Day Trips

Old Oak Ranch Educational Programs Day Trips

Old Oak Ranch Educational Programs is now offering more than just multi-day programs. We have recently branched out to encompass a variety of single day trips that explore the beautiful, geologically and historically significant places located around us. Below is a list of our current day long programs. Offered in the Fall, most of these programs finish between 2:45pm and 3:30pm which gives your class plenty of time to get back to school before it gets too late. The Yosemite trip is the exception and finishes at around 4:30pm. Who wants to leave Yosemite early though?

Please feel free to email or call for additional information. These trips generally range in price between $45.00 and $60.00 per student and one teacher is free for every twenty-five students paid. We are marketing these day trips with an eye toward affordability, simplicity in planning, maximum educational experience and fun. Our idea is that you and your class meet our staff at the site, go through the day’s activities and head for home with your students’ heads swimming with information you will back up in the classroom later. As always, the programs are tied to California Board of Education Content Standards so you know that the time your students spend with us will directly translate to classroom lessons!

Big Trees State Park and Columbia State Historic Park:

These are two jewels of the extensive state park system. Big Trees State park is home to some of the largest and longest living trees on the planet. We will take a one hour plus tour of the North Grove of Giant Sequoias and learn about the surprisingly little things that make them the mammoths that they are! Also discussed are the very important topics of how to be a responsible park visitor and appreciator of nature. Often times these lessons are not taught to our children and the result can mean devastating consequences on the natural scene. A little responsibility goes a LONG way!

Old Oak Ranch has been utilizing the fascinating Gold Rush history in Columbia for over five years. We know it like the backs of our hands. Learn what it was to live in the grip of the Gold Rush, spend time looking in the little shops and hear the stories that abound in the Columbia Cemetery!

Content Standards Addressed:
Third Grade Science: 3a, b, c, d.
Third Grade History: 3.1.2.
Fourth Grade Science: 2a, b, c, 3a, b, c.
Fourth Grade History: 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.4.2, 4.4.3
Price: $45.00/student

Columbia State Historic Park and Moaning Cavern Adventure Park:

The folks at Moaning Cavern are good friends of ours and after our visit to Columbia (see above) we will make our way to Moaning. Once on site we will experience the massive cavern and also do some gem mining. We call gem mining “pure fun” and you will find out why!

Content Standards Addressed:
Third Grade History: 3.1.2
Fourth Grade History: 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.4.2, 4.4.3
Fourth Grade Science: 4a, b, 5a
Price: $45.00/student

Old Oak Ranch Gold Camp Day Program:

Take your Gold Rush curriculum to a whole new level. Instead of reading about what it was to be a miner, bring your kids to us and we will turn them into miners! Over the course of a day, led by our authentically clad staff, your students will work the early machinery that separated the gold from that red Mother Lode soil. These are experiential lessons that your students will never forget and every activity is heavily researched and anchored in the TRUE history of California’s Gold Rush. Come in the fall and then review the experience when you hit the Gold Rush curriculum in the Spring! You will be amazed at how well your students will remember!

Content Standards Addressed:
Third Grade History: 3.1.2.
Fourth Grade History: 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.4.2, 4.4.2
Price: $45.00/student

Indian Grinding Rock State Park and Black Chasm Cavern:

Indian Grinding Rock State Park is perhaps the best place to take your lessons on California Indians out of the classroom. One great feature of the park are the fascinating native structures ranging from family dwellings to tribal gathering places and these set amongst massive old Black Oak trees. The Black Oaks drop their acorns every fall which ushers in the Miwok acorn harvest. It is the grinding rock (one of the sites that are a necessary step in the preparation of the acorns) that is the fabulous centerpiece of this park. It is the single largest grinding rock in the entire state hosting over three thousand mortar holes as well as a few ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings). With a little imagination (and not much is needed) one can see the Miwok women pounding the acorns into meal.

Black Chasm Cavern will take your breath away. Besides the excellent and caring staff of the site, and all the fun of gem mining, the cave will knock your socks off and leave your students fascinated. Our staff has seen many caves but this one is the cave that we all talk about. We are not going to tell you why, we’ll leave that as a surprise.

Content Standards Addressed:

Third Grade History: 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.4
Fourth Grade History: 4.2.1
Fourth Grade Science: 4a
Price: $45.00/student

Yosemite National Park:

Is there anything else we need to say? Yes. This is more than just a day in Yosemite. This program gets beyond the beautiful scenery (while taking plenty of time for pictures!) and incorporates Native American life in the valley, fascinating geological history of which the valley is a shining example, as well as early tourism. Not only that, but another of our lessons is teaching your students how to be responsible visitors and good appreciators of nature and this amazing national park.

Content Standards Addressed:
Fourth Grade Science: 4a, b, 5a, b, c.
Fourth Grade History: 4.2.1.
Third Grade History: 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.4.
Sixth Grade Science: 1a, e, f, 2a, b
Seventh Grade Science: 4a, b, c, d, f.
Price: $60.00/student Size limit of 40 students per trip. Inquire for details.

Big Trees State Park and Mercer Cavern:

We have already talked about Big Trees (see trip number 1) so let’s look at Mercer Cavern. Discovered in the 1880′s by a lone, hard-luck miner, Mercer Cavern is one of the shining caves in this area. A registered National Landmark, Mercer Cavern holds some of the finest examples of cave formations in the world. We also spend time gem mining and discovering various real gems and identifying them. It is well worth the trip and an excellent way to supplement your classroom geology lessons.

Content Standards Addressed:
Third Grade Science: 3a, b, c, d.
Fourth Grade Science: 2a, b, c, 3a, b, c, 4a, b, 5a.
Price: $45.00/student