It is absolutely imperative that teachers contact the education staff at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before planning a field trip even if the unit is teacher directed. The NPS education staff can provide additional information about the site such as scheduled or unscheduled maintenance and repairs, special events, or closings due to natural disasters. This staff would like to keep a record all the educational functions in the Park. These statistics are vital to providing federal funding for the Park. All units have a section labeled “Preparing for the On-site Experience” that include the appropriate National Park Service Staff to contact and their phone numbers. In some cases, teachers will contact both education staff and other unit related NPS staff.

• Stinging insects.
• Poison Ivy and some other irritating plants.
• Moss or algae covered rocks that become slippery.
• Getting lost.
• Certain health conditions of members of the group such as asthma, heart condition, or sever allergies.

• Stay together as a group.
• Don’t run or play rough.
• Read all trail signs.
• Know how to identify poison ivy.
• Do not feed or get near wildlife.
• Know about serious physical conditions of all participants and be prepared for treatment of that condition.

• Hiking with a group at all times.
• Staying on established, marked trails at all times.
• Reading and understanding all trails signs.
• Taking an appropriate map and knowing how to read it.
• Letting others know where you are and when you will return: adopt the buddy system.
• If you are lost: Stop, wait, and blow your whistle

• A First-aid Kit
• Cellular phone
• Map
• Students should always carry:
• A daypack
• Water
• Lunch or snack
• Whistle
• Rain gear

Grade Level

Smoky Mountain Classrooms: 

 PAC Unit #

Program Subject:

K

Sugarlands Valley Classroom

PAC Unit # 2

Using your senses to learn about the natural environment.

1st

Sugarlands Classroom

PAC Unit # 3

Recognizing animals groups and characteristics of plants and animals in their habitat.

2nd

Porters Flat Classroom

PAC Unit # 4

Utilizing early American technology to construct a log cabin and learning about how humans used the forest for food and medicine.

2nd

Mingus Mill Classroom

Not a PAC Unit

Utilizing early American technology to produce cornmeal, toys from the 1800s, and learning how humans used of the forest for food and medicine. 

3rd

Metcalf Bottoms Classroom

PAC Unit # 4

Discovering life in soil and learning the diversity and interdependence of animals in habitats.

5th

The Clingmans Dome Classroom

PAC Unit # 2

Examining the interaction of plants and animals in a high elevation forest ecosystem including impacts resulting from non-native insects and pollution.

6th

The Cades Cove Bicycle Classroom

PAC Unit # 3

Participating in role-play activities that demonstrate how individual choices affect environmental health and the stability of ecosystems, populations, and communities.

7th

Cades Cove

PAC Unit # 1

Understand how researchers track animals and learning about large mammal management and exame cultural resources.

8th

Twin Creeks

PAC Unit # 4

Participating in the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory study by collecting and analyzing specimens.