School Outreach (K–12)

It’s all about the kids experiencing Shaver’s Creek — it makes them better citizens of the world.

Joan and Stephen Turns, creators of the Joan Turns Endowment, which enables thousands of students from underserved districts to visit Shaver’s Creek yearly

Shaver’s Creek School Partnerships

Shaver’s Creek works with Juniata Valley School District and State College Area School District to create hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences focused on science and the environment. Students build critical thinking skills while interacting with local biodiversity at school and at Shaver’s Creek in order to empower lifelong conservation actions and decision-making.

School Outreach Programming Availability

Our staff dedicates time, resources, and care to cultivate and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with our partnership districts. Because of this, we are unable to accommodate schools outside of these districts at this time.

Young children put their heads together to study a map closely

School Outreach Programming Education Staff

Shaver’s Creek’s educators include a mix of emerging professionals and Penn State students that are trained in the fields of natural history, interpretation, inquiry-based science, and environmental education.

All educators are in compliance with Penn State’s background check requirements, which include completing protocol trainings and obtaining three publicly available clearances: (1) Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Background Check, (2) Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, and (3) Federal (FBI) Fingerprint Background Check.

An adult leads a group of children across a snowy patch of grass toward some trees.