Field Trip Bus Resources

Due to bus driver shortages in the Twin Cities, some teachers may have difficulties arranging field trip bus transportation. Below is information for alternative bus transportation services. Mississippi Park Connection does not sponsor nor endorse these services in any manner; we communicated with them only for permission to list them on our site. We will update this list as we find more sources and hope it provides support for teachers and schools to get more students to the river.

Northfield Lines, Inc
Contact Anna: 651-203-8888, annalee@northfieldlines.com

Schmitty & Sons (Lakeville, Eagan, Burnsville)
Contact Mallory: 952-469-2256, schmittyandsons.com

Park Education Resources

This list of news and resources related to the park, park partners, outdoor learning, professional development opportunities, and other related education resources is curated by our education team to help all educators provide quality learning and information to their students.

• Alliance for Climate Education - Our Climate, Our Future
  Our Climate, Our Future is an 11-part video series (2 min to 9 min each) that helps students understand the full story of climate change: how it happened, its impacts on our lives, and how to make a difference. Must create a free account to access videos.

• ArtStart - Big River Journey Art Contest Partner

  Enrich your Big River Journey experience with ArtStart! Launching school year 2022-23, students have the opportunity to create artwork with an artist in response to their Big River Journey experience. An educator staff development is also available. For more information, contact Carol Sirrine at carol@artstart.org.

• Bdote Memory Map
  This resource provides a better understanding of the Dakota people’s relationship with Minnesota. Educator materials are included.

• Bell Museum - Virtual K-12 Programs
  Connect your group with a museum educator online for a live, interactive program using a video conferencing platform where students can participate to learn about our natural world and the universe around us.

• Children and Nature Network Resources
  A collection of free toolkits, reports, infographics, and advocacy tools is designed to help you or your organization connect children, families, and communities to nature.

• Clean School Bus Program Rebate

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reminding school districts and eligible school bus operators and contractors of the August 19, 2022 deadline to apply for funding to begin replacing the nation’s fleet of school buses with clean and zero-emission buses. An amount of $500 million is available to eligible applicants in the first round of funding for the new Clean School Bus (CSB) program secured through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• Clean Water Council

  The 28-member council represents organizations with a major role in achieving clean water, enabling consensus building and coordination on a wide array of issues critical to the people of Minnesota. The Council holds meetings monthly to discuss a variety of water topics.

• Climate Generation
  The mission of Climate Generation empowers individuals and their communities to engage in solutions to climate change. They build climate literacy, amplify personal connections to climate change, and develop powerful advocates amongst educators, youth, and communities through a model of collaboration and partnership. They also offer a resource library that provides climate literacy materials and climate action tools for audiences of all ages including a climate change curriculum for grades 3-12.

• Friends of the Mississippi (FMR) - Educator Resources and Youth Education Opportunities
  Engaging Mississippi River education resources from FMR. The site offers a variety of free virtual and in-person education and volunteer opportunities for K-12 groups and individual youth in the greater Twin Cities metro area.

• Hamline University: K-12 Classroom Resources
  Enjoy place-based and thematic online K-12 learning resources for your classroom! Materials for Adopt-a-Drain, Waters to the Sea, Mississippi River, Storm Drain Stewardship, Lake Superior, Hawaii, and YouTube Playlists.

• Hamline University's Center for Global Environmental Education | FREE Professional Development for Teachers
  Hamline designs free and fun summer Rivers Institutes for educators to increase their science knowledge and investigation skills in the field!

• Hamline University's Center for Global Environmental Education | Adopt-a-Drain K-12 for Educators
  Hamline has funding for teachers in much of the Twin Cities area to provide printed Adopt-a-Drain classroom support materials. See if your school qualifies!

• (New) Hoċokata Ti
  Hoċokata Ti’s public exhibit, Mdewakanton: Dwellers of the Spirit Lake, provides visitors with an experience that will enhance their knowledge and understanding of the Mdewakanton Dakota people and their history.

• Jeffers Foundation- Programs and Resources
  A variety of interactive activities are designed to help facilitate learning and exploring in the outdoors including Go Outdoors activities, phenology in the classroom, and quick eco-time activities. A principal mission of Jeffers Foundation is to “foster environmental stewardship through education.” In close collaboration with local teachers, Jeffers has developed teaching support materials and programs available through this website and free of charge to those who participate in one of our workshops.

• Lower Phalen Creek Project - Resources
  Multiple Indigenous education resources, including social studies and science lessons, maps, a visitor guide, videos, art, and other education-related links.

• (NEW) Mill City Museum
  At Mill City Museum, located in the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill, students learn about the history of the milling industry, the Mississippi River, and the growth of the city.

• Minnesota Department of Agriculture - Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom
  Get yourself and your students connected to Minnesota agriculture with these resources aimed at increasing agricultural literacy through K-12 education.

• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) - Outdoor Lessons for K-12 Students
  Get inspired with these great, real-world lessons in math, science, reading, and writing.

• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) - Virtual Tours
  Go on virtual tours of Minnesota state parks, trails, and waterways.

• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)- Web Cams
  Check out live video streams from multiple seasonal webcams including the EagleCam, FalconCam, and FishCam!

• Minnesota Historical Society - Education Resources
  Get yourself and your students connected to Minnesota history.

• Minnesota Humanities Center - Professional Development
  Collaborates with individuals, organizations, and communities to bring transformational humanities programming into the lives of Minnesotans throughout the state with offerings in professional development, public programs, partnerships, grants, and academic resources.

• Minnesota Science Teachers Association (MnSTA) - Science Standards Resources
  MnSTA is an organization dedicated to strengthening, promoting, and enhancing science teaching and learning in Minnesota. It also supports Minnesota Science Educators as they adapt to the new Minnesota Science Standards with resources for further understanding regarding the changes.

• (New) Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
  Learn about the park through its main website, including news, events, education, facts, maps, and much more! 

• (New) Mississippi National River and Recreation Area - Facebook
  Discover the latest happenings with the Mississippi National River and Recreation through its Facebook page.

• Mississippi River Learning Center
  The Mississippi River Learning Center is a city-led project combining a mixed-use, river-focused space and a Mississippi National River and Recreation Area headquarters at the Crosby Farm Regional Park, serving as a national gateway to the Mississippi River with year-round river learning and outdoor recreation experiences on and along Saint Paul’s river. Get involved and learn more about how to voice your opinion as an educator about this important future project by contacting Ranger Jim Ford with the National Park Service.

• The Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative - Knowledge Hub
  Engage yourself or your students in community/citizen science by participating in this pollution study initiative. Learn how to use the Marine Debris Tracker app to gather data for understanding and combating plastic pollution along one of the world’s greatest waterways.

• Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) - Education Programs
  The MWMO has a variety of educational programs to help people learn about their work and how people can protect water quality and habitat in and around the Mississippi River. Currently virtual programming only.

• National Geographic Education Resource Library

  Linked to resources associated with the National Park Service, however, this also serves as a valuable education resource for multiple topics associated with National Geographic. You and your learners can also explore national parks, including their Indigenous heritage, through their main Education Resources page and with NatGeo’s Learn Anywhere page.

• National Park Service - Teacher Lesson Plans
  National Parks are America's largest classrooms. Find multiple lesson plans about these great places.

• Native Governance Center - Language Matters: How to Talk about Native Nations
  Link to a recorded Facebook webinar about proper terminology and Native Nations.

• (New) National Eagle Center
  Bald and Golden Eagle field trip season has arrived in the Upper Mississippi River Valley region! The National Eagle Center has a series of guided viewing field trips scheduled from November through April.

• North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) - Professional Development
  NAAEE promotes excellence in environmental education. Find information about webinars, workshops, training, online courses, conferences, certification programs, and more.

• (New) Padelford Riverboats - Narrated Mississippi River Cruise
  Introduce your students to the Mississippi River by taking them on a 90-minute narrated cruise aboard a Padelford riverboat. 

• Project Learning Tree - Bird Feeder Projects Using Natural and Recycled Materials
  Get students excited about feeding birds with 14 DIY bird feeder arts and crafts that will be sure to attract plenty of feathered friends for classroom excitement and observations.

• Project Learning Tree - Environmental Education Resources
  Helpful lessons, tips, and resources to assist educators with activity ideas for remote teaching and virtual learning.

• Project Learning Tree - Connecting Health and Planet
  The Connecting for Health and Planet activity collection is the latest release featuring three PLT activities for educators of students ages 8-11 and grades 3-5. And if you work with older students, the activities also contain age-appropriate adaptations for educators working with grades 6-8.

• Saint Croix River Association - Rivers are Alive Online
  Rivers Are Alive is a free, K-12 environmental education program that explores the St. Croix River and its watershed. Programs are available on-site, in the classroom, or virtually.

• Science Museum of Minnesota - Educator Resources
  Learn about the multiple educational resources the science museum offers, including online learning, field trips, and assemblies.

• Science Museum of Minnesota - What’s in Your Stream? - K-3 Lesson
  Students get to explore a whole world flourishing underwater in this engaging curriculum brought to you by the Science Museum of Minnesota. This student-paced course focuses on macroinvertebrates, where they will learn that the presence of these important creatures in a body of water gives clues to the quality of that water.

• Teach Outdoors Minnesota - Curriculum Resources
  Lessons and activity ideas for teaching outside.

• University of Minnesota Extension - Driven to Discover
  Driven to Discover provides training, curriculum, and resources to help educators engage middle school-age youth in citizen (community) science projects and independent science investigations.

• Visit St. Paul - Virtual Tours and Digital Experiences
  A comprehensive list of ways to virtually explore parts of Saint Paul from the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory to the Minnesota State Capitol.

• Wilderness Inquiry - Canoemobile Launches Fall Tour
  Canoemobile is a “floating classroom” that brings students out on local waterways in 10-person canoes to learn about science, history, geography, and culture. Learn more about Canoemobile’s powerful impact and how you can support outdoor learning for youth in your community and beyond, and how you can bring Canoemobile directly to your community or organization. During the summer months, Canoemobile travels and paddles around Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. When the school year starts, they hit the road for their national tour, sending multiple Canoemobile rigs to communities throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast. 

• Wilderness Inquiry - Online Learning
  Online resources for educators and students from our park partner, Wilderness Inquiry.

Contact us:

REGULAR EDUCATION STAFF

Johnna Austin, Education Specialist, Mississippi Park Connection
Programs: Youth Capacity Grant, Education Newsletter
jaustin@parkconnection.org

Jim Ford, Education Specialist, National Park Service 
Programs: Big River Journey, Canoemobile, Mississippi River Explorers, Summer Educator Program & Paddle, Take Me to the River, Winter River
jim_ford@nps.gov

Abby Olson, Park Ranger, National Park Service
Programs: Big River Journey, Big River Art Contest, Junior Ranger Programs, Mississippi River Explorers, Online Learning, YMCA Camps
abigail_olson@nps.gov

David Kappelhoff, Education Coordinator, Mississippi Park Connection
Programs: Big River Journey, Online Learning,  Program Development, River Educators, Summer Educator Program & Paddle, Winter River, Working River
dkappelhoff@parkconnection.org

RIVER EDUCATORS

Cathy Eiss, Sue Dahl and Sheila Sullivan