Environmental Institute for Stewardship & Leadership
The Environmental Institute
Combining field investigations and adventure education, Environmental Institute programs take students outside to connect with real-world scientific studies in a cooperative learning environment. EUREKA!’s Environmental Institute offers a variety of program-styles ranging from local outdoor day camps, to multi-night adventure expeditions. We engage students in hands-on science through activities such as mountain biking, rock climbing, camping, canyoneering, hiking, and rafting. We believe in a future where all members of our community have the skills, knowledge, and passions to engage with environmental science in a positive way.
Environmental Institute Summer 2023 Courses are NOW OPEN!
Join us for a summer full of field science, adventure, and outdoor investigation! Register for day programs - or multi-night Expeditions. Browse our course offerings below and find the course that is best suited for you! Then login to Dashboard to register.
Scholarships are available!
Information on our youth scholarship program can be found here.
Gear Up! Mountain Biking Club for Grand River Academy
Spring 2023, 3rd-5th graders
This club is for 3rd-5th grade students who attend Grand River Academy.
Join EUREKA! instructors and a group of like-minded peers for mountain biking and outdoor fun! For this 6 week session, we will learn new mountain biking skills while biking some of the amazing trails in our 'back yard'.
This club meets on Mondays from 1:00 - 2:45pm, April 3rd thru May 8th.
Log in to your Dashboard account to register and for more information.
Summer 2023 Environmental Institute Programs
- May 24-26: Wild Adventures: Environmental Stewardship
- June 5-8: Wild Adventures: Ancient Remains
- June 12-15: Gear Up! Art Engineering (Mountain Biking)
- June 19-22: Wild Adventures: Tiny Creatures
- June 26-29: Wild Adventures: Science of Waves!
- July 10-13: Wild Adventures: Ecoventures!
- July 17-20: Wild Adventures: Subalpine Ecology
- July 24-27: Wild Adventures: Art Engineering
- July 31-Aug. 3: Wild Adventures: Amazing Animal Adaptations
Registration is currently open! Find more details in the descriptions in your dashboard account.
Click here to log in and register!
- May 24-26: Wild Adventures: Environmental Stewardship
- May 30-June 2: Gear Up! Art Engineering (Mountain Biking)
- May 30-June 2: Girls Inspire: Outdoor Leadership
- June 5-8: Gear Up! Exercise Science (Mountain Biking)
- June 12-15: Wild Adventures: Tiny Creatures
- June 13-15: Streams & S'mores Camping Exploration (Expedition, 3day/2night)
- June 19-21: Rafting and Hydrology on the Gunnison River (Hybrid Expedition, 3day/1night)
- June 26-29: Rock On! Climbing in Unaweep
- July 10-13: Wild Adventures: Ecoventures!
- July 17-20: Wild Adventures: Subalpine Ecology
- July 18-20: Wildlife Biology at an Alpine Hut (Expedition, 3day/2night)
- July 24-27: Wild Adventures: Art Engineering
- July 31-Aug. 3: Wild Adventures: Amazing Animal Adaptations
Registration is currently open! Find more details in the descriptions in your dashboard account.
Click here to log in and register!
- May 30-June 1: Canyoneering in Utah (Expedition, 3day/2night)
- June 5-8: Gear Up! Exercise Science (Mountain Biking)
- June 19-22: Rock On! Climbing in Unaweep
- June 27-29: Gear Up! Rocky Mountain Expedition (Mountain Biking, Expedition, 3day/2night)
- July 11-13: Rafting and Hydrology on the Colorado River (Expedition, 3day/2night)
- July 25-28: Alpine Leadership & Mountaineering (Expedition, 4day/3night)
Registration is currently open! Find more details in the descriptions in your dashboard account.
Click here to log in and register!
Environmental Institute Course Types
Wild Adventures are EUREKA!'s local outdoor camps where the trails are our classroom. On Wild Adventure Courses, students engage in science topics such as: desert ecology, archeology, snow science, wildlife biology, art engineering, paleontology and more! We travel around the Grand Valley and hike local trails while learning about the environment.
Wild Adventures are geared towards our younger explorers, ages 6-11.
In general, our hikes are one to three miles (round trip) at a gentle pace.
Gear Up! is EUREKA!'s mountain biking program that blends the science of biking with leadership skills and character development. We offer Gear Up! programs for students ages 6-15 at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.
Gear Up! programs range from local day trips, to afterschool clubs, to multi-night expeditions. EUREKA! has mountain bikes that you can borrow during a course if you do not have a bike of your own.
Ability Level: Beginner Participants should be able to balance on their bike, ride on flat and low angle terrain, and understand how to brake.
Ability Level: Intermediate Participants should be able to confidently ride on dirt trails, be able to navigate moderate uphill and downhill terrain, steer to avoid obstacles, and have consistent control over their bike.
Ability Level: Advanced Participants should be able to confidently ride up to 2 miles on single track trails, be able to choose a rideable line through small to moderate obstacles, and have consistent control over the bike on uphill climbs and downhill descents.
Rock On! is EUREKA!'s climbing program that blends geology & ecology with the adventure of rock climbing. On these courses, we explore the Grand Valley vertically through bouldering, roped climbing, and canyoneering. Students learn hands-on geology and experience the physical properties of sandstone and granite.
We offer Rock On! programs for students ages 6-15. EUREKA! provides all the necessary climbing gear.
Expeditions are multi-night adventure trips led by our most experienced course instructors. Join us for a week of citizen science, field studies, outdoor leadership, and adventure! Locations of our Expedition Courses range from the canyons in Utah, to the high peaks of the San Juan Mountains, to the shores of the Gunnison River. Expeditions are a time for students to reconnect with their environment, recharge, practice leadership skills, and learn the value of stewardship.
Our Expedition Courses serve students ages 9-15 years old and have a wide variety of educational focuses and adventure activities.
Our Girls Inspire camps are an initiative to support and encourage female participation in the sciences, as women have historically been underrepresented, underpaid, and under published in STEM fields. Let’s get outside! Learn the difference between native and non-native plants, how to build a survival shelter, how to do wilderness first aid, and more as we explore different ecosystems each day. Grow your knowledge of the outdoors and your leadership skills with us!
Check out some of our previous overnight programs!
Immunizations
EUREKA! requires immunization records for all student campers. If your child attends school in Colorado, you do not need to upload records. If your student does not attend school in Colorado, or is homeschooled, you must upload immunization records in order to register.
EUREKA! will accept medical exemptions for immunizations (MMR, Tetanus, Polio, Hep A/B) upon submission of the medical exemption form reviewed and signed by a physician (MD or DO). All non-medical exemptions will not be accepted.
Required Student Forms
EUREKA! also requires EI participants of overnight trips to submit additional medical and safety forms:
Forms must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the first day of an overnight camp and can be emailed to camps@eurekasciencemuseum.org or brought to the museum. We will send a general packing list and basic course policies to all registered students so they will be fully prepared for their course.