Field Trips
- For permission slips and payment information for local field trips, please check the News section or the Financial Office page.
- 8th Grade East Coast Expedition
- 7th Grade Yosemite Trip
- Tuesday: Hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls.
- Wednesday: Bus to and hike through one of the giant sequoia groves.
- Thursday: Hike to the top of Yosemite Falls, or the top of Glacier Point, or to Mirror Lake. Remaining two groups will go through Spider Caves.
- FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE THE YOSEMITE INSTITUTE WEB SITE http://www.naturebridge.org/yosemite.
East Coast Expedition
*** FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT MR. STEPHENS ECE WEB PAGE ***
The East Coast Expedition has a track record of over twenty years of successful trips. World Expeditions is Muirlands Middle School's partner in arranging the week-long expedition and its owner, Steve Ewalt, has helped make the trip possible for many years. The trip is open on a space available basis to all eighth grade students who meet the academic and citizenship requirements and fulfill all pre-departure obligations. We have been proud to offer a successful scholarship program while at the same time holding the cost of the trip to a reasonable level. This is an academic expedition with a strong emphasis on the integration of the United States history curriculum. Students visit many of the sites that they have studied in their history and English classes and will be taught by Muirlands teachers and experienced guides along the way. Accommodations, transportation, entrance fees, and most meals are included in the tour. The Expedition is considered by most students to be the highlight of their eighth grade year, if not their entire experience at Muirlands Middle School.
Yosemite Science Field Trip
The 7th grade Yosemite Science Field Trip is organized through NatureBridge. NatureBridge is a private non-profit educational organization operating in two spectacular and unique national parks, Yosemite and Olympic, as well as the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Santa Monica Mountains. Each institute campus operates under cooperative agreements with the National Park Service.Yosemite Institute is responsible for providing all accommodations, as well as the instructors who will lead our students through a week of exciting outdoor educational learning experiences.
Yosemite Institute was conceived in Yosemite National Park in 1971; the park offered an ideal environment for learning about the natural and cultural history, and its resource issues. Yosemite Institute was developed in response to: the beginning of a local and national environmental consciousness; a growing demand from teachers interested in utilizing the parks as classrooms, and the National Park Service's interest in encouraging private partnerships to help expand its educational and interpretive mission.
Educational Goals:
Our students will hike between four to ten miles a day depending on their destination.
All Yosemite participants must be in good physical condition. The hikes will take place regardless of weather conditions. Some hikes will be on the valley floor while others will have an elevation gain between 1,000 and 3,200 feet.
Breakfast and dinner will be served in the large Curry cafeteria. Lunch is eaten on the trail.
All students stay in vinyl covered plywood tent cabins (with heaters) in Curry Village.
BotanyDuring the week students will hike in and around Yosemite Valley. One day will be spent busing to and hiking in either the Mariposa or Tuolumne Giant Sequoia Groves.
By studying and identifying a variety of plants and trees.
Fauna
By studying the wildlife, and learning about their role in the natural world.
Geology
By studying the forces which have shaped Yosemite and the Sierras.
Ecology
Our students will learn about the relationships between the living organisms and their environment, and the effect of humans upon these relationships.
History
Our students will learn about the life and customs of the Native American Indians who lived in and around Yosemite Valley.
Strong Mind/Strong Body
Our students will be physically challenged through various daily hikes in and around Yosemite Valley. Hiking out of “civilization” and into the natural world will enhance the learning process in the above mentioned areas.
Social Skills/Group Cooperation
Our students will participate in a number of cooperative games which help to build trust, enhance hiking group identity by emphasizing the “WE”, encourage the group to problem solve in a cooperative manner, and participate in a variety of cooperative learning games.
Our students will hike between four to ten miles a day depending on their destination.
All Yosemite participants must be in good physical condition. The hikes will take place regardless of weather conditions. Some hikes will be on the valley floor while others will have an elevation gain between 1,000 and 3,200 feet.
Breakfast and dinner will be served in the large Curry cafeteria. Lunch is eaten on the trail.
All students stay in vinyl covered plywood tent cabins (with heaters) in Curry Village.
What to Bring: Packing list of all items that should be brought to Yosemite
Dates: Leave Muirlands Sunday, May 13 at 6:15 am and return on Friday, May 18 in the evening.
Cost: approximately $775
Typical Day Program:
| 6:00 am | Wake Up |
| 7:00 am | Breakfast |
| 8:30 am | Meet in Hiking Groups |
| 9:00 am | Begin Instructional Hikes |
| 4:00 pm | Return to Curry Village |
| 5:30 pm | Dinner |
| 7:00 pm | Evening Program in Yosemite Village Auditorium |
| 9:00 pm | Get Ready for Bed |
| 9:30 pm | In Tent Cabins/Lights Out |
| 10:00 pm | Quiet Time |
Sample Day Hikes:
Monday: Bus to the valley entrance. Hike to Bridalveil Falls Overlook, El Capitan Meadows, and along the Merced River. Two groups will go through Spider Caves on Monday, the other two on Thursday.