Welcome students and chaperones!
Outdoor School can be a magical experience where you get to spend time outside learning and building community with your classmates. Parents, teachers, and sometimes high school-age leaders stay in the cabins and help lead everyone through the program. If your school is signed up for an overnight program at Camp Hancock, this page is for you!
Get Ready for Outdoor School
Days are packed full, from Field Study after breakfast to an Evening Program and Campfire after dinner. Students get hands-on experience with the science concepts of your choice, as well as the memories of exploring with their peers and their parents in the outdoors. Field Study lessons explore broad topics and Interest Group activities are shorter and designed to focus on a single topic. Peppered throughout the day, there is time for rest and relaxation in cabins, and free-play recreation time. Students will also contribute to the community’s needs by rotating through Kitchen Party (setting up and cleaning up meals) and Scrub Club (a quick tidy of the restrooms).
Program Resources
Ready to jump to the details? We’ve got you covered. Use the program resources listed below to learn more about what to expect, what you need to bring, and get excited for Outdoor School!
You are welcome here
We believe everyone deserves the chance to be outdoors and learn new things in an inclusive way. OMSI Outdoors is committed working internally and with external partners make the changes needed to our site and program outdoor school is for everyone.
In keeping with this opening line of OMSI’s equity statement, OMSI Outdoors uses and supports inclusive pronouns. OMSI Outdoors staff will introduce themselves using their pronouns (they, she, he, etc.) and will invite all participants to do the same. OMSI’s goal is for every student to have an opportunity to be true to themselves.
Life at Outdoor School
Welcome to Hancock
Located on Highway 218 in Wheeler County, Oregon, our rustic and historic camp is uniquely situated within the boundaries of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Clarno Unit.
Cabin Time in the Desert
We have three different sizes of cabins. Some have six bunks (twelve beds), others have four bunks (eight beds), and the smallest have three beds. All cabins have twin mattresses, doors and/or windows, electricity, and small heaters, and the large cabins have padded cement floors. The restrooms are a short walk from the cabins.
Where We Eat
Campers and staff eat “family-style” meals together in Berrie Hall. We take pride in serving meals that are nutritious and homemade. We offer a supplemental salad/cereal/fruit bar at each meal and can accommodate food allergies and dietary restrictions.
Restrooms and Showers
The restrooms are a short walk from the cabins. They have hot and cold running water, toilets, showers, heat, and electricity. Each cabin area has a restroom/shower facility nearby, and our new North Restroom is accessible and gender-inclusive, featuring individual lockable rooms.
Where Learning and Adventure Meet
Everyone deserves to learn in a safe, respectful, kind, and inclusive community. We weave themes of adventure, science, exploration, and community into daily life and use an experiential, concept-based style of teaching that is effective, nurturing, inspiring, and memorable.
Recreation and Free Play
Volleyball, tetherball, basketball, reading, games, music, and arts and crafts are just a few of our choices for recreation.
Central Meeting Space
Games, campfire, orientation, classes, lunch, and relaxation time are just a few of the times we utilize our most common meeting place: The Bleachers!
Frequently Asked Questions
Hancock is nestled in a charming little canyon that is in a cellular dead-zone. WiFi is available to adults and OMSI staff. It’s limited in bandwidth, however most are able to access email, messaging apps, and the occasional Zoom call.
They may *think* they cannot survive without, however, they should not have their phones at outdoor school. While accommodations and exceptions are welcome, an important part of the outdoor school experience is for students to gain confidence and independence, connect with their peers, and enjoy the unique opportunities we offer without technological distractions. Digital and film cameras are encouraged, and we urge families to not send anything they cannot replace.
The maximum capacity at HFS is around 100 people. Depending on the size of your group, there may be another group scheduled at the same time. The groups will largely operate independently, while only sharing restrooms, meal-time facilities, and the occasional evening program.
Days are packed full, from Field Study after breakfast to an Evening Program and Campfire after dinner. Students get hands-on experience with the science concepts of your choice, as well as the memories of exploring with their peers and their parents in the outdoors. Field Study lessons explore broad topics and Interest Group activities are shorter and designed to focus on a single topic. Peppered throughout the day, there is time for rest and relaxation in cabins, and free-play recreation time. Students will also get a chance to help out before and after meals with Kitchen Party (setting up and cleaning up meals) and Scrub Club (a quick tidy of the restrooms).
We have three types of cabins, all A-Frame. The largest cabins sleep up to 12, the medium-sized cabins sleep up to 8, and the smaller ones sleep up to 4. They have twin mattresses, heat, electricity, and screened windows and/or doors. There’s at least one outlet in each cabin. The restrooms are a short walk from the cabin areas.
At least one adult or high school counselor/leader needs to stay in the cabin overnight with students. More than one person supervising the cabin is welcome, and generally a 1:7 ratio will be successful. There should always be supervision in the cabins when the students are in them. If you have at least one adult per cabin that is not a teacher, you may opt for a private teacher cabin (depending on availability).
Absolutely! We strive to make sure there is a healthy and delicious option for everyone. We are able to provide for a number of dietary restrictions, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free. We will accommodate mild to severe nut, egg, soy, wheat, and other food allergies. We can’t guarantee that trace allergens are not present, and do our best to avoid cross-contamination. Parents can also send foods to supplement if they would like. We have a refrigerator for food storage (to keep it out of the cabins), and all participants have access to their food.
Everyone will receive a free OMSI t-shirt on the final evening of their program. The camp store is available only to family camps and rental groups, so students don’t need to bring any money.
OMSI staff will go over emergency procedures with the groups on arrival day. Since the students are the responsibility of the school, one designated adult (usually the group leader) will need to be the person in charge of medications and all healthcare/emergency decisions. OMSI staff are trained in first aid and CPR, and are available to help in an advisory capacity. Groups should bring at least one vehicle with them for the duration of the program, and a land line is available in case of emergency.