A Mountain Classroom
Expand the walls of your classroom with immersive outdoor education.
AMC’s A Mountain Classroom program for school groups incorporates active exploration in the outdoors with lessons that are designed to meet diverse learning styles. Lodging, meals, and free use of equipment are all included in school trip packages.
A Mountain Classroom is a hiking-based program that increases information retention by rooting ecological and critical-thinking skills concepts in tangible, tactile learning experiences. AMCR utilizes a custom-built curriculum designed with input from the Beetles Project at the University of California at Berkeley. Our educators help students be deliberate, reflective, and effective learners and leaders; strive to enhance students' sense of place, their teamwork, problem-solving, communication abilities; and increase their understanding of environmental issues.
Coursework is centered around five core guiding themes. Our coordinator team works with you to identify which guiding theme will best suit the experience for your students. With this information, we create a guiding question that becomes the focal point of your program's time at A Mountain Classroom. Below are the themes and examples of guiding questions programs have used in the past.
Ecology and Environmental Science “How can we better understand how nature works, and how do observations in nature help inform us about our own home?”
- Field Data Collection
- Forest and Wildlife Ecology
- Mountain Weather and Meteorology
- Water and Watersheds
Team Facilitation in Nature “Looking at nature’s connected parts, what can we learn about building community while valuing our individual differences?”
Leadership in Nature “What can we learn about leadership from nature, and how can we become better leaders for the Earth?”
Sense of Place “How can spending time in nature help us to develop a deeper sense of the world around us?”
Outdoor Skills Development “How can the outdoor skills learned here enhance our environmental stewardship and appreciation of nature?”
Who We Are
AMC’s Mountain Classroom distinguishes itself from other outdoor education programs with its program staff comprised of full-time, experienced field educators and nature guides. Our administrators and educators are enthusiastic professionals committed to environmental education, college graduates with field experience and wilderness first aid certificates, and fun role models for environmental stewardship.
Since 1971 A Mountain Classroom serves thousands of students a year. We pride ourselves on creating exceptional outdoor experiences that develop students’ environmental literacy and give them a lasting relationship with the outdoors.
What Classrooms Are Saying
“I’m proud of myself for trying new things and meeting new people.” —TechBoston student
“I have a master’s degree in education and a background in outdoor education, and our Mountain Classroom educator was one of the best experiential outdoor educators I’ve had the honor of meeting. All of the education staff was intelligent and amazingly patient.” —Parent chaperone, Nottingham School
“Thank you and your AMC staff for putting together another fantastic trip for our seventh-grade students at Boston Collegiate. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such positive words from so many students before! This is truly a testament to the quality of your program. Thank you for everything you did on your part. We look forward to working with you guys again!” —Megan Hyland, Boston Collegiate School
Packages
A Mountain Classroom trip starts at $45 per student for a day trip and $200 per student for overnight trips. Overnight trips include lodging, dinner, breakfast, lunch, and program instruction with AMC Educators. One adult per ten students may attend free of charge. Contact [email protected] for a customized quote.
Interested in bringing your classroom outdoors? Contact us at [email protected] to collaborate on a program tailored to your class’s needs and interests.