SCICON

SCICON, the Outdoor School of Science and Conservation, is located on 1100 acres above Springville and operated by the Tulare County Office of Education.

TCSD fifth grade students spend an entire school day enjoying the SCICON experience, which introduces them to and gets them excited for the full week experience they’ll relish as sixth graders.

Every fifth grade student attends a one-day field trip to SCICON. Students leave Tulare at approximately 9:00 a.m. and arrive at SCICON around 10:15 a.m. Once the trail guides complete their introductions, students go on an educational hike that supports the fifth grade science standards.

Students also get the opportunity to visit the cabins, the lodge, and other important features of SCICON. Around 12:30 p.m., students gather for a sack lunch and then head for home. Generally, the bus arrives back in Tulare around 2:00 p.m.

It’s a great day for everybody involved. We take exceptional care of your child, and he or she has a great time. And don’t worry; we’ll get all of the necessary information to you in plenty of time for you to plan.

When your child is in the sixth grade, he or she will have the opportunity to attend SCICON for the entire school week. This is an important week for many reasons. During this week, your child will take many educational hikes learning about the geology of SCICON, studying the plants and animals that live in and along Bear Creek, identifying the birds that live locally, understanding the importance of composting for uses in a garden, and exploring the hills of SCICON while taking the famous Sky Trail Hike to the Hermit's Cabin.

The week at SCICON, for many students, is the first time they’ve been away from home. But you can rest assured that SCICON provides a safe, comfortable place for a child to experience an event such as this. By the week's end, students who arrived as strangers have become good friends, the natural result of children getting the opportunity to live, learn, and love nature together at SCICON.