School & Group Programs

Education comes ALIVE

Yosemite Insitute is more than your average field trip.  We lead the way in California outdoor education.  In partnership with our participating schools and community groups, we seek to integrate classroom content with the educational opportunities provided by Yosemite National Park. Along with their teachers and parent-chaperones, students from grades K-12 join our highly skilled educators on an adventure of a lifetime in our astonishing classroom.

During their customized educational adventure, our students hike through the dramatic landscapes of Yosemite, explore ancient groves of giant sequoias, ski across snowy meadows, and challenge themselves to reach the tops of waterfalls. Through active student engagement in this marvelous setting, our faculty draws upon student knowledge from classroom curricula in science, history, and arts and gives it context through personal experience.

Bring your group on a Yosemite Institute field trip!

Call us at 209.379.9511 or use our field trip inquiry form to contact us today. Openings don't last long.

What we teach

Our interdisciplinary field science programs are closely aligned with California Content Standards and use a broad range of lessons and activities designed to engage students using a variety of learning styles.  Over the course of three to five days, we combine academic study with physical challenges, team building activities, and service projects to achieve our learning outcomes. 

As a result of Yosemite Institute programs, students will:

• Experience personal growth
• Develop interpersonal skills
• Comprehend academic concepts
• Appreciate responsible environmental behavior

Academic emphases

In our classroom, students have the unique opportunity to observe, experience, and personally connect with the knowledge and concepts outlined in the California Content Standards.  We work in partnership with our schools to choose academic emphases that most effectively transfer to and from the home classroom.  Our core academic emphases include:

• Life Science
• Earth Science
• Cultural History
• Scientific Inquiry
• Humans and the Environment

Our Core Educational Framework

Within these particular academic areas, our educators focus on three consistent themes in order to change our students’ perspectives and enhance their connections to nature:

• Sense of Place: Experiencing familiarity and comfort in the natural world
• Interconnections: Feeling a connection to nature, to each other, and to ourselves
• Stewardship:Appreciating and desiring to protect and conserve the natural world