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 boardnominations@outdoorlab.org. 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 secretary@outdoorlab.org with any questions.

Fall Open House Sun. Oct. 19, 2025

Posted on by Colleen Levine

open house invite over a camp fire with fall colors around the pond.

You’re invited to come see us at the Outdoor Lab on Sunday, October 19, 10am to 2pm!

Bring your family to experience catch-and-release fishing, boating on the pond, visiting the creatures of the Animal Lab, hiking our new “Story Trail,” and more! Bring a picnic lunch and we’ll provide the s’mores fixings to roast around the camp fire.

Come meet the AOEA Board and learn more about what the Outdoor Lab provides APS students year-round. REGISTER TODAY. We look forward to seeing you on October 19!

And if you’re a repeat visitor and you’d like to volunteer to help us welcome other Arlington families, please sign up here. Thank you! 

September 2025 Lab Notes

Posted on by Colleen Levine

Back-to-School at the Outdoor Lab! In this month’s issue of Lab Notes:

students paddle the pontoon at the Outdoor Lab

  • School Year Kick-Off: We’re so excited that APS students are back at the Lab. Field trips started earlier this month and fifth grade overnights will begin in early October. In alignment with Virginia science education standards, Lab lesson plans are honed by Lab staff and classroom teachers together.
    • 3rd graders learn how seasonal changes affect both terrestrial and aquatic creatures as they examine habitats
    • 5th graders focus on geological features while hiking
    • 7th graders work on animal classifications, ecology and mapping while exploring the acreage
    • High schoolers map the terrain, test the water quality and participate in ecology “deep dives”
  • Fall Open House Sun. Oct. 19:
    Join us for our fall Open House on Sunday, October 19th from 10am – 2pm. Registration link will be posted soon! Bring your friends and family to hike, fish and eat s’mores. We also welcome volunteers to help show families around — please signup here if you can spare a few hours: Open House Volunteer Form.

  • Help Shape the Future of the Outdoor Lab!  As we move towards creating new learning facilities at the Outdoor Lab, we are forming an Environmental Education Advisory Committee to help review our current practices and inform our decisions moving forward. If you are an Outdoor Lab alum working in science or current or former educator, we would love to have you join us!

    To learn more, please contact vp@outdoorlab.org or fill out our Volunteer Interest Form

    Also…

  • Thank you to all who visited us at the Arlington County Fair and shared your memories of the Lab! We will share the stories collected in future issues of Lab Notes.
  • Legacy Planning: As you plan for your future, we hope that you will consider a gift in your estate plan to support of Arlington Outdoor Education Association. You can make a bequest in your will and/or make AOEA the beneficiary of your IRA or life insurance policy. For more information, please contact Colleen Levine at vp@outdoorlab.org.

Read it here: September 2025 Lab Notes newsletter

& Click here to Subscribe! 

July 2025 Lab Notes

Posted on by Colleen Levine

In this month’s issue of Lab Notes:

summer campers and Smoky Bear at the Outdoor Lab

  • School Year 2024-25 Wrap Up from Director Scott McKeown
  • Summer Camp 2025: The Outdoor Lab, in partnership with Arlington Public Schools’ summer school programs, hosted three weeks of awesomely fun summer camp! Over 75 elementary and middle school campers participated.If you have pictures to share of your students’ time at the Lab, please send them to memories@outdoorlab.org or tag #lovetheODL on social media.

    Also…

  • Thanks for Brandon King, Eagle Scout for the expanded cookout area!
  • & Come see us at the Arlington County Fair indoor exhibit hall, Friday, Aug. 15 – Sunday, Aug. 17.

Read it here: July 2025 Lab Notes newsletter

& Click here to Subscribe! 

May 2025 Lab Notes

Posted on by Colleen Levine

In this month’s issue of Lab Notes:

  • School Year Wrapping Up at the Lab: It’s hard to believe another school year is almost over! Scott McKeown, APS Lab Supervisor, commented, “It never gets old — seeing the joy and wonder on kids’ faces as they spend time here.” School year field trips to the Lab are winding down now with the final three fifth-grade overnight trips this month. Day trips will continue through early June, and then Lab staff turn their attention to planning for the three weeks of summer camp in late June and July. We are excited to welcome this year’s summer campers!

    If you have pictures to share of your students’ time at the Lab, please send them to memories@outdoorlab.org or tag #lovetheODL on social media.

    Also…

  • 85-Acre Land Acquisition
  • Welcome New Board Members and Officers
  • Honoring Retiring Board Members: Paul Diehl, Mike Maleski, Anita Knipling Scott, and our outgoing student board members Cassidy Greenwalt YHS’25 and Margaret Flannery-Goodman YHS ’25.

Read it here: May 2025 Lab Notes newsletter

& Click here to Subscribe! 

News Release: The Outdoor Lab Acquires Old Afton Farm Property

Posted on by Colleen Levine

May 4, 2025 — The Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) is pleased to announce a major acquisition of the Old Afton Farm property adjacent to our existing land in Fauquier County, Va. With this purchase from longtime neighbors the Schellenberg Family, the Outdoor Lab footprint will expand from 225 acres to 311 acres, ensuring the ridge top of Biscuit Mountain remains free from rapidly encroaching development and offering expanded grounds for Arlington Public School students to explore and learn about our natural environment.

“This is the biggest investment in APS students by AOEA since its founding,” said President Mike Maleski, “and we are delighted to permanently protect this portion of land and our watershed that provides so many opportunities for students to gain hands-on appreciation of the natural world.”

This purchase is a significant step in the AOEA’s ongoing work to expand and modernize the Outdoor Lab, ensuring future generations of students continue to reap the benefits foreseen by our founder, Phoebe Hall Knipling. As we approach our 60th anniversary in 2027, the AOEA is engaging architects for master planning of land use and facilities for the Outdoor Lab for the next 60 years.

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 president@outdoorlab.org.