Alaska Eco EDventures for Homeschool Students
Updated for the 2025/2026 School Year!
This program is geared towards homeschool students who are seeking to experience the culture, beauty, and ecology of Alaska’s great outdoors! Students will experience the unique natural and cultural heritage of Alaska through engaging cross-disciplinary lessons that combine arts, culture, and outdoor exploration. Each EDventure will begin with a wildlife-themed lesson chosen by zoo educators as the month’s highlight. The program includes zoo trail explorations, outdoor scavenger hunts, animal encounters, science discoveries, and hands-on projects.
While the students are in class, the rest of the family is welcome to tour the zoo! Neither parents nor younger siblings can sit in on classes. While students are in the program, one parent and one child (sibling) will receive free admission into the zoo to enjoy their own self-guided visit. Please see zoo educators for your pass when you check your student in for the program.
Program Details
$40 per student for non-members. Zoo members can log into their membership account, then register for the program for a $10 discount per student as long as the student is covered by your membership! You must be logged into the system and have a current zoo membership. If so, the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. Register your student online (full payment at the time of registration) at least 1 week in advance. An email notice will be sent to you which will serve as a receipt if you are submitting for reimbursement.
Payment and Refund Policy: Full payment is due online at the time of registration. Please be sure you have your schedule and plans committed before you register. If you need to cancel your registration and you contact us one week or more in advance of the program, you will be eligible for a 50% refund. If you contact us one week or less in advance of the program, no refund will be given. We will not be making exceptions to this policy for any reason due to the staff time required to prepare for the program and the loss of opportunity to fill the spot.
Duration is 2.5 hours (10:00am-12:30 pm). Parents meet up with zoo educators in the Gateway classroom for check-in. One parent and one child (sibling) receive free zoo admission during the program at check-in. Parents and siblings are not allowed to sit in on the class. We keep it just for the students to reduce background noise and chaos in the classroom.
Max 15 students per class. Each student must be registered separately.
Grade Levels and Program Schedule
Please sign your student up for one date/time per theme, the material covered will be the same for both time slots.
K-2nd (Tuesdays and Wednesdays):
September 16th and 17th – Birding Basics
October 7th and 8th – Alaska's Bears
October 21st and 22nd – Bizarre Bones
November 4th and 5th – Diet Detectives
December 9th and 10th – Creature Classification
January 6th and 7th – Zoo Clues
January 20th and 21st – Clever Camouflage
February 3rd and 4th – Animal Families
February 17th and 18th – Dynamic Duos
March 17th and 18th – Ecosystem Engineers
April 7th and 8th – Nature in Your Neighborhood
3rd-5th (Tuesdays):
September 23rd – Birding Basics
October 14th – Alaska's Bears
October 28th – Bizarre Bones
November 18th – Diet Detectives
December 16th – Creature Classification
January 13th – Zoo Clues
January 27th – Clever Camouflage
February 10th – Animal Families
February 24th – Dynamic Duos
March 24th – Ecosystem Engineers
April 14th – Nature in Your Neighborhood
6th-8th (Mondays):
September 22nd – Birding Basics
October 6th – Skull Sleuths
October 27th – Grossology: Parasites and Pathogens
November 17th – Falconry 101
December 12th – Masters of Migration
January 12th – Animal Anatomy
January 26th – Dissection Lab
February 9th – Animal Training
February 23rd – Habitat Design
March 23rd – Citizen Science
April 13th – Rescue and Rehabilitation
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the zoo!
Contact programs@alaskazoo.org if you have questions about the programs or registration.