We hope you will demonstrate your love for outdoor, hands-on STEM education at the Outdoor Lab.
Your gift today supports the conservation and stewardship of the 226-acre Outdoor Lab property and facilities.
Every year over 9,000 Arlington Public School students explore the natural environment and engage in science learning at the Outdoor Lab.
Thank you for your generosity.
The Outdoor Lab staff and board celebrate Native American Heritage Month. We reflect on the great contributions of Native peoples to our Commonwealth and Country and strive to learn and tell their stories of achievement. The land of the Outdoor Lab was originally settled by Manahoac peoples, a Siouxan speaking tribal alliance, which descended from Mississippian mound building cultures. They originally inhabited the Ohio River valley region, with one group migrating east, sometimes called the Eastern Sioux, and another migrating West.
The Manahoac had little interaction with the English colonists in Jamestown and were shielded by the Powhatan confederacy on the coast and Tidewaters. In addition to diseases introduced by Spanish and English explorers, the Manahoac faced pressure from the Haudenosaunee confederacy (Six Nations of Iroquois) and Susquehannock tribes (Iroquoian speaking, also known as Conestoga) who raided their Piedmont homes. The Manahoac migrated South toward the related Monacan tribes and eventually merged with them and the Siouxan speaking Tutelo, Saponi, and Occaneechi.
What we have learned about the Manahoac culture comes from the few interactions documented by Europeans, often through translators from rival tribes, and their archaeological record. They were semi-nomadic and followed the animals they hunted including Deer, Bear, and Eastern Buffalo. They generally settled near streams and rivers and built palisaded villages with small round or oval dwellings covered with reeds and bark. They grew the Three Sisters of corn, squash and beans and managed their game lands by prescribed burning of forests.
In 1608, colonist John Smith explored up the Rappahannock river to its headwaters and documented various tribes and settlements of the Manahoac. Smith captured a wounded Manahoac warrior named Amorolec who told Smith about the tribes of the Manahoac, their enemies and related tribes who lived from the Fall Line up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia’s rivers. The Whonkentia were settled in current Fauquier County and we can assume from artifacts found at the Outdoor Lab that other Manahoac tribes were living along Broad Run and its tributaries here at the present Outdoor Lab.
In 1754, Thomas Jefferson observed native peoples conducting ceremonies at a burial mound near his Monticello home in Albemarle County, Virginia. He later dug into the mound and recorded his findings in an organized fashion as part of his Notes on the State of Virginia (1787). Jefferson is recognized as an early archaeologist for this work.
The Monacan nation exists today and in 2018 became a federally recognized tribe with tribal land at Bear Mountain in Amherst County, Virginia. The Monacan nation recognizes the Manahoac as part of their ancestors. A living history presentation of a Monacan Village can be seen at Natural Bridge State Park.
The Outdoor Lab encourages you to learn more about the Manahoac and other native peoples and their rich history, culture and accomplishments in our history.
The Outdoor Lab is comprised of 226 acres including a mountain gap, streams, springs, pond, meadows and woodlands.
Every school day, students hike our trails and meadows, catch creatures in the streams and pond and immerse themselves in their natural world.
The Outdoor Lab staff and the supporting non-profit, the AOEA, work tirelessly to protect and improve the ODL’s Outdoor Classroom and diversify the flora and fauna of the Outdoor Lab’s eco-system.
We are committed to removing non-native and invasive plants and replacing them with natives.
Native plants are better suited to their environment and can survive and thrive with the water and nutrients found naturally. They also provide food and habitat for native insects and plants.
The Arlington Outdoor Education Association and the Outdoor Lab Staff celebrate national Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 – Oct 15 annually)
We honor the many Hispanic Americans who have contributed to our schools, community and country. And celebrate our Latinx students who contribute their talents, skills and culture in all schools every day.
Visit the Outdoor Lab’s Booth at the Arlington County Fair starting Friday August 18 at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and surrounding grounds, at 3501 2nd Street S.
After your Goat Yoga and before the Pig Races, cool off inside and visit the Outdoor Lab Booth!
We’ll have new Outdoor Lab Merch, including T-shirts, car magnets and more.
Join us at the Arlington County Fair:
The Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) supports the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Month!
The Outdoor Lab is welcoming to All Students and Families, no matter their sexual identity or orientation.
Please join us in celebrating and advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community in Arlington and our world.
This May, the Outdoor Lab and the AOEA celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
With staff and directors with AAPI heritage in our families, we’d like to honor all Asian American and Pacific Islander families, their contributions to science and education and the building of our nation.
In this time of violence against AAPI individuals and communities, we stand together with all who speak out against hate, bigotry, and exclusion.
Due to predicted rain and thunderstorms on Saturday April 22nd, we are planning to:
-end the Open House at 1pm (when weather is supposed to get worse.)
For those ticket holders of 10a-1p session, you can come as planned.
For those ticket holders of 1p-4p session, you can come to the MORNING SESSION 10a-1p!
We will plan to do as many activities as the weather allows, but there may be a few showers in the morning.
We will move some programs inside if possible and have a tent over the campfire for S’MORES!
Please bring rain gear and sturdy shoes.
The Outdoor Lab is wonderful on a warm, cloudy day. Students go outside for field trips no matter the weather. (Some animals venture out and fish seem to be hungrier;)
Thank you for understanding.
Mike Maleski, President
Celebrate EARTH DAY at the Outdoor Lab Open House scheduled for Saturday April 22nd 10a-1p OR 1p-4p.
The Outdoor Lab welcomes all Arlington Families to the Open House. Grab your “pod” and explore our 226 acres of mountain trails, meadows, streams and pond. While at the Lab, your family can:
To help manage visitors, we need families to pre-register through Eventbrite here.
For the Safety of Visitors:
While at the lab, talk to AOEA board members about the upcoming capital projects or how you could volunteer. We’re looking for additional board members and have lots of great projects on our plate!
You can find Directions here, look for signs and volunteers on where to park.
Bad weather, check back here for cancellations or updates.
We look forward to seeing you!
The Outdoor Lab offers three, week-long camp sessions that provide a number of nature-related activities and experiences to Arlington Public School students. who have completed grades 4 through 8.
A blend of traditional camp activities (hiking, evening campfires, crafts, skits) and nature exploration make this program fun and informative. Staff safely guide campers through various activities that may include aquatic studies, natural history, survival skills, and more. Campers are also provided opportunities to explore the natural world through focused activities of their own choosing and self-directed free-time activities, such as boating and fishing.
Students are transported from Arlington to the Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab in Broad Run, Virginia on Monday morning, and returned to Arlington on Friday afternoon of the same week. Campers sleep outside in platform tents and spend most of their day outside (weather permitting). They are provided three meals and snacks every day.
Parents may apply for their student to attend camp by completing a short Google form found at Outdoor Lab – Arlington Public Schools (apsva.us) (NOW OPEN).
More information about summer camp can be found here: Outdoor Lab – Arlington Public Schools (apsva.us).
Questions about summer camp should be directed to Outdoor Lab Coordinator Rochelle Proctor at [email protected] or 540.347.2258
The Outdoor Lab owes its existence to Phoebe Hall Knipling. Her vision and determination that children should experience science first hand, led to the creation of the Outdoor Lab and other pillars of Arlington science education like the Brown Planetarium, Gulf Branch and Long Branch Nature Centers. Learn more from a recent story from Arlington Library’s Womens Work series.
Phoebe’s daughter Anita has served on the Board of Directors of the Outdoor Lab for years. She’s continued to build on her mother’s vision and helped thousands of Arlington families experience the joys of the Outdoor Lab.
Recently, Anita was interviewed for the Biscuit Mountain Breakdown and shared some of the early history of the Outdoor Lab. Click here to listen to podcast “Walking Down Memory Lane.”
The Biscuit Mountain Breakdown podcast interviews leaders in the field of outdoor education. Such as Dr. Kendra Liddicoat who researches memories as outcomes for programs like The Outdoor Lab. Learn about how memories are an important feature of what happens at nature centers and how we can use that research to improve our program. Click HERE for Podcasts.
