Daytime Classes

Acid Rain
After students learn about acid chemistry they will visit our precipitation monitoring site, measure pH of samples, and explore acid rain causes, effects and interrelationships.

Adventure Ropes
The Wolf Ridge adventure ropes course consists of six events between towers 25 ft off the ground. Students will traverse the course while attached to safety lines. The experiences on the course are used as a metaphor for students' lives. It is hoped they will apply their gained personal growth and awareness to everyday life. In addition to the instructor 3 adults are required to attend this class.

Animal Signs
Students will learn, by tracking animals out of doors, the variety of evidence left behind by animals and what we can learn about them from that evidence. During spring, summer and fall, they will also practice the research techniques of radio telemetry.

Basic Survival
After prioritizing the basic needs in a survival situation, students will spend an hour in a “survival situation”, make a fire, build a shelter, and boil a pot of cider. We recommend that an adult accompany this class.

Beavers
Students will participate in a beaver dress-up activity that illustrates the physical adaptations of the beaver. A hike along Sawmill Creek offers an excellent opportunity to observe the effects of beaver activity on the environment. A skit of fur trade era characters offers insight in human and beaver interaction in the past.

Beginning Orienteering
After learning the definition and history of orienteering, students learn parts of the compass and how to set and follow a bearing. Distance measurement is taught through individual pacing and applied math skills. Students will demonstrate skills while on a course. These skills will be applied to map work and the outdoor ethic they can help people obtain.

Birds
The amazing diversity of birds will be studied, with emphasis on field observation. Students will use binoculars, field guides and will be introduced to bird banding. They will also play a migration game. Close up viewing of birds is possible at the bird banding station and "Chickadee Landing".

Canoeing
Students will use Wolf or Raven lake as a classroom as they learn about canoeing history and equipment. They will practice technique on the lake. They will experience the value of canoeing as a physical activity and how it affects their relationship with the environment. One adult is required for this class.

Competitive Orienteering
Students will be involved in a problem-solving situation utilizing compass and map reading skills, keen observations, geography, speed, and physical stamina. Beginning Orienteering or previous experience with compasses is required to take this class. One adult is recommended to accompany this class.

Cross Country Skiing
While indoors, students will be introduced to equipment and selection, as well as appropriate clothing. Beginning lessons will be offered before touring (up to 3 kilometers) of Wolf Ridge trails. This class can be paired with Forest Ecology for an all day class. One adult is required to attend this class in addition to the instructor.

F.I.R.S.T. GAMES
As members of a team, students learn about Fun, Initiative, Risk, Skills, and Trust while playing games and accomplishing tasks on a challenging course. The team will be collectively analyzing how effective they were before, during, and after the games and how the students can use these skills in their lives.

Fisheries Management
After investigating the habitat needs of stream fish, students visit the Sawmill Creek field station where they will make a working stream model, will identify aquatic invertebrates and will fish for trout and other fish.

Forest Ecology (All day class w/ bag lunches)
Students will learn about trees and their value as both a living and a harvested resource. They will also learn that forests are much more than a collection of trees. "Adopting" a tree and touring a forest management area are some of the field activities. The final activity is a role play in which students need to develop a management plan for a hypothetical forest. This is an all day class paired with either stream study, fisheries management, beavers, animal signs, or cross country skiing. One adult is recommended to accompany this class.

Frozen Lake Study
Students will examine the ecosystem of Wolf Lake under the ice. Working in groups, they will explore the lake through holes drilled in the ice. Studies will include plankton sampling, ice depth and structure, lake bottom structure, and possible catch and release activities. One adult is recommended to attend this class.

Geology
Students will gain an overview of various kinds of rocks and how they were formed, and the changes that occur due to erosion. Hills will be climbed and glacial features will be observed.

Lake Study
Students will examine the physical, chemical, and biological properties of Wolf Lake. Wearing boots, which are provided, and working in small groups, the students test temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen. They will use nets to collect and examine aquatic animal life and will evaluate the health of the lake based on their findings.

Living Lightly
Students will examine resource use at Wolf Ridge. They will recycle and compost solid waste, examine dorm water use and efficiency. Energy efficiency will be illustrated using photovoltaics and an energy bicycle. Finally, students will consider the impact of human population and our individual lives upon global resources, and determine ways to conserve and use resources efficiently.

Naturalist’s Choice
We recommend this option if you would like to allow our naturalist to choose an activity of his or her interest which is most appropriate for the season and your students.

Ojibwe Heritage
Students will travel to a recreated Ojibwe site where they will practice skills common 200 years ago. Skills include firestarting using a bow drill or flint and steel, preparation of wild rice and raspberry tea, making basswood twine and black ash baskets. Students will be introduced to Ojibwe history and language. Stories will be told to give insight into the Ojibwe perception of natural events. One adult is recommended to attend this class.

Ojibwe Snowshoe
Students will be introduced to Ojibwe history, seasonal lifestyle and use of natural resources. After learning the basic of snowshoes, they will travel on snowshoes to a recreated Ojibwe site of 200 years ago, learning about the uses of different trees along the way. At the site they will listen to legends and learn some skills the Ojibwe had. Another snowshoe hike returns to the classroom for a short conclusion. One adult is recommended to attend this class.

Plant Study
After identifying some of our most common plants, students will study and observe interactions between plants, herbivores, and other organisms. Finally, they will learn about plants as resources firsthand by making foods, drinks, dyes, and more. Our study will include algae, fungi, lichens, mosses, ferns and their relatives, conifers, and flowering plants.

Rock Climbing
Students will experience climbing on one of our the 29-foot indoor rock climbing walls. After a discussion of what emotions and feelings climbing may evoke, they will become familiar with the equipment, techniques, and commands used by climbers and belayers. Belaying instruction, practice and testing will occur before students learn and practice climbing techniques. Experience climbing and belaying will be used as metaphors for everyday life. 3 adults are required, in addition to the instructor, for this class.

Seeds of Change
This class traces the steps our food takes from the farmer's field to the dinner plate. The students sample foods, learn the history of seeds, and discover the difference between heirloom and hybrid seeds. Grinding grains, baking, and games will give the students a perspective of the different methods of farming and the implications of our global farming system.

Small Mammals
Students will learn characteristics of some of the small mammals of northern Minnesota. By traveling through various habitats, searching for small mammal signs, they will learn the role these small creatures play in the environment. Students then set out live traps overnight, which will be collected in the morning to observe the animals caught, before releasing them back again to the wild.

Snowshoe Hares
After comparing Minnesota hares and rabbits, students explore outside areas to find signs of snowshoes hares. They will study the adaptations, predator/prey relationships and population fluctuations of snowshoe hares.

Stream Study
Students will examine the physical, chemical and biological properties of Sawmill Creek. Wearing hip boots, which are provided, and working in small groups, the students will test stream velocity, temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen. They will also look at the diversity of aquatic animals and evaluate the health of the stream through their findings. We recommend that an adult accompany this class.

Superior Snowshoe
After learning about the history and types of snowshoes, students will experience them by snowshoeing across Wolf or Raven Lake to the highlands overlooking Lake Superior. Rest breaks will include discussion of facts and figures concerning Lake Superior. For safety, an adult is recommended to attend this class.

Superior View Hike
Students will take a three mile hike along sections of the Wolf Ridge trail system and the Superior Hiking Trail. A spectacular overlook awaits them above Lake Superior. The instructor will involve students in a demonstration dealing with the importance of the lake's fresh water. Stopping along the way at five different stops, students will examine the geology, history, and meteorology of the area.

Trees and Keys
Students will learn how to construct and use a simple dichotomous identification key. Given a map and a simplified tree and shrub key, students will travel between trees and attempt to identify them correctly. Temperate and tropical forests will be compared and students will learn about species diversity. Students will receive a tropical forest tree seed to plant and to learn the value of maintaining biodiversity.

Voyageur Life
Students will learn the history of early exploration and the fur trade of this northern region by becoming Voyageurs. After paddling a voyageur canoe to an encampment, they will learn about the lifestyle of the colorful voyageur who provided the muscle behind the development of the upper Midwest. Skills of the voyageur and the fur trade will be practiced. We recommend that an adult from your group accompany this class.

Weather Forecasting
After learning some of the historic changes in the earth's climate, students will collect data on today's weather, then do demonstrations to understand cloud formation and low pressure systems. An outdoor game will explain the jet stream and its effect. Finally, students will use their new knowledge to create a forecast for the next day at Wolf Ridge.

Wetlands Ecology
After establishing a common vocabulary in the study of wetlands, students will gather data regarding the vegetation, hydrology, and soil composition of several wetland types, including swamps, marshes, and peatlands. After returning from a discovery hike students analyze their data and map the Raven Lake wetlands. They will appreciate the uniqueness, diversity, and fragility of the wetland ecosystem.

White-tailed Deer
Students will learn about white-tailed deer by exploration of signs. They will track deer, inspect feeding stations, follow trails, and investigate beds. In this way they will learn about adaptations, life cycles and management of deer in northern Minnesota.

Wildlife Management
By playing a Project WILD game called “Oh Deer!” students will better understand wildlife needs and management techniques. During their tour of various management plots, they will hunt for animal signs, be introduced to modern wildlife management concepts, and may contribute to plot maintenance by cutting, planting, and raking.

Evening Activities

Animal Trivia
This game divides animal information cards between two teams for study. Quiz questions are then asked from the collected cards, and a score is kept for each team.

Astronomy
Using a telescope students will observe current astronomical events or objects. Major constellations in the night sky will be taught and illustrated with stories.

Block Printing
Students will learn about the history of printing. They will learn the ancient technique of block printing to express a natural history event experienced or inspired while at Wolf Ridge. Students will take home their original 4"x5" art block for future printing, as well as 6-12 printed cards.

Campfire
Enjoy songs, stories, and skits around the campfire. This is a great way to wrap up your visit to Wolf Ridge.

Creative Expressions
Students will participate in activities that creatively capture their experiences in the natural world. Through activities in poetry, theatrics and storytelling the students will express the awareness and emotions generated by their Wolf Ridge experience.

Creature From Wolf Lake Game
An exercise in observation and communication adapted from Project WILD. Each group of 2-4 students must describe a pictured animal in their journal entry. Then the journal is given to another group (without the picture), and they must draw their impression of the animal from the description.

Dream Catchers
Students will learn the history of the dreamcatcher, a traditional Ojibwe craft. After an hour of work the students will have created a dreamcatcher using branches, artificial sinew, beads, and feathers.

Lake Superior Game
Around a giant map of Lake Superior, students are assigned roles and places to live. Then each is given a personal environmental dilemma involving the lake. A clear pail representing Lake Superior becomes polluted (with food coloring) according to the students’ decisions.

Night Hike
Students will hike a designated route, stopping to do activities along the way. These activities will lead to a better understanding of night time communications and senses. Students will have the opportunity to sit solo and experience the night.

Owl Pellet Dissection
This activity offers a chance for students to dissect sterilized Barn Owl pellets. Each pellet contains a small mammal skeleton which the students reconstruct, glue on cards, and bring home (to delighted parents).

Paper Making
Students will learn about the paper making process, its history, and then make their own recycled paper. The final product, a postcard, takes two hours to create with an overnight drying period.

Star Lab / Portable Planetarium
Get an up-close view of the night sky regardless of the weather and hear stories related to the constellations. Using the portable planetarium on loan from North Shore Elementary, small groups of students will have the opportunity to see the stars of any season.

Volleyball
Play volleyball on one of our two sand volleyball courts. The courts are lighted and in the winter make for the unique opportunity to play snow volleyball. Volleyballs are provided.

Voyageur Canoeing
Students will hike down to Wolf Lake and paddle a replica of a fur trade era voyageur canoe. A piece of history comes alive as you take in the beautiful sites around Wolf Lake.

Woodland Art
Learn about the meaning of symbols used in the large Roy Thomas, Woodland Art-style painting in the Science Center. Using a variety of media, create a class "Woodland Art" mural.