John James Audubon Center Field Trips

John James Audubon Center Field Trips

This resource center provides an introduction to the themes and concepts presented as part of the field trip programs offered to community groups by the John James Audubon Center. An overview and accompanying Audubon education resources are available for each program offered.

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Experience the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove

Through the new museum experience, public programming, outreach, and field trips, the John James Audubon Center engages and inspires over 25,000 individuals each year in learning more about birds, art, and the nature around them. We invite you to explore our program offerings and accompanying Audubon resources and consider booking a field trip with us today. Questions? Contact jjac_education@audubon.org.

Book a Field Trip Now!

About the Center
The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove is situated on a historic 18th-century site. This 175-acre estate is the farm where 18-year-old John James Audubon lived when he first came to America from France in 1803. Here, he developed a technique for drawing birds "from life" that would allow him to become one of the world's best-known wildlife artist. The hundreds of life-size portraits of birds contained in his seminal work The Birds of America is considered to be the archetype of wildlife illustration. The estate is a National Historic Landmark that includes the original three-story farmhouse, built in 1762, five miles of nature trails along the Perkiomen Creek, and is home to more than 175 species of birds and more than 400 species of native plants.

In addition to exploring history through the trails and the house, visitors can now explore the fascinating world of birds and conservation, through a brand new museum, which just opened in 2019. The new building houses two galleries for art and conservation, permanent exhibits with multi-sensory experiences, and fun outdoor features.  It serves as an educational facility dedicated to engaging visitors with the natural world of birds while preserving John James Audubon’s artistic, scientific and historic work. Here, visitors of all ages and interests can connect with Audubon - the man, the organization, and the mission - through the use of artifacts and modern technology. 

Featured indoor exhibits in the museum offer visitors a rare view of an early edition Double Elephant Folio of The Birds of America, immerse them in the beauty and wonder of the fascinating world of birds, and showcase inspirational stories of how people have and can make a difference in protecting birds and wildlife. Outdoors, visitors of all ages can discover and experience the steps that a young bird must take to successfully leave the nest along a Fledgling Trail.  

The John James Audubon Center is made possible through a partnership between Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, the National Audubon Society and Audubon Pennsylvania.

About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization.  

Audubon Pennsylvania, a state office of the National Audubon Society, conserves and restores natural ecosystems in Pennsylvania, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Audubon is local everywhere with a grassroots network of more than 1.4 million members, 450 chapters, 40 nature centers and sanctuaries, and 22 state offices.

 

Field Trip Options

  • Pre and Post Test for John James Audubon Center Field Trips
  • Scavenger Hunt

    Who might be living in your neighborhood? Go on a scavenger hunt to explore the grounds at JJAC and see what you can find. Use your keen observation skills to identify differences in nature that occur from season to season.  Discover some common birds and other critters that might be living in your backyard too. There are clues to critters everywhere you look!

  • Scavenger Hunt - Lesson Overview
  • All About Birds – WOW Birds!

    ant to know more about the wonderful world of birds? Students will discover the Want to know more about the wonderful world of birds? Students will discover the amazing adaptations of birds through hands-on opportunities with bird feet, wings, and bills. Then they will collect bird data on a walk around the center as they visit different habitats.Want to know more about the wonderful world of birds?  Students will discover the amazing adaptations of birds through hands-on opportunities with bird feet, wings, and bills.  Then they will collect bird data on a walk around the center as they visit different habitats.

  • All About Birds – WOW Birds! - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures The Watery World of Wading Birds
  • Audubon Adventures Seabirds: Feathered Ocean Travelers
  • Audubon Adventures Get to Know Birds
  • Audubon Adventures Birds on the Move
  • Birding with Binoculars

    Practice using your senses of sight and sound and learn some of the techniques that researchers use while observing birds! Learn how to use binoculars to spot birds and other wildlife. Spot some common backyard birds and keep track of what you’ve seen and heard. Go on a mini scavenger hunt and look for birds doing some everyday bird activities!

  • Birding with Binoculars - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures Plants are for the Birds
  • Audubon Adventures Get to Know Birds
  • Bird Beak Bonanza

    A lesson on a bird’s most special adaption- their beak!  Students will investigate variation in bird beaks and the interrelationships of form and function by classifying birds with similar beaks and inferring possible bird foods based on beak shapes.

  • Bird Beak Adaptations - Beak Bonanza! Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures Get to Know Birds
  • Home Sweet Home Habitats

    Hummingbirds, bright goldfinches, colorful bluebirds! Do you want to learn more about these birds and how to attract them to your yard?  Discover what some birds may look for when trying to find a habitat to call home and how to create the right habitat in your own backyard for these feathered-friends and more!

  • Home Sweet Home Habitats - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures At Home in a Habitat
  • Outstanding Owls

    A lesson on owls and their special adaptations.  Students will discover what is special about an owl’s eyes, neck, ears and feathers.  They will then explore some owl calls they might recognize.  For an added cost of $5, students will get the opportunity to dissect actual owl pellets from our very own non-releasable owls on sight!  Learn what an owl eats in this very hands-on experience!  Another $10 will get you a meet-and-greet with one or our non-releasable owls so that students can see these adaptations up close!

  • Owl Pellet Dissection - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures - Owl Prowl
  • Audubon Adventures - Raptors! The Birds of Prey
  • Wonders of Water

    Students determine the effect that land use has on water quality.  After identifying which watershed they live in, the students investigate macroinvertebrates living in the Perkiomen Creek to determine the biotic index and related the results to the health of the watershed.

  • Audubon Adventures - Caretaking Our World's Water
  • Drawn From Nature

    Do you like to draw and create?  Do you like wildlife? Learn what makes the artwork of John James Audubon unique and such a powerful teaching tool.  Create your own nature drawings using some of the same techniques that John did!

  • Drawn From Nature - An Audubon Experience Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures - Birds on the Move
  • Audubon Adventures - At Home in a Habitat
  • Audubon Adventures - Seabirds: Feathered Ocean Travelers
  • Audubon Adventures - The Watery World of Wading Birds
  • Additional Resources
  • Impact of Native Plants
  • Audubon Guide to North American Birds
  • Audubon Native Plants Database

Experience the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove

Through the new museum experience, public programming, outreach, and field trips, the John James Audubon Center engages and inspires over 25,000 individuals each year in learning more about birds, art, and the nature around them. We invite you to explore our program offerings and accompanying Audubon resources and consider booking a field trip with us today. Questions? Contact jjac_education@audubon.org.

Book a Field Trip Now!

About the Center
The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove is situated on a historic 18th-century site. This 175-acre estate is the farm where 18-year-old John James Audubon lived when he first came to America from France in 1803. Here, he developed a technique for drawing birds "from life" that would allow him to become one of the world's best-known wildlife artist. The hundreds of life-size portraits of birds contained in his seminal work The Birds of America is considered to be the archetype of wildlife illustration. The estate is a National Historic Landmark that includes the original three-story farmhouse, built in 1762, five miles of nature trails along the Perkiomen Creek, and is home to more than 175 species of birds and more than 400 species of native plants.

In addition to exploring history through the trails and the house, visitors can now explore the fascinating world of birds and conservation, through a brand new museum, which just opened in 2019. The new building houses two galleries for art and conservation, permanent exhibits with multi-sensory experiences, and fun outdoor features.  It serves as an educational facility dedicated to engaging visitors with the natural world of birds while preserving John James Audubon’s artistic, scientific and historic work. Here, visitors of all ages and interests can connect with Audubon - the man, the organization, and the mission - through the use of artifacts and modern technology. 

Featured indoor exhibits in the museum offer visitors a rare view of an early edition Double Elephant Folio of The Birds of America, immerse them in the beauty and wonder of the fascinating world of birds, and showcase inspirational stories of how people have and can make a difference in protecting birds and wildlife. Outdoors, visitors of all ages can discover and experience the steps that a young bird must take to successfully leave the nest along a Fledgling Trail.  

The John James Audubon Center is made possible through a partnership between Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, the National Audubon Society and Audubon Pennsylvania.

About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization.  

Audubon Pennsylvania, a state office of the National Audubon Society, conserves and restores natural ecosystems in Pennsylvania, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Audubon is local everywhere with a grassroots network of more than 1.4 million members, 450 chapters, 40 nature centers and sanctuaries, and 22 state offices.

 

Field Trip Options

  • Pre and Post Test for John James Audubon Center Field Trips
  • Scavenger Hunt

    Who might be living in your neighborhood? Go on a scavenger hunt to explore the grounds at JJAC and see what you can find. Use your keen observation skills to identify differences in nature that occur from season to season.  Discover some common birds and other critters that might be living in your backyard too. There are clues to critters everywhere you look!

  • Scavenger Hunt - Lesson Overview
  • All About Birds – WOW Birds!

    ant to know more about the wonderful world of birds? Students will discover the Want to know more about the wonderful world of birds? Students will discover the amazing adaptations of birds through hands-on opportunities with bird feet, wings, and bills. Then they will collect bird data on a walk around the center as they visit different habitats.Want to know more about the wonderful world of birds?  Students will discover the amazing adaptations of birds through hands-on opportunities with bird feet, wings, and bills.  Then they will collect bird data on a walk around the center as they visit different habitats.

  • All About Birds – WOW Birds! - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures The Watery World of Wading Birds
  • Audubon Adventures Seabirds: Feathered Ocean Travelers
  • Audubon Adventures Get to Know Birds
  • Audubon Adventures Birds on the Move
  • Birding with Binoculars

    Practice using your senses of sight and sound and learn some of the techniques that researchers use while observing birds! Learn how to use binoculars to spot birds and other wildlife. Spot some common backyard birds and keep track of what you’ve seen and heard. Go on a mini scavenger hunt and look for birds doing some everyday bird activities!

  • Birding with Binoculars - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures Plants are for the Birds
  • Audubon Adventures Get to Know Birds
  • Bird Beak Bonanza

    A lesson on a bird’s most special adaption- their beak!  Students will investigate variation in bird beaks and the interrelationships of form and function by classifying birds with similar beaks and inferring possible bird foods based on beak shapes.

  • Bird Beak Adaptations - Beak Bonanza! Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures Get to Know Birds
  • Home Sweet Home Habitats

    Hummingbirds, bright goldfinches, colorful bluebirds! Do you want to learn more about these birds and how to attract them to your yard?  Discover what some birds may look for when trying to find a habitat to call home and how to create the right habitat in your own backyard for these feathered-friends and more!

  • Home Sweet Home Habitats - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures At Home in a Habitat
  • Outstanding Owls

    A lesson on owls and their special adaptations.  Students will discover what is special about an owl’s eyes, neck, ears and feathers.  They will then explore some owl calls they might recognize.  For an added cost of $5, students will get the opportunity to dissect actual owl pellets from our very own non-releasable owls on sight!  Learn what an owl eats in this very hands-on experience!  Another $10 will get you a meet-and-greet with one or our non-releasable owls so that students can see these adaptations up close!

  • Owl Pellet Dissection - Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures - Owl Prowl
  • Audubon Adventures - Raptors! The Birds of Prey
  • Wonders of Water

    Students determine the effect that land use has on water quality.  After identifying which watershed they live in, the students investigate macroinvertebrates living in the Perkiomen Creek to determine the biotic index and related the results to the health of the watershed.

  • Audubon Adventures - Caretaking Our World's Water
  • Drawn From Nature

    Do you like to draw and create?  Do you like wildlife? Learn what makes the artwork of John James Audubon unique and such a powerful teaching tool.  Create your own nature drawings using some of the same techniques that John did!

  • Drawn From Nature - An Audubon Experience Lesson Overview
  • Audubon Adventures - Birds on the Move
  • Audubon Adventures - At Home in a Habitat
  • Audubon Adventures - Seabirds: Feathered Ocean Travelers
  • Audubon Adventures - The Watery World of Wading Birds
  • Additional Resources
  • Impact of Native Plants
  • Audubon Guide to North American Birds
  • Audubon Native Plants Database