Educational Experience Grants

The Falls of the Ohio State Park was created with student and group experiences in mind. Knowledgeable park staff and volunteers have been providing grade-appropriate educational opportunities since 1994. Programs include earth science and social studies, with an emphasis on interpreting life on the Devonian fossil beds.

Today, Educational Experiences at the Falls of the Ohio offer student groups and others an opportunity to connect to the natural environment, the ancient past, stories of our cultural history.

All scheduled school programs and educational experiences are led by an interpretive naturalist who are assisted by trained and capable Naturalist at Heart Volunteers. The cost is $7 per student (minimum of 10 students). A gallery tour and an educational lab is included with most experiences.

Our maximum capacity for a group visit is 90 people. For groups of 63 to 90 with a three-part rotation in a 2.5-hour block, one slot is either on-your-own or a third guided activity for $2 more per student. Please contact us if you have more students and we will discuss options for your visit.

Interested in learning more about grant opportunities for your group? See below.

Scheduling Your Group

It is required that all groups, tours, schools visiting the Falls of the Ohio State Park must make a reservation to ensure your experience will be of the highest quality without interference by another group.

For reservations or more information contact Alan Goldstein, Interpretive Naturalist for the Falls of the Ohio State Park, agoldstein@dnr.in.gov or via telephone at 812-280-9970 Ext. 0.

Grant Opportunities

Discover the Outdoors Field Trip Grants

Small grants are available to Indiana educators to bring a class to an Indiana State Park through the Discover the Outdoors Field Trip Grants through Indiana State Parks.

Falls of the Ohio Educational Experience Grants

The Falls of the Ohio Foundation – with support from the Sam Shine Foundation, our members, and Patty Cress who established the Foundation’s Educational Experiences Endowment Fund – is able to offer grants to encourage the exploration and learning about the Falls of the Ohio’s unique resources. Grants are only available for a limited number of groups/schools and cover all program costs, including transportation (if needed). These grants help the Foundation remove financial barriers and make the Falls’ stories accessible to everyone.

In order to qualify for a grant you must submit an application during the grant window and must agree to the terms of the grant. If you have questions you can direct those to Candace Hilderbrand at 812-283-4999 or by email.

Spring Semester Grant Cycle: Opens on November 1 and closes December 31. Grant notifications will be received by mid-January.

Fall Semester Grant Cycle: Opens on May 1 and closes June 30. Grant notifications will be received by mid-July.

The applications can be found below during the grant cycle windows.

Field Trip & Group Visit Grant Application – Spring Semester Cycle

Grant Guidelines

Please review all Grant Guidelines and agree to each in order for your application to be considered.

1) The grant is intended for K-12 schools where Falls of the Ohio programming (science and/or local history) would fit into the curriculum. Other organizations or groups may also be considered if funding is available.(Required)

2) Grants are issued to schools and organizations, not individual teachers.(Required)

3) Grants can be used for outdoor labs (May 1 – mid-November) or indoor labs or in-person school visits (Mid-November – April 30). Grants may cover virtual fossil labs if in-person site visits aren’t allowed, but those are lower priority than site-based visits.(Required)

4) Applications for spring semester awards will be open November 1-December 31, and May 1-June 30 for fall semester awards. All grants must be submitted within those application windows to be considered. Applications are currently available for only the SPRING SEMESTER.(Required)

5) All trips must be scheduled with the State Park within one month of receiving the grant award to ensure that your group is accommodated on our calendar. If your school fails to reserve a date after 30 days of receiving the grant, the reserved funds for your organization will be released to another school.(Required)

6) We encourage Title 1 schools and schools unable to visit due to financial limitations placed by the school district to apply.(Required)

7) The group capacity for programs is 90 students. If you have more than 90 you may split the group and come on two days, or schedule morning and afternoon shifts, where one of the shifts is off the property. The grant will not cover costs beyond the Falls visit.(Required)

8) Groups of 90 or fewer students are preferred to maximize the number of schools eligible to receive funding.(Required)

9) If transportation costs are an obstacle, the applying organization must make that clear on the application and include estimated costs. If approved, the school is responsible for scheduling and paying for the buses and the Foundation will reimburse those costs.(Required)

10) The grant covers admission for chaperones at a ratio of 1 adult to 5 students. Anything outside of that ratio will need to be covered by the chaperones or school.(Required)

11) In the event of inclement weather, it may be possible to reschedule the field trip, but availability cannot be guaranteed by the Falls of the Ohio State Park.(Required)

12) If an organization cancels less than 24 hours before the scheduled field trip, the grant may be withdrawn and offered to another school. The school contact must send a reply email acknowledging that they received notice that the grant is no longer available.(Required)

13) If your application is approved, you will be responsible for scheduling the visit by contacting Interpretive Services at the Falls of the Ohio State Park at 812-280-9970 or agoldstein@dnr.in.gov.(Required)

I have read all Grant Guidelines and agree.(Required)

Your Information

Educator/Leader Name(Required)

First Last

School or Organization Name(Required)

Does your organization qualify as a Title 1 School?(Required)

Organization Address(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Other Information

Has your organization received a grant from the Falls of the Ohio Foundation previously?(Required)

Have you participated in one of the Foundation’s teacher professional development opportunities, The Waldron Shale Project or The Environmental Stewardship Project?(Required)

Grant Request Information

Applications are currently only being accepted for SPRING SEMESTER visits.

Please select the option that best fits our need:(Required)

Grade or Age of Students(Required)

Number of Students(Required)

Please note that if your group/class is larger than 90 we may need to split them over different times/days.

Number of Chaperones(Required)

Preferred Spring Semester Visit Date(Required)

Alternate Spring Semester Visit Date(Required)

Transportation Needs

Transportation costs may be provided if funding is available and truly an obstacle. However, providing transportation costs does reduce the opportunity for more people to experience and learn about the Falls. If transportation is approved as part of the grant, the Falls of the Ohio Foundation will only reimburse the school/organization for transportation costs, not pay the transportation company directly.

Are transporation costs a real barrier to your group?(Required)

Estimated Transportation Cost

Will your school still be able to attend and take advantage of the grant if transportation costs are not covered by the grant?

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Educational Experiences and Grants