​Welcome to Inside the Outdoors at Irvine Regional Park!

Fourth Grade​
NGSS PE Supported: 4-LS1-1 and 4-LS1-2​

Irvine Regional Park was the very first regional park in the State of California, and is home to some of Orange County’s oldest coast live oak and California sycamore trees. In this 4.5-hour field program at Irvine Regional Park, fourth-grade students take on the roles of ecologists, geologists, and fire ecologists to study adaptations, erosion, and wildfire impacts. Through hands-on investigations at the Orange County Zoo, fire-affected areas, and geological sites, students explore how species survive and how landforms evolve over time​. Overall, students will investigate how people are impacting the natural systems there. 

Activity Stations include:

• Geology - Students investigate and make observations of the rocks, soil, and land formations at Irvine Regional Park to make predictions on future weathering and erosion patterns.
  
  
• Plant Labs - Students learn how plants adapt to dry conditions through six short plant lab investigations.
  
  
• Fire Ecology​ - Students hike through the burn scar from a small 2020 brushfire to make observations of how it changed the landscape. Students will look for evidence of the fire and identify the plants that have regrown since. Students will work together to reflect on what we can do as a community to reduce the number of wildfires. 
  
  
• ​Animal Investigation at the Orange County Zoo - During a guided exploration of the zoo, students will make observations about characteristics typical of prey and predatory animals. Students will learn to differentiate between observation and inference by observing adaptations and making inferences about how those adaptations help the animals survive. ​

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