These programs are designed to help families explore the natural world together. Course content will be geared toward families with young children. Each adult may register up to two children (ages 6-12) and will be responsible for them. Bring your favorite young friend and discover some of the wonders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
POLLIWOGS, EGGS, AND SINGING FROGS 
You and your children are in for a treat! Visit various ponds in Cades Cove and help find Spotted Salamander and Wood Frog eggs, tadpoles, and salamanders. Weather and frogs permitting, we’ll hear choruses of singing frogs. If we’re fortunate and have quick hands, we’ll catch and get a close-up look at three stages of amphibian development—eggs, larvae, and adults. We’ll discuss amphibian biology, ecology, and research throughout the afternoon. Instructor: Elizabeth A. Domingue, M.S., wildlife and conservation biology, has designed and conducted studies on salamanders and frogs. As a naturalist, she has gained extensive outdoor experience while hiking, backpacking, photographing, and observing wildlife and their habitats throughout the United States.
COURSE #282919
Sat., March 29, 1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet in parking area at Cades Cove Loop Road.)
FEE: $35 adults and teens
$25 child (ages 6-12)
WILDFLOWERS AND TREES 
Explore the dozens of wildflowers and flowering trees that bring the Smokies to new life each spring. As Shakespeare suggested “…that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet…,” so we will use our sight, smell, touch, and taste, as well as folklore, plant uses, and pollinators to give each flower and tree new meaning, and not just a name. We’ll also learn the non-technical basics of wildflower and tree identification as we discover the diversity within several rich forest types along short trails at different elevations. And for children of all ages, whatever critter is found along the way will be examined and discussed. Instructor: Carey Jones is a former Park Ranger naturalist who for 14 years led education programs in the Smokies. Always the seeker and discoverer, his experience and M.A. help glean truths from nature to share with fellow learners. He leads walks for the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and is the narrator of the new Bird Songs of the Smokies CD set.
COURSE #283909
Sat., April 12, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet on porch at Park Headquarters bldg.)
FEE: $29 adults and teens
$19 child (ages 6-12)
WATERFALLS: SHARE THE SMOKIES’ WONDERS WITH CHILDREN
Share a waterfall with your child. David Morris and Charles Maynard, co-authors of Time Well Spent - Family Hiking in the Smokies and Waterfalls of the Smokies, will lead adults and children to some of the Smokies’ prized watery gems in the Tremont area covering three to four miles roundtrip. Bring a lunch along to experience the miracle of the mountains and to hear stories of those who once lived in them. Instructors: Charles W. Maynard and David E. Morris are experienced hikers, stargazers, and storytellers.
COURSE #283889
Sat., April 26, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont parking lot.)
FEE: $29 adults and teens
$19 child (ages 6-12)
TOTALLY BUGGY
Try your luck at catching insects as we go exploring! We’ll look under rocks and in logs, litter, trees, grasses, and streams in our journey of discovery of the wonderful world of insects and explore their diversity in the Smokies. We’ll find out about the differences between insects and their relatives, like spiders and scorpions. We’ll learn about harmful and beneficial insects and what their role is in our world. Hey, it’s a bug’s life – enjoy it while learning about it! Instructor: Jerome Grant, Ph.D., professor, UT Entomology and Plant Pathology, is involved in educational outreach programs where he brings “the world of insects” into the classroom.
COURSE #283868
Sat., May 10, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet in training room at Sugarlands Visitor Center.)
FEE: $29 adults and teens
$19 child (ages 6-12)
BIRDING FOR BEGINNERS
Spring is bursting with birds and after this you may never take a walk again without enjoying the wonder of birds – even in your own backyard! We’ll cover the basics of binoculars, field guides, checklists, and CDs, and then learn the simple steps to identifying birds, including using our ears. We’ll be outside 90 percent of the day, starting our short walks at low elevation, then carpooling to mid- and high-elevation habitats to discover other species – from Wood Thrush to Veery, from Yellow-throated Warbler to Black-throated Blue. Resident birds are common, but so are the many colorful visitors from the tropics settling in to raise families in the Smokies. Along the way we’ll discuss the miracle of flight and other bird traits, have a hands-on look at a collection of bird nests, and offer ways to attract birds to your yard. Instructor: Carey Jones is a former Park Ranger naturalist who for 14 years led education programs in the Smokies. Always the seeker and discoverer, his experience and M.A. help glean truths from nature to share with fellow learners. He leads walks for the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and is the narrator of the new Bird Songs of the Smokies CD set.
COURSE #283884
Sat., May 10, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet in training room at Sugarlands Visitor Center.)
FEE: $49 adults and teens
$39 child (ages 6-12)
EXPLORING STREAM LIFE IN THE SMOKIES
Come and investigate the ecology of the cool, clear streams of the Smokies. See if you can be the first to find a water penny on the underside of a rock. Try your skill at catching dragonflies on the wing! We’ll catch and examine some of the organisms that live in and around the flowing waters and look at special adaptations of aquatic creatures. We’ll learn about food chains and discuss the impact of human activities on stream ecology. Instructor: Larry Wilson, Ph.D., professor, UT Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries. He teaches courses in fishery management, population dynamics, and aquaculture. In addition to reservoir and lake research, he has conducted research in streams in the Smokies and other East Tennessee areas, primarily with assessing fish and invertebrate communities.
COURSE #283914
Sat., May 17, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet at amphitheater near store at Cades Cove campground.)
FEE: $35 adults and teens
$25 child (ages 6-12)
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE SMOKIES
If your kids have never held and admired a red-cheeked salamander up close, a special opportunity awaits them! We’ll have fun wading in streams and gently turning rocks and logs in search of woodland and aquatic salamanders. Assuming luck, enthusiasm, and quick hands, some frogs, turtles, lizards, and snakes also will be discovered and examined. The program will begin with slides and a short introduction, but mostly we’ll be exploring in the woods. Instructors: John Byrd, biology teacher, Clinton High School. He has led salamander programs as a part of the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and is co-author of The Snakes of Tennessee. Leah Lavoie, M.S. biology, works for the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization assisting high school students with field-based ecological research.
COURSE #284870
Sat., July 5, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet in training room at Sugarlands Visitor Center.)
FEE: $29 adults and teens
$19 child (ages 6-12)
SENSATIONAL SALAMANDERS
Salamanders will captivate the interest of your children. Join me for a fun day as we search high and low to get close-up looks at many different kinds of salamanders. We will learn about where they live, what they eat, who eats them, and lots more. After our day together, you will know why the Smokies is called the Salamander Capital of the World! We will drive and make several stops along Newfound Gap Road – with some walking on trails. Instructor: Liz Domingue, M.S., wildlife and conservation biology, is a naturalist, educator, photographer, and writer. She has gained her outdoor experience while hiking, paddling, and backpacking. Through photography, observation, and research, Liz has studied wildlife, plants, and the natural world throughout the United States and abroad.
COURSE #284882-1
Sat., July 12, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet on porch at the Park Headquarters bldg.)
FEE: $35 adults and teens
$25 child (ages 6-12)
ANIMAL TRACKS AND TRACES
Come and discover the goings and comings of our forest friends from the traces that they have left behind. We’ll go on a treasure hunt and find clues in the forest to tell what animals have been there, what they were doing, and when they may come back. We’ll look for tracks, bits of food, fur, even trails laid out to favorite spots. Learn from the animals a new language—the language of the natural landscape! Instructor: Wanda DeWaard, M.S., recreation and environmental education, is an outdoor educator who has shared Earth Kinship and Environmental Awareness programs with community groups, schools, colleges, camps, environmental centers, and teacher conferences since 1974. Anything and everything in the natural world brings out her enthusiasm and contagious sense of fun.
COURSE #291890
Sun., Oct. 26, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(Meet at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont parking lot.)
FEE: $29 adults and teens
$19 child (ages 6-12)
The apple denotes Knox County Teacher Center approval for in-service credit.
Question? E-mail us at Smoky@utk.edu