Overview

The Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) and the Arlington County Public Schools (APS) are partners in the Outdoor Lab. Almost every school day, a bus full of enthusiastic Arlington County Public School children travel out to the Lab to break free from the classroom and experience nature, science, and the outdoor environment first-hand. Teacher-naturalists lead students in a wide variety of activities to support and supplement the classroom science curriculum. Annually, the Outdoor Lab provides hands-on outdoor and environmental education to more than 9,000 students from elementary grades through high school. Students come face-to-face with native creatures, walk the woods, learn about the terrain and plant life, and study the extraordinary skies. Perhaps most importantly, they develop a respect for and appreciation of the natural world while learning that science is interactive and alive. .