Webb Mountain Discovery Zone, an outdoor learning center located on 171 acres in Monroe, CT is pleased to announce the debut of our newest program: After School Adventures! Our elementary school enrichment program utilizes the distinct ecosystem of the Discovery Zone to let kids expend some energy while gaining all the health and educational benefits of being in nature. From art to amphibians and salamanders to sassafras, this action-packed class will keep young minds and bodies going and growing for a new hour of adventures each week!
Tom Ellbogen, Director of the Discovery Zone stated “Studies are increasingly showing that children spending time interacting in natural settings makes them happier, healthier and better students and we believe our new after school program is the perfect combination of guided exploration and adventurous spirit.”
Offered at 4pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, each weekly hour-long program will feature a unique adventure along the trails. Classes are led by Anthony Cianciolo, Jr. who specializes in teaching nature, art and the environment and are appropriate for students in 1st through 5th grade. The first five-week session begins on March 27 for 1st and 2nd graders and the second session begins on March 28 for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. Each 5-week block of programs is available for $35 per child. (Complimentary coffee & tea will be available for parents.)
Webb Mountain Discovery Zone is located at 71 Webb Circle in Monroe. It opened in 2007 to promote outdoor exploration and learning, in a fun, hands-on environment. The Discovery Zone has over four miles on 171 acres with twenty eight learning stations and a no-cost, self-directed scavenger hunt that was created by Hank Gruner, Vice President of Programs for the Connecticut Science Center in Harford with the assistance of Connecticut State Archeologist Nick Bellantoni. The interactive Scavenger Hunt (complete with scorecards!) is like an 'I-Spy' game for the outdoors that comes alive to heighten children's awareness and observational skills while having fun. On any visit to the Discovery Zone, kids search for frogs and salamanders in vernal pools, charcoal bits and arrowheads in Colonial quarries and Native American sites, look for mammal tracks in a sandpit, and explore "life in a rotten log."
For more information, visit www.webbmountaindiscoveryzone.com or email any questions to discoveryzone@earthlink.net
