Educators Guide
Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park
Educator's Guide
Park
Information
Walter Jacobs Memorial Nature Park is dedicated to helping citizens
of Northwest Louisiana connect with nature by conserving a pine-oak-hickory
forest for interpretation and recreation.
The park has an interpretive building with 3 rooms of live animals
and exhibits about the natural world, a picnic pavilion, an herb
garden, an outdoor area with captive raptors and deer, and 5 miles
of hiking trails with wayside exhibits.
To protect our resource, we ask all visitors to
- Stay on designated walkways
- Allow the plants and animals in the park to remain in the park
- Dispose of litter in receptacles
- Respect the space of captive animals
- Observe taxidermy mounts without touching them
The park is free and open to the public
Wednesday – Saturday 8-5, and Sunday 1-5.
Field Trips
Programs are usually two hours long, and include a classroom activity,
a trail walk, and time to explore the exhibits and animals in our
interpretive building.
We develop new programs every school year under a specific theme,
and all of our programs are correlated to the Louisiana Grade Level
Expectations.
List of programs, program descriptions, GLEs , and information
about our current programming theme.
To Schedule
We begin scheduling field trips on the first day of school in Caddo
Parish. Dates fill up quickly, so we recommend you plan your
trip as far in advance as possible. When calling to schedule,
please have this information:
- The date you plan to come
- An alternate date
- The session you want (9:30, 11:30 or both)
- School/group name
- Number of participants in group
- Age/grade of group
- Program request
- Your contact information
- Name of trip leader(s)
- Picnic reservation (if applicable)
Please note: For the optimal field trip experience, we recommend
no more than 60 students per session. We will do our best to accommodate
larger groups when necessary.
Once Scheduled
Once scheduled, our park naturalists prepare for your visit. We
match the number of naturalists to the number in your group,
and in the event of inclement weather, we have alternate indoor
activities available. If you need to reschedule or cancel your
date, please contact us as soon as possible so that we may invite
another group to take your
place.
To be prepared, please be sure your group has
- name tags
- long pants, long sleeves
- closed shoes
- insect repellant
- sun screen
- lunch (if applicable)
Please be on time. Chances are another class is scheduled before/after
yours and we cannot adjust the timeframe of the field trip to accommodate
tardiness or early arrival.
May We Suggest…
Richard Fleming Park is 4.9 miles from Walter B. Jacobs Park, and
has ample paved parking, two playgrounds, an open field, picnic
tables, restrooms, and a pavilion. Many groups enjoy playing
and eating lunch at Richard Fleming Park before/after their scheduled
program at our park.
Discovery Boxes
WBJ Park is home to twelve Discovery Boxes which are designed to
give the educator a variety of specimens, reference materials,
and activities to introduce students to nature-related topics,
including
The Bone Yard
Butterflies & Hummingbirds
Insects
Wetlands
The Wonder of Birds
Wildflowers
Dinosaurs
Earth Science Treasure Chest
The Tree Trunk
Reptiles and Amphibians
Mammal Tracks & Trails
Fantastic Fossils
These Discovery Boxes are available for check-out on a first-come-first-served
basis for up to two weeks at a time.
Professional Development Workshops
WBJ Park offers 4 teacher training workshops each school year.
These events provide educators with tools and experience to facilitate
hands-on science and nature in the classroom. Professional development
workshops are scheduled through the Caddo Parish School Board Professional
Development Department.
