Standards-based, hands-on science education.
The best education on Earth.
We offer two programs to study science in the real world: a Monday through Friday residential outdoor science school at the Wrightwood site in the San Gabriel Mountains, or a half-day, on-the-water program aboard the world-famous Marine Science Floating Laboratory which is often copied but never duplicated.
The Los Angeles County Outdoor Science School is a unique educational program that has been providing science enrichment experiences to fifth and sixth grade students since 1960.
Outdoor Science School is coordinated by the Los Angeles County Office of Education and is conducted as a California public school. We are a school, not a camp and, as such, our primary focus is science education, not recreation.
This year we expect to serve approximately 5,000 fifth and sixth grade students from schools and districts throughout Los Angeles County. For most students, attendance at Outdoor Science School or the Marine Science Floating Lab is often the highlight of their school year.
In the Mountains
The Wrightwood Outdoor Science School is operated by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. We provide environmental science education for 5th and 6th graders in a residential camp setting. Visiting schools come for a 4-5 day program where the students explore an outdoor classroom in the mighty San Gabriel Mountains. The science content is taught by experienced naturalists and students stay in cabins overnight.
We focus on teaching state science standards through hands-on learning while exposing students to new social settings, exploring different environments, and providing them with new experiences. Students leave the program with a new sense of personal responsibility, independence and understanding of the natural world around them.
Certified by the California Outdoor School Association
The Los Angeles County Outdoor Science School is regularly certified by the California Outdoor School Association (COSA) in coordination with the California Department of Education to provide outdoor science field study programs, and is a member in good standing of the California Outdoor School Administrators.
On the Water
The Marine Science Floating Lab (MSFL) is an excellent opportunity for students to explore the amazing biodiversity of what is often a hidden habitat.
On a typical 3-hour cruise through the Long Beach or Los Angeles Harbor, with either a morning or an afternoon departure, students participate in hands-on, marine-science learning activities including:
collecting a bottom sediment sample to observe and record invertebrates,
an otter trawl net which collects a wide range of fish, and invertebrates from on and near the bottom,
a plankton tow and plankton observation with a microscope,
water quality studies, and
other activities that may be requested to meet the needs of the specific grade level and curriculum.
Students will also observe birds, sea lions, and other marine mammals that may be in the area. While underway to the collection areas, students observe and discuss Los Angeles Harbor, shipping vessels, breakwater function, and a variety of ecosystem and environmental engineering topics.
Students see first-hand how human behavior affects the quality of water, air, habitat, animal life, plant life, and human life in the marine environment specifically as well as in the students’ communities.
"After looking into various [outdoor science school] programs, we knew that LACOSS was the perfect place for our students to have an immersive experience in science education. Because it is a program affiliated with Los Angeles County Office of Education, we were confident that the curriculum would be aligned with NGSS, and that the experience would build upon the collaboration and inquiry-based learning that takes place in the classroom. P.S. It was an experience that we all can't stop sharing about!!"
