The Centre for Conservation provides unique learning opportunities for educators and students alike. Start your visit with a self-guided tour and explore the galleries or enjoy one of our staff led programs.
Our programs meet curriculum requirements and provide students with fun, interactive learning adventures! Receive a 10% discount if you combine two programs in one visit or lead your own activities such as nature hikes, orienteering or environmental studies. Day Use Admission is included with NPCA directed programs. The Field Centre classroom, Education Room (Centre), barn and pavilion may be reserved in advance at an educational rate.
All education programs must be booked in advance. Minimum two weeks preferred. Teacher and maximum of 1 adult per 5 students admitted free (except for Special Event Tours). Fees are subject to change. Some programs may require minimum registration. Please contact: 905-562-5235, ext. 26 for further detailed information.
Environmental Programs
Crystals to Gems
(New!)
May 5 - September 3, Tuesday to Friday. Best suited for Grades K to 3. Maximum class size: 28, 4 to 8 and 12 , maximum class size: 32.
Start your exploration of the Niagara Escarpment with a visit to the Crystals to Gems Exhibit from the National Museum of Nature. Through investigation and activities, students will discover how crystals and gems are formed, where they are found and what their characteristics and physical properties are. The unique oportunity to explore the gorge at Ball’s Falls will show case the diversity of the strata and rock formations of the area.
Duration: 1.5 hours. Fee: $5.00 per student.
March Break Camp
(New!)
March 12 - 16. Best suited children 6-12 years of age.
Children can participate in a week of environmental discovery and time travel being an “Eco-explorer”, examining winter and winter animals, the War of 1812, and pioneer life.
Duration: 9 am to 3 pm. Fee: $120.00 per week per student. Extended hours 8 am to 4:30 pm, an additional $5.00 per day. Must pre-register by March 5.
Ball’s Falls Rocks
(New!)
May 22 - June 28. Best suited for Grades 4 to 6.
Help us with a crisis! What kinds of rocks are underneath us? This hands-on program will challenge students to identify and understand characteristics and formation of Niagara Escarpment rocks.
Maximum class size: 30 students. Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes. Fee: $5.00 per student, $75.00 minimum group fee.
Young Naturalist Club
(New!)
Once a month starting, Sunday, April 1, May 6, June 3, July 1, August 5, September 2, October 14, and November 4, (no sessions December and January). Best suited for children 8 to 12 years of age.
Join the newest club for nature enthusiasts throughout the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and experience the Niagara Escarpment with everything from pond-studies to animal tracking, and much more at Ball’s Falls and other sister conservation areas.
Duration: 9 am to noon. 10 monthly sessions per year,$100.00 per student. Individual sessions $15.00 per student. Pre-registration required one week prior.
Follow Our LEED®
January-June, 2012 for Grades JK to 12
The Centre for Conservation is a LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building with gold certification. This program includes a tour of the Centre and students will develop an understanding of green building techniques and technology. Younger students will understand what a LEED® building is, how it works and what makes this facility sensitive to our environment. Older students will gain insight into the environmental concerns facing our world and how buildings such as this can be part of the solution.
Maximum group size: 30 students per session. Duration: 1 hour. Fee: $5.00 per student.
SPHAGNUM P.I. – The Case of the Stray Squirrel
Available year-round for Grades 3 to 5.
In this environmental scene investigation (ESI) students put their sleuthing skills to the test! This program challenges students to work in groups to figure out an environmental problem in one of our Conservation Areas. By looking at plant material, maps, artifacts, documents and resources they are hot on the trail of discovery.
Frankie the Flying Squirrel is worried. This year he hasn’t been visited by local neighbour flying squirrels to help prepare for winter. Where have his neighbours gone? Discover the habitat of the flying squirrel and figure out the case of the stray squirrel. This program leads you through Ball’s Falls Conservation Area, looking for the answer and ends at the Centre for Conservation.
Maximum group size: 30 students. Duration: 2 hours. Fee: $5.00 per student.
Take a Hike!
Year round (subject to trail conditions) for Grades 1 to 12.
A guided nature hike geared to your grade level will introduce students to the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve, the Carolinian Forest, Twenty Valley and Twenty Mile Creek. Topics include early settlement, industry, traditional uses of plants and the importance of natural resources.
Maximum group size: 30 students. Duration: 1.5 hours. Fee: $4.50 per student.
Orienteering – Try our Orienteering Course!
May to October, for junior, intermediate and senior classes with adult supervision.
This course was designed for students to develop map skills by identifying landmarks and navigating different types of terrain. NPCA staff set up the course. Control points are located throughout the park. Schools are provided with necessary maps and suggested rules of play. Teachers must direct and implement the program. We recommend that teachers visit the site prior to their program.
Duration: 1.5 hours. Fee: $4.50 per student.
May PA Day Camp, Nature Detectives.
(New!)
Friday, May 18. Best suited children 6-11 years of age.
Children can participate in a week of environmental detective work and help solve the mystery of “The Missing Gem” through fun-filled activities and crafts.
Duration: 9 am to 3 pm. Fee: $30.00 per student. Extended hours 8 am to 4:30 pm, an additional $5.00 per day. Must pre-register by May 11.
June PA Day Nature Camp.
(New!)
Friday, June 29. Best suited children 6-11 years of age.
Children can celebrate nature with games, crafts and activities.
Maximum group size: 24 students. Duration: 9 am to 3 pm, $30.00 per student. Extended hours 8 am to 4:30 pm, an additional $5.00 per day. Must pre-register by June 22.
Summer Day Camp.
(New!)
July 2 to August 31. Best suited children 6-11 years of age.
It is a fun-filled, interactive summer camp exploring the great outdoors featuring hikes, scavenger hunts, weekly themes, games and crafts.
Maximum group size: 24 students. Duration: 9 am to 3 pm, $120.00 per week per student. Extended hours 8 am to 4:30 pm, an additional $5.00 per day. Must pre-register.
Mini Adventures.
July 2 – August 31. Best suited children 6-12 years of age.
Attention Day Camp/Day Care Providers! Are you looking for a great field trip? This program offers camp organizations program options and price points suited to your needs. Starting times are flexible, themes are geared to children 6 – 12 years of age, and objectives are activity oriented. Choose one theme (1.5 hours) or make it day day and choose both (3 hours).
Themes include:
1. Nature’s Nurturers: Exploring the outdoors featuring a hike, campfire and craft.
or
2. Back in Time with the Ball Family: Taking part in activities from the pioneer era to the 1920′s. Baking, scale barn building, old fashioned chores and play are all featured.
Maximum group size: 40 students. Duration: flexible, maximum 3 hours. Fee: $ 5.00 per student for one theme, $10.00 per student for two themes. Minimum group fee $75.00.
Cultural Heritage Programs
Mills and Marauders, The War of 1812.
(A Special War of 1812 Bi-centennial Event)
January 7 - April 30, Tuesday to Fridays. Best suited for Grades 4 to 10.
The battle on the home front during the War of 1812 is a story worth telling. Ball’s Falls was the site of a British garrison stationed to protect the vital Grist Mill from the enemy and marauders. Visit the 1807 Grist Mill and become part of the story through this dynamic education program and extra special visit to Pathways to Peace, Art Studies of Upper Canada during the War of 1812.
Maximum group size: 52 students. Duration: 1.5 hours. Fee: $5.00 per student.
Journey to Glen Elgin
May and June, September and October for Grades JK to Gr. 12
We recommend this guided tour as an introduction to the history of Ball’s Falls for all grade levels. The tour will be geared to your grade and will introduce students to the site, which was one of the first communities established along the Twenty Mile Creek. Students will learn about Loyalist settlement, early domestic life, and the industrial era of Glen Elgin.
Tour includes a stop at the lower falls where students discover the importance of water as a source of power, and as a factor in pioneer settlement and community development. Students also visit an 1809 gristmill, a pioneer cabin and blacksmith shop. Concepts introduced during this tour are explored more extensively during our other interactive programs.
Maximum group size: 20 students. Duration: 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, as required, to accommodate your schedule. Fee: $5.00 per student.
Spring Awakening
May 22 - June 28. Best suited for Grades K1to 4, maximum class size 30. During this interactive curriculum-based program, students experience the lives of pioneer children by participating in a variety of seasonal pioneer chores including baking bread in an outdoor oven, churning butter, quilting, assembling a scale timber frame bar, and ploughing. Students will leave with their
Duration: 2 hours. Fee: $5.00 per student.
Iroquois Bead Work
(New!)
September 11 - November 2. Best suited for Grades K to 3, maximum class size 28, grades 4 to 8 and 12, maximum class size 32.
Treat your students to a visit to Iroquios Bead Work, a travelling exhibit from the Royal Ontario Museum. Learn together traditional Iroquois stories and legends embedded in this art form. Let storytelling, imagery and history surround you.
Duration: 1.5 hours. Fee: $5.00 per student.
Christmas in the Country
November 28 – December 19. Best suited for Grades 2 to 4, applicable to all levels.
An interactive adventure that will introduce students to both pioneer and victorian holiday celebrations. Activities include demonstrations in the decorated pioneer cabin and Ball homestead, sampling hot mulled cider and cookies, a sing-along in the country church, and the creation of a small keepsake craft to take home.
Duration: 1 and 3/4 hours. Fee: $5.00 per student.
Self-Guided Activities
You can enjoy historical buildings, trails, Centre exhibits, scavenger hunts (request the clues and prizes when you book), hikes, orienteering, photography and art, end of the year picnics, and much more! Fee: $4.25 per student or $110 per bus.
Supplementary Activities
Augment your field trip by adding a game or activity to your pre-booked program including Capture The Flag or Eco-detectives. Each session is approximately 60 minutes in duration. There is an additional fee of $2 per student.
Upcoming Fall Exhibits at the Centre for Conservation:
Pathways to Peace, Art Studies of Upper Canada during the War of 1812. January 7 to April 30.
Crystals to Gems. May 5 to September 3.
Iroquois Beadwork. September 8 to November 4.
Canada at Play. November 12 to March 25, 2013.
