Save the Overnights
The proposed APS budget eliminates the ODL Coordinator Position, threatening the viability of 5th grade overnights and compromising the ODLs mission to deliver hands-on STEM education to APS students.
The ODL Coordinator is NOT redundant, and performs key functions distinct from the ODL Supervisor. The ODL Coordinator and ODL Supervisor are NOT central office staff. They report to the Outdoor Lab every day, for long days just like teachers and principals at all other APS schools.
The decision to reduce staffing is particularly alarming in light of the SIX leadership changes the ODL has faced since 2018. To function efficiently, the ODL needs strong, supported leadership and continuity. For that, the ODL needs funding from APS. We need your help to make this happen. Learn more here.
Join the AOEA Board
The AOEA is an all volunteer, hands-on organization that keeps the Outdoor Lab available for Arlington students and families. We’re like the “PTA for the Outdoor Lab” and we need members of the APS and Arlington communities to step-up and help us keep this beloved experience available for years to come.
APS Parents, Students and community members can apply, learn more HERE.
Outdoor Lab Summer Camp- Registration Open
Parents may apply for their student to attend camp by completing a short Google Form on APS site here.
Applications will be accepted on a first come-first served basis until Monday April 15, or until a session is full.
Applications received after a session is full will be placed on a wait list.
Parent Chaperones Needed- 5th Grade Overnights
As spring arrives, the Outdoor Lab Staff are getting ready for the much-beloved 5th grade Overnight field trips. The success of these overnights is dependent on having enough adult chaperones for the students. You can learn more about how to volunteer with your school.
Arlington Public Schools has also created a video to show parents what the Outdoor lab and Overnights are all about. You can find the Chaperoning at the Outdoor Lab video here.
Donate or Become a Friend
The Outdoor Lab is supported by a non-profit that needs your help. Please become a FRIEND or make a DONATION today! We’d love to talk with PTAs and community groups in Arlington about partnering with the Outdoor Lab.
How can I Support the ODL?
- Become a FRIEND
- Sign up for our Lab Notes
- Volunteer with the ODL
- Donate what you can
- Spread the Joy
What is the ODL?
The Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab is a 225-acre facility that provides science and outdoor education to the students of Arlington County Public Schools. In this natural classroom, urban youth — often for the first time — can run in a meadow, climb a mountain, hike beside a stream, or fish in a pond. Up to six classes per week visit the Outdoor Lab, some overnight, and there are three week-long summer camps.
Each year, the Outdoor Lab provides hands-on outdoor and environmental education to more than 10,000 students, from elementary grades through high school.
The non-profit Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) owns the land and buildings and partners with Arlington Public Schools who provides the teachers, buses and science programming at the Outdoor Lab.
Here’s a video for the Outdoor Lab’s 50th anniversary produced by APS’s AETV Green Scenes.
Learn More about this unique educational resource:
- See what’s New at the Lab
- Learn about our Educational Programs
- Come to an Upcoming Events
