Evening Programs

The Interbarn: Every school group spends one evening participating in The Nature Carnival at The Interbarn.  The Interbarn is a two-story hands-on science center focused on providing a continuing educational experience that keeps students engaged and entertained at the end of the day.  Both levels host a number of different stations, with upstairs stations themed around the complexity of life, and the downstairs centered on natural history.  Stations include a life-sized walk-in cell, an impressive collection of rock and fossil samples, a study of photosynthesis and its importance, a variety of animal artifacts including skulls, bones, and pelts, and much more.  Students get the chance to visit 3-4 stations during The Nature Carnival, each taught by a High Trails Staff member and lasting 10 minutes.  This unique experience is the perfect way to cap off a great day of learning, and is a highlight of the High Trails experience.

The Folk Dance: The old-fashioned hoe-down at Heisler Hall is a high-energy, exciting, and hilarious experience.  Students learn five traditional circle dances taught on the spot by High Trails Staff members, and get a chance to have fun with other students, counselors, and Staff as they burn off a little extra energy before bed.

Discovery Cookouts: For schools attending 4 and 5-day programs, the Discovery Cookout is a memorable experience where students get to cook their dinner over the fire, engage in games and continued learning based around previous Discovery Groups, and finish the evening stories and campfire activities.  Students have the opportunity to gaze at stars through the telescope, feed barnyard animals, make jerky, or engage in other specialized activities related to their Discovery cookout theme.

Evening Cabin Time: At the end of each night, after the Evening Program, students return to their cabins to settle down, prepare for bed, and talk about the day.  High Trails Staff members spend time with each cabin, bringing snacks, telling stories, and making sure that students, counselors, and teachers are ready for bed and prepared for the next morning’s activites.  This is a time when the cabin community grows quickly, as students share their favorite parts of the day, maintain their living space, and interact with counselors and teachers in a comfortable environment.

Try these 'Night Hike' activities in your backyard or in a local park...

Deer Ears – Why do some animals have large outer ears? (to direct sound waves into ear) Can you name some of the creatures? (Deer, canines, some bats, cats, mice) The larger the outer ear, the better an animal can hear.  Have students cup their ears and stand perfectly still, listening to the sounds around them. 

Symphony – Have students stand still and listen for one minute.  Instruct them to put a finger up for each sound they hear within that minute.  Explain that the forest is full of sounds – like the instruments in a symphony.  Compare sounds heard by the group when finished.

Night Vision - Have students sit in a circle and cover one eye with one hand and keep it covered during the discussion of eye function (rods, cones, pupil dilation). Light a candle (don’t light until everyone has their eye covered!) in the center of the circle and have students stare at it for about three minutes using the uncovered eye. Blow the candle out and have students look around alternating opening and closing each eye. (Students will see and feel the difference between night and day vision simultaneously.) 

Solo Walk - Discuss how it feels to be in the mountains at night. Ask students if it would feel different to be in the woods by themselves. Have one leader walk approximately fifty feet ahead. Then, have students walk one at a time towards the leader that has walked ahead. Follow-up with a discussion about how it felt.

Colored Paper - Pass out a different color square of paper to each student. Ask them to look at it and guess what color they think it is. Have the students put the square in a pocket. When the class returns to light, have them check and see if they were right.

Wintergreen Lifesavers - Have your students form a circle. Pass out the Lifesavers. Tell them that they are to chew with their mouths open. Count to three and have everyone chew at same time, watching each other. (They should see sparks caused by an ingredient in the Lifesaver.) What causes the sparks?

Scent - (Before your outing, place variously scented items in film containers.) Have students form a circle. Explain that you will be passing around something to smell. Pass around one container at a time. When the container has gone all the way around the circle, let students guess the scent they smelled.

Moth-Bat Game - Have your students form a circle. Explain echolocation. Have someone volunteer to be the bat. The bat is blindfolded and placed in the center of the circle. Have someone volunteer to be the moth. The bat says "bat" and the moth must answer immediately with "moth". They move around the circle until the bat catches the moth. (You may wish to use a film canister filled with gravel as a bat communication device)

Disappearing Heads - Have students stand in two rows facing each other about eight feet apart. Instruct them to stand completely still and stare at the face of the person across from them. (Their head should disappear.) Explain why their heads seem to disappear. Rods in the eyes see light and cones see color. When you stare straight ahead, you use the cones and ignore the rods. But at night, light is more important than color. In a sense, your eyes are turning off the light, making the object seem to disappear.