Carlos students explore southern Minnesota

From September 15 to 17, 36 5th and 6th graders from Carlos Elementary School logged 750 miles in a loop around southern Minnesota. During the trip, they combined adventure and learning and discovered the geographic diversity in Minnesota.

Students experienced the geology of the granite quarries in St. Cloud, the bluffs above Winona, and the formation of Mystery Cave in Forestville State Park. They also took part in biological and historical studies at the Eagle Center in Wabasha and the Eagle Bluff Learning Center in Lanesboro.

At Eagle Bluff, the students took on the role of either a pioneer family from the 1800s or a Native American tribe of the era. They experienced tasks such as sawing wood and grinding corn.

At Prairie Woods Environmental Center near Spicer, students navigated a climbing wall or were flung into the air, propelled by fellow classmates on the “flying squirrel.”

Tim Urness and Eric Amundson are the 5th and 6th grade teachers.

Tags: life, school, carlos, minnesota, geography