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Offered from May 30th to Oct 1st
The Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park places special emphasis on providing a wide range of outdoor recreational and educational opportunities to Nova Scotians and visitors alike.
The Park is offering three appealing programs for groups of 25 to 60 people interested in wildlife. Although these programs have been developed for younger nature lovers, they can be adapted for adult groups upon request.
- A captivating 2 hour guided walk around the 3 km trail viewing the wild animals with experienced interpretative personnel.
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Exciting 3 hour educational packages for families or children ages 5 to 13. These packages include a guided walking tour of the park. It is your choice of topic with related games and activities. We require 1 chaperone for every 6 children.Available Educational Packages:
- All day long fun and educational sessions for families or children are offered from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This program is recommended for ages 5 to 13 and includes a guided walking tour of the Wildlife Park. Choose from the following topics which incorporate related crafts, games and activities. We require 1 chaperone for every 6 children.
To avoid disappointment, book the program at least 2 weeks in advance.
Boxed lunches are available, with 3 days prior notice at $5.00 per person.
This includes a sandwich, cookie, fruit and a drink. It is important
to dress for the outdoor walking conditions by wearing sensible footwear.
Bring protection for yourself from the sun and rain.
For further information
or to book your program, please contact
us.
Adaptations
This session investigates the relationship between the environment and wildlife’s physical and behavioral differences. The children are guided through ocean, wetland, desert and arctic adaptations by crafts, games and imagination. Imagine being a bat and using echolocation to find your food. An action packed game is played where musk oxen protect their young from wolves. Hibernation is discussed and participants make their own hibernating bear and sculpt an animal.
Birds of Prey
We have several birds of prey at the Park that can not be released into the wild because of their injuries. Participants in this program learn about binocular vision and feathers through experimentation. The young naturalists practice identification of raptors using silhouettes and flight technique as clues. Pretending to be an owl feeding its owlets will enable participants to explore the challenges of wildlife. They will also be creating a wise owl from rocks or pine cones to take home.
Food Chains
Understanding of life cycles of plants and animals and communities of living things is essential in fostering respect for the environment. Herbivore, carnivore and omnivore skulls are examined to identify how different teeth are used to obtain and process different foods. Each individual creates a raccoon puppet with lots of teeth! Several food chain activities demonstrate the energy exchange amongst the sun, plants and animals which develop into an understanding of food pyramids and food webs. As well, they examine decomposers under the microscope and learn how important they are in the food web. Animal tracks are identified and some are reproduced in plaster as a keepsake.
Habitat
This program deals with communities of living things. It stresses the 4 basic needs of living organisms: food, water, shelter and space. A scavenger hunt game is played while touring the park to find the 4 basic needs of specific animals. The room becomes transformed into a wildlife habitat, drawing out the information by discussion, slide show, games and activities. By becoming a caribou facing habitat destruction, survival is dramatized . A mobile using nature items is made to take home. Problems from overpopulation of wildlife and how we can help wildlife in our own backyards is information conveyed to the group.
Species at Risk
Concepts of growth and changes while stressing habitat awareness are explored in this package. Categories of species at risk are discussed, noting how all wildlife is vulnerable. Artifacts, a short slide show and props are used to stimulate learning. Imagine being piping plovers and trying to compete for survival on a Maritime beach. Experiment with feathers, oil and detergent to understand the problems facing birds near oil spills. Choose a favourite species at risk and fashion an animal mask to show friends. Design a mini park and invent an interpretation talk.
Using Your Senses in Nature
Walking through the Park, visitors will have many opportunities to use their senses and observe nature. Touch is used to identify unseen objects from nature. The calls of Nova Scotia wildlife are used to play a relay game. A closer look at nature using magnification reveals more wildlife than imagined. Smelling the wildlife will be a certainty, but we will find other things to taste. Each participant will construct their own imitation rain stick as a reminder of one of nature’s soothing sounds.
