classifying animals for centuries and one thing is clear: it’s hard work. Students will step into the role of an early taxonomist, trying to classify as many forms of life as possible.
Schedule
- 10:00: Arrive, orientation
- 10:15: Taxonomic-based Preserve exploration
- 11:30: Lunch break, indoors or outdoors depending on weather
- 12:00: Phylogenetic tree construction
- 13:00: Self-guided exploration
Curriculum Connections
Big Ideas
- Organisms are grouped based on common characteristics.
- How can morphology provide evidence for relatedness?
- Why do two organisms compete to coexist in the same niche?
- How is DNA analysis used to demonstrate the relatedness of species?
Content
- levels of organization
- macroevolution:
- speciation
- processes of macroevolution
- evidence for macroevolution
- evidence for phylogenetic relationships
- taxonomic principles for classifying organisms
- binomial nomenclature
- similarities and differences between domains and kingdoms
Curricular Competency
- Questioning and predicting
- Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal, local, or global interest
- Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions, including increasingly abstract ones, about the natural world
- Formulate multiple hypotheses and predict multiple outcomes
- Planning and conducting
- Collaboratively and individually plan, select, and use appropriate investigation methods, including field work and lab experiments, to collect reliable data (qualitative and quantitative)
- Assess risks and address ethical, cultural, and/or environmental issues associated with their proposed methods
- Processing and analyzing data and information
- Experience and interpret the local environment
- Seek and analyze patterns, trends, and connections in data, including describing relationships between variables, performing calculations, and identifying inconsistencies
- Construct, analyze, and interpret graphs, models, and/or diagrams
- Use knowledge of scientific concepts to draw conclusions that are consistent with evidence
- Analyze cause-and-effect relationships
- Evaluating
- Evaluate their methods and experimental conditions, including identifying sources of error or uncertainty, confounding variables, and possible alternative explanations and conclusions
- Describe specific ways to improve their investigation methods and the quality of the data
- Evaluate the validity and limitations of a model or analogy in relation to the phenomenon modelled
- Demonstrate an awareness of assumptions, question information given, and identify bias in their own work and in primary and secondary sources
- Consider the changes in knowledge over time as tools and technologies have developed
- Exercise a healthy, informed skepticism and use scientific knowledge and findings to form their own investigations to evaluate claims in primary and secondary sources
- Consider social, ethical, and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations
- Critically analyze the validity of information in primary and secondary sources and evaluate the approaches used to solve problems
- Assess risks in the context of personal safety and social responsibility
- Applying and innovating
- Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through individual or collaborative approaches
- Cooperatively design projects with local and/or global connections and applications
- Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry
- Implement multiple strategies to solve problems in real-life, applied, and conceptual situations
- Communicating
- Formulate physical or mental theoretical models to describe a phenomenon
- Communicate scientific ideas and information, and perhaps a suggested course of action, for a specific purpose and audience, constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions, and representations
- Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place
Box 20191
Whitehorse, Yukon
Y1A 7A2
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