Educational ProgramsScheduling A ProgramPrograms are scheduled Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, two per day, between 9:30am and 3:00pm. Each program lasts approximately two hours. Call the Activity Supervisor, 410-887-3014, to schedule a program. Please have alternate trip dates in mind in case your first choice is not available. 
New Advance Scheduling Policy You may call anytime after January 1 to schedule any program for that calendar year. No earlier reservations will be accepted. We will maintain waiting lists in case of cancellations.
Next to each program are letters denoting the seasons the program is available. (Key: F=Fall, W=Winter, S=Spring) Activities and times can be tailored to your needs. All day, extended day & overnight programs available. Who Dunnit? (FWS) Animal Signs - How to read the clues the animals leave behind to solve the mystery of who has been here. Making sense of trails, tracks, droppings, fur, feathers, and pellets. Exploring Nature with the Five Senses (FWS) This hike based program encourages greater awareness and appreciation of nature through exploration using sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing. Habitat Exploration - Field, Stream, Forest (FWS) Using stations, students investigate different habitats to discover the animals, plants, and elements that make each one unique. Concepts of habitat, niche, adaptation, and food chains will “come alive.” Geology and History of Cromwell Valley Park (FWS) A look at the geologic processes that have formed the Cromwell Valley. Discover how geology shaped the history of the valley to farming and the operation of lime kilns. Learn how to identify Cockeysville marble, hike to the old marble quarry, and explore the lime kilns. Oh Deer! (FWS) Hike the park in pursuit of the plentiful signs of deer. Learn about their daily and seasonal lives by tracking them, make a plaster cast of a deer track, and play environmental games related to the white-tailed deer. Stream Studies (FWS) Explore Minebank Run and a smaller tributary. Learn to characterize the streams by measuring depth, water speed, and temperature; determine type of bottom and vegetation, and find the animals adapted to living in moving waters. With the aid of maps, explore the concept of a watershed, and how land management practices in our own back yards ultimately affect the Chesapeake Bay. A Cast of Thousands (S, Early F) Explore the plentiful and diverse insect life of field, stream, and forest. Students will collect and observe insects in three different habitats, and learn how insects are adapted to survive in each habitat. Trees (FS) Identify the most common trees of Cromwell Valley Park using bark, leaves, and seeds. Discover why they grow where they do, the life cycle of a tree, their importance to man and wildlife. Spring Planting (S) Students visit the Children’s Garden to explore seeds and what they need to grow, soil, and compost; and plant sunflower seeds to take home, as well as a row of vegetable that can be harvested in the fall. Garden plantings are labeled with the school name and students are encouraged to return to the park before harvest time to weed, water, and watch the growing cycle unfold. Fall Harvest (F) Visit the farm and harvest pumpkins, shell and grind corn into cornmeal, crank the apple cider press, and crack and taste black walnuts. Seed to Fruit, Planting to Harvest (Pre-K - K, K-1, 1-2, 2-3) Program begins in Spring of one grade, and ends in the fall of the next grade. Combines the Spring Planting and Fall Harvest programs, with the addition of harvesting the vegetables students planted in the spring. Students are involved in the entire growing season. Concepts stressed include life cycles, the importance of healthy soil, and the importance of farms and gardens to our food supply. Farming and the Food System - (for grades 8 - 12) Learn about the realities of where food comes from. Topics include soil life, ecology, the importance of local farms, and the effects of our current food system. Students will assist farmers with harvesting and then prepare a side dish from that harvest, work with farm animals, and assist with compost management. Programs offered on Tues. and Fri. in May, June, September and October, 8:30 - 12:30. (time may be adjusted to your needs.) $50/day, recommended for group of 30. Camping at Cromwell Valley Park (FWS) Make your field trip to CVP a 1 ˝ - 2 day affair, extending your students’ experience with the natural world. Includes tent camping in our group camping location. Campfire & propane stove for cooking, water and pit toilets available. (Barn available for shelter in inclement weather.) Recommended group size: up to 60. No additional fee. Getting “the dirt” on Soil (FS) Students will conduct in-depth explorations to discover soil components, types, soil/water relationships. They will learn what makes up healthy soil, how to maintain it, and why it is important to them (Hint: we’re connected to the soil through the fork.) They will participate in soil building & soil conservation activities and design a community that demonstrates wise soil conservation practices. $50/day, recommended group size: up to 60. Watershed Wizards (FS) Students learn what a watershed is, and make connections between land use and water quality. They will conduct experiments and collect and analyze field data on water flows, stream erosion, and water quality. Mapping activities to identify watersheds. Students will do biological and chemical assessments of stream quality. Can include a service project to improve water quality, stream habitat, or reduce detrimental land use effects. Students will practice making land use decision in real world situations. $50/day, recommended group size: up to 60.
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