Eco-Explorations New Adventures in the Coniferous Forest Skip to content

Eco-Explorations: New Adventures in the Coniferous Forest Four-day camp, grades 3-5

Get ready for a hands-on adventure exploring the outdoors of northern Minnesota! Over four days, campers will become forest detectives as they dig into tracks, trails, and tree secrets; investigate water and the living organisms in it through experiments and field observations; uncover the story of the land by examining rocks, minerals, and creating mini land-forms; and become wild animal detectives, tracking and observing the creatures that call the North Woods home. With plenty of time outside, active challenges, and hands-on STEM activities, campers will have fun while building observation skills and discovering how ecosystems work. New activities for this year! Don’t miss out on a field trip to the Forest History Center to investigate Mississippi River invertebrates!

Date
Aug 03 - 06 2026
Expired!
Time
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location
North Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota
1861 Highway 169 East Grand Rapids, MN
Opening Hour Drop off at 9:45am - 10am each of the 2 days
Website https://ncroc.cfans.umn.edu/

Wildfire Alerts

At this time there are no wildfires in the Grand Rapids, and Itasca County, Minnesota area. The wildfire smoke from the Cook, Lake, and northern St Louis County fires has moved into the greater Grand Rapids, and Itasca County, Minnesota area today. Predictions with wind and weather conditions that it will clear up significantly this weekend (July 17-19, 2026). Below are some resources and updated information regarding the air quality and wildfires in Cook, Lake, and northern St Louis County:

MN DNR Wildfire Updates/Alerts:
 https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/index.html

US Forest Department, Superior National Forest Updates/Alerts: 
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/superior/alerts

MPCA Information:
 https://www.pca.state.mn.us/news-and-stories/air-quality-alert-issued-due-to-wildfire-smoke-for-wednesday-july-15-through-friday-july-17-for-east-0

INCI Information : 
https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/mnsuf-july-2026-superior-nf-wildfires/superior-national-forest-and-july-lightning-event-combined-daily-update-07-14-2026