Educator Handbook: Educator Information
Important information for Educators
While there is no fee to enter the State Park, there is a $2 parking fee (per vehicle) if you are not coming in the Interpretive Center. The entrance fee to the Interpretive Center is $5 for adults and $2 for children 2 to 18. School rate is $2 for children and $2 for teachers and chaperons beyond the ratio below. Prices are subject to change. Teachers and chaperons are admitted free of charge at a 1:5 ratio for grades 3 and lower; 1:10 ratio for grades 4 and above. Consult the Educator Information link to the left for more details. Please call or e-mail us with any questions (see Introduction page for contact information). We suggest that groups allow a minimum of one hour to tour the building. This would include time for the orientation theater and a thorough exploration of the exhibit gallery. Since the current exhibits are not interactive, we ask that all school groups use grade-specific activity sheets (you may create your own or use ours, posted on the Educator Information page). We have a general activity sheet (our most popular) and thematic (i.e. geology). Students are expected to use them to promote an educational focus. Activity sheets reduce student horseplay significantly! Book as early as possible. May, September, October fill months in advance. The larger the group, the earlier you should contact us to schedule your visit. We strongly discourage last-minute decisions to visit the park because we are often heavily booked and we may not be able to accommodate your group in the Interpretive Center if it is more than 20 students. We want your visible to be enjoyable and educational! Feel free to tell us how your visit fits into the curriculum – we can tweak our programming to cover topics your students are investigating.
The Virtual Park
The Falls of the Ohio State Park has been on the worldwide web since 1998. We are proud of the content of our every growing “virtual park,” which contains: • information about the park & interpretive center • virtual field trip on the fossil beds • links to our Facebook page with its extensive photo galleries • links to other sites on the worldwide web related to geology, archaeology and cultural history • our park brochures are on-line • activities from the Field Paleontology Institute • resources for educators and park visitors • news about the Falls Fossil Festival and other special events • list of fossil collecting sites in the area and much, much more! The web site is expanding every week with new information and images. Inquiries are welcome by e-mail (park@fallsoftheohio.org), but arrangements will be finalized by telephone. Please have your phone number in any e-mail.
High school students clean the fossil beds as a service learning project. iv. Created January 22, 2010, Updated March 20, 2012 |
