Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

For class we got to go on a field trip to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. For this trip a lot of us carpooled to get there, so it was an adventure before we even got there! We had fun on our ride to the national lakeshore. I’m not going to lie, we were a little apprehensive at first because of the weather. Then we got lost on the way there, but we finally made it!

The first thing that we did was watch a few videos about the history of the lakeshore. We went on a few quick hikes. We were lucky enough to have a tour guide in the form of our professor’s husband. He was nice enough to share his ideas of how to truly integrate nature into a classroom, given that he teaches in an elementary school.

On one of the hikes that we went on we ended up at the Bailey Chellberg Calumet Cemetery. It was not exactly what I had expected when we saw the sign for it. I guess in my mind I just assumed that this cemetery would be the same as the ones that I’ve seen so far in my life. However, that is not what happened. This cemetery was actually more like a tomb; it was a very large and beautiful building. We even saw a bunny and a frog hanging near the building. It was probably my favorite part of the trip.

A very important thing that I learned on this trip was the fact that all fourth graders can get passes to see all of the national parks for free! The program is called ‘Every Kid in a Park.’ I feel that not many teachers know this, so how would they tell their students if they don’t know! So spread the word! Tell all of those fourth grade teachers and families with fourth graders. For more information on ‘Every Kid in a Park’ click here.