News

Join the AOEA Board!

Posted on by AOEAwebmaster

The Outdoor Lab is a partnership between the non-profit Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) and the Arlington Public Schools (APS)

  • APS provides the teachers, educational program and buses.
  • AOEA owns and manages the land and buildings as well as advocates for outdoor education, STEAM curriculum, and hands-on, experiential leaning.

The AOEA is an all-volunteer, hands-on organization that keeps this beloved Arlington institution available for Arlington students and families.

We need  members of the Arlington community to step-up and help us in this critical time for educating our students.

We need Board Members for the AOEA!

Current and past Board Members have a variety of experience and skills.  Many are parents, teachers or staff of Arlington schools.  Others are scientists, marketing professionals, real estate agents/builders or consultants.  We need a variety of experiences to challenge our organization to improve and grow.

If you are willing to help Arlington children and the Outdoor Lab (or know someone who might) please contact us to learn more about our Board of Directors at [email protected]. We elect a slate of Directors at our annual meeting in April/May, but have openings year-round.

If you’d like to volunteer to help the Outdoor Lab in other ways learn more HERE.

APS Students: Join the AOEA Board

In 2021, the AOEA began a student Board Member program offering an opportunity for select APS students who have benefitted from the Outdoor Lab and want to give back.

The student Board Member participates in monthly AOEA board meetings mostly via Zoom, offering advice and voting on AOEA business. They participate in AOEA events at the Outdoor Lab and in Arlington and act as a liaison to their schools and student groups in APS.

If you are a rising Junior or Senior at an APS high school and are interested in learning more please fill out our brief application (2025-26 school year applications due March 31) or contact AOEA at [email protected] with any questions.

March 2025 Lab Notes

Posted on by Colleen Levine

In this month’s issue of Lab Notes:

  • Spring Open House & Annual Meeting will be Sunday, May 4
  • Good News for the Outdoor Lab in APS proposed FY26 Budget
  • Applications for Student Board Member due March 31; Teens also needed for Summer Camp Counselor-in-Training
  • “I was in 4th or 5th grade and my group was walking up the Martin Trail and we came across an eastern rat snake and then there was a quick impromptu lesson about snakes and eastern rat snakes specifically. It was just a really cool opportunity made possible by the environment that we were in and the staff that were there leading us through it.”
    … and more Memories from the Lab!

high school volunteers at the animal lab

Read it here: March 2025 Lab Notes newsletter

& Click here to Subscribe! 

Spring Open House - May 4th

Spring Open House – May 4th

Posted on by Tom Twomey
  • Hike our miles of trails
  • Boat and fish in the pond
  • Meet the animals in the Animal Lab
  • Explore our streams and meadows
  • and more! Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy with your family.

Registration is now open! Please RSVP here to reserve your spot.

We also need VOLUNTEERS to help first-timers navigate the Lab. If you’re willing to volunteer for a shift, please sign-up here. Thank you!

In Memoriam- Fred C Scott

In Memoriam- Fred C Scott

Posted on by AOEAwebmaster

The AOEA and Outdoor Lab staff are sad to learn that Fred C. Scott, has passed. Fred was the husband of AOEA board member Anita Knipling Scott and has supported the Outdoor Lab and the Knipling family for many years.

Frederick C. Scott
October 19, 1934 – February 21, 2025

Frederick C. Scott, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, passed away peacefully at the age of 90 with his family at his side on February 21, 2025. He had recently experienced heart and respiratory complications.

He was born in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Helen “Frosty” Baker. From his early childhood through high school, his family moved frequently due to his father’s job in sales – primarily throughout the South. Regardless, wherever they lived, Fred excelled in athletics and leadership, three times being elected class President while making the football, softball, swim and track teams, and finally tennis – an avid passion through adulthood.

He graduated from the University of Richmond with degrees in History and Political Science, having worked his way through college while serving as President of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and of the university’s interfraternity Council, as well as other elected positions. It was at U of R that he met his wife of 66 years, Anita Knipling.

Fred and Anita, who were married in 1959, had four children – in 5 ½ years!: Craig, Kimberly, Brian and Kathryn. Tragically, both Brian and Craig died as young adults.

Fred and Anita settled in Arlington, Virginia, where she worked as an English teacher and he worked for Travelers Insurance Company in the pension field before starting his own firm, Frederick C. Scott and Associates, from which he retired in 2012.

Through Anita’s large family and their regular road trips to the family cabins, he learned to love the outdoors, hunting and fishing. He also relished western mystery novels, Hallmark movies, the Redskins, big band music, coin collecting, yoo hoos, the pride of a well-groomed lawn and of being an American. He cherished his collie Shane and passed on his true love of animals to his children and grandchildren. His sense of humor was legendary, if not questionable.

His many friends and the community at Washington Golf and Country Club provided Fred with endless memories, particularly with his bridge buddies of many years.

He is survived by Anita Knipling Scott, his daughters Kimberly Scott and Kathryn Scott Palombi, his son-in-law Jerry Palombi, and his greatest joys — his grandchildren, Nicholas, Matthew, Lauren and Mitchell Palombi — as well as the love of many extended cousins.

There will be no immediate funeral services, but a celebration of life will be planned in the coming months. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the Arlington Outdoor Education Association. https://outdoorlab.org/donate/

Opportunities for High School Students at the Arlington Outdoor Lab

Posted on by Colleen Levine
We frequently hear from high school students who fondly remember their 5th grade overnights or other field trips to the Outdoor Lab and are interested in returning to this beloved place. We have several opportunities to welcome high school students (and their families) back to the Lab!
  • Student Board Members: Each spring we elect a rising junior or senior as a student Board Member for a one-year term to represent APS students on the Board of Directors of the AOEA, the non-profit that owns and supports the Outdoor Lab; applications for the upcoming school year are due March 31.
  • Summer Camp Counselors-in-Training/Junior Staff: APS conducts three weeks of overnight summer camp, June 23-27, July 7-11 and July 14-18. Current students in grades 9 through 11 are invited to apply for a volunteer CIT/junior staff position; applications are due Fri., March 28.
  • Volunteer: Students can earn volunteer hours at our Spring (May 4) and Fall (tbd) Open Houses or at other volunteer work days throughout the year; please sign up here to hear about upcoming volunteer needs.
We are also happy to speak with any students interested in creating a senior experience working with the AOEA — and welcome parents to join the Board of Directors as well. Visit our Board page for more info or reach out to [email protected].

Outdoor Lab Featured in Arlington Community Foundation Holiday Wish Catalog

Posted on by Colleen Levine

Arlington Outdoor Education Association is pleased to again be included in the Arlington Community Foundation’s 2024 Holiday Wish Catalog.

 

Through this opportunity, we wish to raise $5,000 to support of our biodiversity efforts. With over 9,000 Arlington students visiting the Lab each year, land maintenance is vital for experiential learning. We are committed to ongoing land stewardship focused on removing invasives, like Japanese Stilt grass, and replenishing areas with native plants.

View our holiday wish details are here.

RESCHEDULED: Fall Open House Oct. 6 10a-2p

RESCHEDULED: Fall Open House Oct. 6 10a-2p

Posted on by AOEAwebmaster

Celebrate Fall at the Outdoor Lab Open House!

UPDATE! Our Fall Open House is rescheduled due to weather — please join us NEXT Sunday 10/6!

Due to the Rainy Weather this week and forecast for Sunday,

we have rescheduled the Fall Open House for

Sunday October 6th from 10a-2p

If you already registered your family and can come on October 6th

No further action is required

Your current registration is all you need.

If you already registered and you cannot come on Oct 6th

We’re sorry you’ll miss this time!

We’ll have another Open House in the Spring.

If you have not registered your family, we still have a few open spots for Oct 6th; please register below.


The Outdoor Lab Fall Open House is coming up on Sunday, September 29th from 10am-2pm. Bring the family and come see what the Outdoor Lab offers! Hike our trails, try out a canoe or fishing, and of course we’ll be roasting s’mores! We encourage families to bring a picnic lunch as well. Please Register Today to reserve your spot.
 
If you are interested in learning more about the  Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA), or getting involved with our board of directors, Learn More here.

Come see us at the Arlington County Fair! Aug. 16-18

Posted on by Colleen Levine

Come see us at the Arlington County Fair this weekend! Take a break from the rides and find us in the indoor exhibit hall to meet a special animal guest and score Outdoor Lab merch.

Outdoor Lab exhibit table

Indoor Exhibit Hours, Aug. 16-18: Fri. 4pm – 10pm, Sat. 11am – 9pm, Sun. 11am – 7pm.

The Fair takes place at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and surrounding grounds, 3501 2nd Street S., Arlington. See you there!

In Memoriam- Karl Schellenberg

Posted on by AOEAwebmaster

The location of Outdoor Lab on 226 acres in Fauquier County is due in great part to the Schellenberg Family, our. neighbors on Biscuit Mountain. 

In the 1950s, the Schellenberg Family and Knipling families were neighbors in Arlington when the county was still rural with farms on Military and Marcey Roads where they lived.  Both families loved nature and the Kniplings visited the Schellenberg’s country home at Afton Farm in Broad Run, VA. 

By the early 1960’s, Phoebe Hall Knipling was working at Arlington Public Schools and holding “outdoor lab” summer camps at various regional parks, but she was looking for a more permanent location.  By 1966, the Stryker family property just down the mountain road from the Schellenberg’s Afton Farm became available and Phoebe decided it was perfect for the Outdoor Lab.

The “Schellenberg boys” came to visit the Outdoor Lab and share stories of the land’s history.

We mourn the loss of Karl Schellenberg who came to the Outdoor Lab’s 50th anniversary to share stories about the old days on Biscuit Mountain and Arlington.

Karl told of his father, Theodore Roosevelt Schellenberg, borrowing a neighbor’s bulldozer to create their farm pond and later the same bulldozer was used to create the ODL pond. The apple orchard at Afton Farm was a great source of fun for everyone.

Outdoor Lab Spring Open House April 20

Posted on by Colleen Levine

Celebrate Earth Day at the Outdoor Lab!

The Outdoor Lab Spring Open House is coming up on Saturday, April 20, 10am-2pm. Bring the family and come see what the Outdoor Lab offers! Register Today.
outdoor lab spring open house April 20
Volunteers are also needed — great opportunity for students to get those volunteer hours! Signup Here.
And if anyone is interested in getting more involved with the Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) to support this APS resource, we have openings for adult and student Board members; Learn More.