Overnight Chaperone Issue
The 5th grade Overnight Field Trip is a well-loved experience for generations of Arlington students.
APS has made some significant changes to chaperone requirements and the first few elementary schools scheduled have had day trips instead of overnights.
The AOEA has gathered lessons learned and wants to make parents and PTAs aware.
Find the Lessons Learned here.
Please share your experiences with the AOEA so we can help improve the processes and allow every APS 5th grader to spend the night at the ODL!
Back to School and Back to Nature
As the school buses bring APS students to the Outdoor Lab, a new generation of students discover the natural wonder.
Whether first time visitors or those returning in a new grade, the Outdoor Lab welcomes all Arlington students to its mountain trails, streams, fields and fun.
The Outdoor Lab staff has been training and preparing for students and are excited to meet students and share the hands-on, experiential, STEM lessons that only the ODL can provide.
Donate or Become a Friend
The Outdoor Lab is supported by a non-profit that needs your help. Please become a FRIEND or make a DONATION today! We’d love to talk with PTAs and community groups in Arlington about partnering with the Outdoor Lab.
How can I Support the ODL?
- Become a FRIEND
- Sign up for our Lab Notes
- Volunteer with the ODL
- Donate what you can
- Spread the Joy
What is the Outdoor Lab?
The Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab is a 225-acre facility that provides science and outdoor education to the students of Arlington County Public Schools. In this natural classroom, urban youth — often for the first time — can run in a meadow, climb a mountain, hike beside a stream, or fish in a pond. Up to six classes per week visit the Outdoor Lab, some overnight, and there are three week-long summer camps.
Each year, the Outdoor Lab provides hands-on outdoor and environmental education to more than 10,000 students, from elementary grades through high school.
The non-profit Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) owns the land and buildings and partners with Arlington Public Schools who provides the teachers, buses and science programming at the Outdoor Lab.
Here’s a video for the Outdoor Lab’s 50th anniversary produced by APS’s AETV Green Scenes.
Learn More about this unique educational resource:
- See what’s New at the Lab
- Learn about our Educational Programs
- Come to an Upcoming Events
