Age group

Handicap accessible

Infirmary

Internet Access

Indoor/Outdoor Playground

Classrooms

Located at the Patton Homestead in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, Kestrel is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to inspiring a greater appreciation of the natural world through playful, outdoor scientific inquiry.

At Kestrel, the aim is to help children discover the wonders of nature and build a connection to the environment around them. Each program is custom designed to foster an engaging, hands-on learning experience, giving students the opportunity to develop skills they can use independently, and to create meaningful work to share with others.  Kestrel’s natural science and outdoor education programs center the ideas and interests of children, and mentor them to think critically and collaboratively. 

Kestrel’s mission is to create a sense of wonder and understanding about the natural world. By leading students into the wild to conduct their own scientific investigations, they can gain a greater appreciation for the natural history in their local communities and learn to think like scientists.

STEM/STEAM

Water activites

Nature

Sportsfield activities

Reading

Field Trips

Sensory Play

Moderate

Kestrel’s Summer Adventure camps are a unique experience based on nature, imagination, community, and independence. Our carefully planned days follow a storyline into wild places where we connect directly with wildlife or learn to live off what we find around us. Our activities flow together as we explore, make things, adventure, and play.  

Summer Adventures Camp

Experiment with how different surfaces on Earth are warmed differently by the sun. Try some indoor experiments with a simulated sun, and venture outdoors to figure out how the sun affects natural materials, and how animals can respond.

STE Standards covered in school 

Follow a course of water, studying its movement, makeup, and the life within it. Measure the water’s qualities and net for small animals. Figure out how water and life impact each other.

Waterway Trackers (grades 2-5) 

Coed

Preschool

Kids

Kestrel Educational Adventures

Camp in February was a hit with my 6-year-old daughter.
It's astonishing how much more perceptive she has become of the natural environment now that she is so eager to be outside. 

Arian T