Stage 1 Program – Growing and Changing: Exploring Life Through Time
Program overview
This hands-on excursion, based at the Coastal Environment Centre and surrounding natural environments, provides a wonderful opportunity for Stage 1 students to explore, observe and investigate living things in their natural habitats.
Students will encounter an incredible variety of life, from tiny animals living amongst seagrass in Narrabeen Lagoon or on the rock platform, to our resident green tree frogs and the birds that call this area home. They will get hands-on with real fossils that provide evidence of life from long ago.
Through these engaging experiences, students begin their journey in understanding how living things can be grouped according to their observable features, how organisms change throughout their life cycles, and how life on Earth has changed over millions of years. These are big ideas, but our experienced educators know how to bring them to life through fun, interactive and memorable learning experiences.
Inquiry questions
- How do living things change throughout their lives?
- How can we group living things based on their observable features?
- What can fossils tell us about living things from the past?
Learning experiences
Coastal Environment Centre, Narrabeen Lagoon
Our experienced educators will facilitate a series of engaging, hands-on activities across the Coastal Environment Centre and nearby environments. Activities include:
- Exploring the CEC's interactive exhibits, including a fossil learning session where students can examine and hold real fossils that are millions of years old.
- Meeting our resident green tree frogs up close and investigating the frog life cycle. Students will also explore our bush garden and discover how simple features such as frog ponds and frog saunas can help create habitat for local frogs.
- Using binoculars to observe birds around Narrabeen Lagoon. Students will collect and record observations before exploring how animals can be grouped according to their observable features.
Explore North Narrabeen Rock Platform or Narrabeen Lagoon
A highlight of the day! Guided by our knowledgeable educators, students will either explore North Narrabeen Rock Platform or participate in a lagoon dip-netting investigation at Narrabeen Lagoon.
Both environments are home to a remarkable diversity of plants and animals and provide exciting opportunities for students to observe, identify and compare living things in their natural habitats. Through hands-on exploration, students will develop their observation skills and deepen their understanding of biodiversity and classification.
This component of the program is organised according to tide conditions and weather forecasts. If you have a preferred activity, please discuss available options with our team when making your booking.
Key syllabus outcomes (2024 syllabus)
Science: Living things change over time
ST1-SCI-01 measures and describes changes in living things, materials, movement, Earth and the sky
ST1-PQU-01 poses questions based on observations and information to investigate cause and effect
