Urban Adventure Squad
Urban Adventure Squad/Urban Learning and Teaching Center is a DC-based 501c3 non-profit education org
28/10/2024
Your 1st-5th grader can join us for our Culinary History Campfire program when school is closed on Mon., Nov. 11 for Veterans Day.
will:
🌋 explore the history of the mortar and pestle,
🌱 check out the benefits of different herbs and spices, and
🫖 create their own tea blends.
How will we make tea in nature? Over a campfire, of course! 🔥
Register today: www.urbanadventuresquad.org/fulldayprograms
24/10/2024
This is what looks like. These 4th graders are part of the watershed education program. With UAS, students practice map skills and data collection during a schoolyard field investigation. This helps them understand the movement of water in a watershed and the environmental impact of impervious surfaces in their neighborhood.
Funded by the Department of Energy & Environment, is an environmental literacy program for 4th graders in Title I DC Public Schools. UAS, Casey Trees, Anacostia Watershed Society, Living Classrooms Foundation, and Nature Forward are delivering this Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience to over 1,000 students at 28 schools across DC!
23/10/2024
A few spots remain for 1st-5th graders in our November programs. Register today!
Mon., Nov. 4 (PD Day)
🧭"Neighborhood Geocaching Adventure" at Christ Lutheran Church (5101 16th St. NW)
🌳"Tree Science and Comic Making" at Washington Youth Garden (U.S. National Arboretum)
Tues., Nov. 5 (Election Day)
🐾"Adventure Maps and Animal Tracking" at Temple Micah (2829 Wisconsin Ave NW)
🦉"Keystone Species Investigation" at Washington Youth Garden (U.S. National Arboretum)
Mon., Nov. 11 (Veterans Day)
🔥Culinary History Campfire at Christ Lutheran Church (5101 16th St. NW)
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/fulldayprograms
At Urban Adventure Squad, we believe every child should have access to the joy of outdoor learning. It is our mission to make outdoor learning more equitable in Washington, D.C. There are two payment choices when you register: the regular program rate and the scholarship rate. If you need additional scholarship support, please email us, subject line, "Full scholarship request."
18/10/2024
Whose footprints are those--raccoon, groundhog, or river otter? Stop by our table tomorrow at Department of Energy & Environment Kingman Island Friends & Family Day to explore the animal tracks of neighborhood critters that live along the Anacostia River.
Participants of all ages can use pre-carved stamps made by UAS educator Randi Jones to create their own take-home tracker. You can also make a postcard to share the outdoor learning fun with friends and neighbors. 🐾
Get your free tix and learn about the other fun activities here:
https://www.kingmanisland.com/friends-family-day
17/10/2024
Want the deets on what's happening at the Squad? Sign up for our e-newsletter, the UAS Update, which goes out about twice per month: www.urbanadventuresquad.org/join-our-email-list
16/10/2024
On Monday, learned about the many ways Nacotchtank Native Americans relied on trees in and around Rock Creek Park. Trees can be used to build shelters, boats, and tools. The softer bark and fibers can swaddle an infant or be woven into cord. Trees provide medicine and food, as well as shade. Many Native American cultures emphasize trees as members of the community to respect and protect, an approach to environmental stewardship that's embedded in the everyday.
We spent Indigenous Peoples' Day learning and playing under the trees of Rock Creek Park. identified over 12 species!
16/10/2024
Spotted in the wild! No, actually—hot off the presses from DC Shirt and Print—our limited edition Boulder Bridge totes, which will be available as a thank-you gift for a $25 donation at tomorrow night’s Pizza with a Purpose fundraiser at Andy’s Pizza Foggy Bottom. Stop by anytime, 5-8pm to celebrate our 10th and help us raise critical funds!
15/10/2024
If you’ve never been to the beautiful Andy’s Pizza Foggy Bottom and you’re thinking about joining us on Thursday, here’s a sneak peek! Andy’s is inside Western Market, and our party area will be in the back. This party is for all ages, and for friends who want to stay for 15 minutes or all 3 hours. Come join us!
15/10/2024
We’ve been stomping the city as a Squad for 10 years and would love to see with some Squad alums and current Squad members Thursday evening, anytime 5-8 PM, for our “Pizza with a Purpose” fundraiser at Andy’s Pizza Foggy Bottom (inside Western Market), where we’ll be raising $$ for scholarships and programming for the next generation! Andy’s is donating 25 percent of sales from our designated event area, and we’ll have limited edition merch and GREAT raffle prizes. Join us!
14/10/2024
Aren’t they adorable?! These limited edition stickers will be available as gifts to say thank you for a small donation at Thursday night’s fundraiser at Andy’s Pizza in Foggy Bottom. Stay tuned for a pic of the limited edition totes coming later this week….
12/10/2024
October 12 is World Migratory Bird Day! This year‘s theme focuses on insects, which are vital to the survival of migratory birds. But insect populations are decreasing due to the use of insecticides and to habitat loss. You can celebrate today by going out to find the birds and insects in your neighborhood, turning off lights at night to reduce distractions for migrating birds, and adding a colorful pattern or window cling to windows and prevent reflections of the sky, trees, and other elements of nature that cause bird strikes.
Learn more: https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2716
11/10/2024
Scenes from the Squad Zinefest. learned about self published zines and made their own, inspired by the plants and animals of DC... and their imaginations!
09/10/2024
Come celebrate our 10th anniversary at Andy's Pizza & help raise money to bring outdoor learning to more DC students! 🎉🎉🎉
Join us at Andy's Pizza (Western Market location in Foggy Bottom) next Thursday, 5-8pm. This is an all ages event & includes takeout ordered in our section of the restaurant. Stop and say hi, pick up dinner for the fam, or have a drink & stay a while!
25% of all sales 🍕 & 100% of specialty wine sales🍷 benefit the Squad. And raffle prizes & new Squad merch are comin in hot. 🔥
Help spread the word!
09/10/2024
08/10/2024
Registration closes tonight at midnight for our Indigenous Peoples' Day program. Last call for your 1st-5th grade student to join the fun!
Mon., Oct. 14
Storytelling through Art: Collage, Sculpture, and Painting
8:45am-4:00pm
Location: Christ Lutheran Church, 5101 16th St. NW
We’ll discuss the history of the Nacotchtank people of Washington, DC, hike through Rock Creek Park, and create a work of art that tells a story inspired by nature. Squad members will learn how Native Americans view trees as living members of their community in a way that non-indigenous communities don’t always–and how this affects our practices around environmental stewardship.
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/fulldayprograms
04/10/2024
Stampin' and stompin'! The Squad's Randi Jones has created some BEAUTIFUL animal tracks to help you learn about the local wildlife of the Anacostia watershed. Come join us and our partners for a joyful day of learning and fun for all ages. 🐾🐾
01/10/2024
School's out, Squad's in!
DCPS is closed next week & there are a few spots left in our programs for 1st-5th grade students.
Thurs., Oct. 10 at Temple Micah 🌱✏️
"Squad Zinefest: How to Make a Nature Zine"
Fri., Oct. 11 at Christ Lutheran Church 📐🌊
"Stream Science: Calculating the Width, Depth, and Velocity of Rock Creek"
Mon., Oct. 14 at Christ Lutheran Church 🎨🌲
"Storytelling through Art: Collage, Sculpture, and Painting"
Read about our no-questions-asked scholarships & register today:
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/fulldayprograms
27/09/2024
At the Squad, December looks like this. So we're THRILLED that December will look like this for 100s of DC kids, who'll take full-day field trips with us DURING the school day, as part of their experience, funded by the Department of Energy & Environment. Who wants to wait til spring for field trips?!? Let's GO! DC Public Schools DC Public Charter School Board Casey Trees Anacostia Watershed Society Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region The Council of the District of Columbia DC State Board Of Education
Our friends at Anacostia Watershed Society are hiring!
Help spread the word and check out the positions and descriptions here:
www.anacostiaws.org/about-us/employment-and-internships
19/09/2024
We are grateful to Matthew Dull for this powerful, passionate appeal for that was part of his testimony to The Council of the District of Columbia in favor of making the red-backed salamander DC’s official amphibian. We appreciate the shout-out for our work and are excited to see how it’s inspiring action in public schools across the city! 
DC Public Schools
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
Powell Elementary School
Matthew Dull Testimony/Outdoor Learning/Red-backed salamander Sept 18 2024 An excerpt of testimony by DCPS parent Matthew Dull on . The full testimony is in support of the DC Council bill to designate the re...
18/09/2024
Did you know the The Council of the District of Columbia is holding a hearing today about designating the Eastern Red-backed Salamander the Official Amphibian of D.C.?
Check out the testimony of UAS Founder and Executive Director Elana Mintz, who voices her support for this incredible environmental education and stewardship effort started by DCPS students at Powell Elementary School!
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/redbackedsalamander
18/09/2024
Fall program registration is OPEN!
Check out the dates, locations, and themes here:
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/fulldayprograms
UAS believes every child should have access to . We have a no-questions-asked policy for scholarships. Select the scholarship rate of $22 during registration or email us: subj line "full scholarship request," [email protected].
Your child can join the adventure and explore our local parks and waterways this fall!
🍂🍁🦉🐿🦆🐾🏃♂️🏃🏾♀️
17/09/2024
Registration for Oct./Nov. programs opens tonight at 8:00! Your child can join the outdoor learning fun on days when DCPS is closed.
Read about our dates, locations, and no-questions-asked scholarships on our Full-Day Programs page.
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/fulldayprograms
16/09/2024
As the Squad goes back to school, we're proud to be recognized as a 2024 "trusted and critical small nonprofit in the Greater Washington region" by Spur Local (formerly Catalogue for Philanthropy). If you know our work, please share it with others! You can read more about us here:
www.urbanadventuresquad.org/the-squad-in-the-news
11/09/2024
On this day, we remember six members of the DCPS family we lost 23 years ago: students Asia Cottom, Bernard Brown, and Rodney Dickens, and teachers Hilda Taylor, James Debeuneure, and Sarah Clark.
They had been chosen to participate in a trip to study ecology in California beside National Geographic Society researchers. On September 11, 2001, less than 35 minutes into the trip, their flight was hijacked. At 9:37AM, the plane crashed into the Pentagon. All passengers on board were killed, and 125 Pentagon employees lost their lives.
Asia was a new student at Backus Middle School. Her father worked at the school as a coach and a classroom aide. Teachers remembered Asia as kindhearted and eager to help her classmates.
Bernard was the type of student who kept teachers on their toes at Leckie Elementary School. Bernard’s teachers agreed that he was showing real progress, and that was one of the reasons why he was recommended to participate in the trip. He loved basketball and wanted to play professionally one day.
Rodney always made the honor roll at Ketcham Elementary School. His mother expected him to be a role model for his two younger brothers, as his two older sisters had been for him. His favorite activity was watching professional wrestling—no matter what he was doing, “…he made it home to see wrestling,” his aunt remembered.
Asia, Bernard, and Rodney were each 11 years old.
Hilda Taylor was a veteran teacher at Leckie Elementary School, teaching 6th grade. Originally from Sierra Leone, she immigrated to the United States to create a better life for her family. Ms. Taylor was a mother and a grandmother.
James Debeuneure returned to the classroom as a second career. He was a 5th grade teacher at Ketcham Elementary School. He was known for arriving early and leaving late. Mr. Debeuneure was a father of three.
Sarah Clark began teaching in DCPS in 1965, and worked as a 6th grade teacher at Backus Middle School. She was engaged to be married. Ms. Clark was a mother of two.
Asia, Bernard, Rodney, Hilda, James, and Sarah are forever in our hearts. Our deepest sympathies remain with their families.
What’s the Squad all about?
School schedules make life difficult for working families. Urban Adventure Squad is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that supports working families with daylong and weeklong community-based, experiential learning programs when schools are closed. We emphasize physical activity, community engagement, curiosity, and a whole lot of fun. Each adventure day has a unique curriculum that is aimed at engaging Squad members at their own levels. On days when public, private, and charter schools are closed, including summer, we run programs that are generally for kindergarten through 7th grade. We also offer special programs for various age groups, including PK-4. And we have incredible, weeklong summer sessions!
Through our programs, Squad members explore D.C. history, culture, and natural surroundings. We've learned about the effects of erosion on a guided hike through Rock Creek Park with an environmental educator from the University of the District of Columbia. We've learned about the evolution of radio and saw live radio shows in action on a tour of NPR affiliate WAMU 88.5, and we heard the classic "ding-DING-ding" of the NBC chimes on a visit to their television studios.
Squad members have sampled bubble tea and steamed buns in Chinatown; learned to navigate using maps and compasses; climbed aboard a Navy ship; put on an improv musical by a local composer; learned DJ skills; learned to identify local trees; hiked the Underground Railroad Experience Trail; made ice cream sundaes; cooked homemade dumplings to celebrate the New Year, prepped food with chefs at local restaurants; baked Cheez-its during a lesson about hardtack--the crackers that Civil War soldiers had to eat; made fresh pesto that they harvested from urban gardens, and, for a recent program when we had several Squad members with gluten allergies, cooked (and ate) some fantastic, gluten-free gnocchi.
For a behind-the-scenes look at food preservation, we visited a local D.C. barbecue place, Pitmasters Back Alley BBQ, where we made homemade pickles and ate some delicious samples. We rolled summer rolls and made tofu fries at Sprig and Sprout, learned German New Year traditions at Old Europe, and brewed kombucha at Mess Hall DC.
We spend lots of time in urban gardens around D.C., including Old City Farm and Guild, and Common Good City Farm, where we harvest, w**d, water, and learn about things like rainwater harvesting and composting.
We've hiked through Soapstone Valley, the former site of Fort Kearny, while crossing the stream on stepping stones and discussing historical preservation.
We've had special visits from a composer, a folk singer, and a DJ, who all taught us about the process of creating music.
Our Squad members lead service projects to support local and global efforts to fight poverty and hunger, preserve and protect our environment, and promote education.
THE UAS MODEL
Our model is built on four pillars:
1) leveraging community resources
2) meticulous curriculum development
3) hands-on and physical learning
4) curiosity and fun
Leveraging community resources. UAS programming is driven by the belief that children learn as much when they are engaged in their communities as they do in schools. We have visited car dealerships to learn about cars; restaurants to learn about food preparation and preservation, culture, and running a business; environmental organizations to learn about invasive species and erosion; and urban farms to learn about agriculture and sustainable farming. We have worked with composers, singers, athletes, DJs, painters, writers, and dancers to develop curricula. We rent space that is not used during the day from local churches, synagogues, yoga studios, and social clubs. The more integrated we are in the community, the more we can leverage community resources, which enhances experiential learning, helps keep our programs affordable, and supports local businesses and organizations.
Meticulous curriculum development. Effective use of free and low-cost community resources requires detailed lesson planning. We spend an enormous amount of research time identifying subject matter, content, and medium of delivery. We don’t shy away from complex social or scientific problems, and we find ways to make them age-appropriate. We now have more than 100 unique days of curricula that use community resources in the Washington, D.C., area, and we are continuing to develop more. We offer our Squad Leaders paid time for developing and testing new curricula.
Hands-on and physical learning. We develop curricula that include hands-on learning and lots of physical activity. We build, we cook, we hike, we visit, we observe, and we are building research designs to address social and scientific problems. For example, when we learned about erosion, we hiked along Rock Creek and examined the banks and the running water. During our winter break program, we learned about the effects of trash on the environment by creating a New Year's Eve carnival almost entirely from recycled materials. We incorporate physical activity into every program day. On most days, Squad Members walk between two and four miles, hiking through neighborhoods and on trails as we learn about trees, plants, erosion, neighborhood history and culture, and map- and compass-reading.
Curiosity and fun. In emphasizing education goals, we know that UAS programs must excite the curiosity of our Squad members and make learning fun. We take seriously our Squad members’ interests by soliciting their feedback and by routinely use their questions to build future programs. We have a regular module called “Curiosity Corner,” where Squad Members submit questions, and we create new programs around those questions. When a Squad member asked, “Why do trains run on tracks?” we rode Metro to Silver Spring’s B&O Railroad Station and met Jerry McCoy, the president of the Silver Spring Historical Society. Through Curiosity Corner, we’ve also learned why Swiss cheese has holes, how ChapStick was invented, why we have eyelashes, and much more.
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