About
Kendall County Outdoor Education Center offers Environmental Science lessons, Living History lessons, Map and Compass Skills (including compass and GPS use), and Team Building. Participants take part in one-day outdoor education experiences and multi-day summer trips that include outdoor activity, often involving a hike over uneven terrain. Activities take place outdoors, rain or shine, and may occur in woods, on unpaved trails, along creeks, and on a teams challenge course and in a living history area.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
The center provides one-day outdoor education experiences and multi-day summer trips for over 8,000 people each year, including participants from pre-kindergarten through high school and adults. Lessons are divided into Environmental Science, Living History, Map and Compass Skills (including compass and GPS use), and Team Building, with a common thread of stewardship responsibility, conservation ethic, and environmental harmony in all outdoor education activities.
The mission of the Kendall County Outdoor Education Center is to provide students the opportunity for experiential learning in an outdoor setting. The KCOEC has been providing outdoor learning experiences for the students of the Yorkville, Plano, and Sandwich school districts since 1970. The Regional Office of Education acts as the administrative agent for the center, and daily programs are developed with the classroom teacher and are designed to enrich the classroom curriculum. The Director is SarahAnn Payne.
Families are advised to expect participants to be outside all day long, with clothing that may get very dirty, wet, or muddy, and to dress in layers with appropriate footwear such as gym shoes or hiking boots in warmer months and waterproof or snow boots on rainy or colder days. The program notes that most activity areas are rough and unpaved, some trails are steep, and most days involve a hike over uneven terrain, so wheelchairs or walkers require prior planning between KCOEC staff and the lead teacher. KCOEC staff needs to be notified of students requiring special attention prior to arrival, and specific medical items such as inhalers for asthmatics, EPI pens for severe allergies to bee stings, and supplies for diabetics with specific needs must be considered. Electronic devices and jewelry are to be left at home or at school, and adult chaperones may have cell phones for emergency purposes but must silence them during their stay at the center.
Last updated February 5, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
The center provides one-day outdoor education experiences and multi-day summer trips for over 8,000 people each year, including participants from pre-kindergarten through high school and adults. Lessons are divided into Environmental Science, Living History, Map and Compass Skills (including compass and GPS use), and Team Building, with a common thread of stewardship responsibility, conservation ethic, and environmental harmony in all outdoor education activities.
The mission of the Kendall County Outdoor Education Center is to provide students the opportunity for experiential learning in an outdoor setting. The KCOEC has been providing outdoor learning experiences for the students of the Yorkville, Plano, and Sandwich school districts since 1970. The Regional Office of Education acts as the administrative agent for the center, and daily programs are developed with the classroom teacher and are designed to enrich the classroom curriculum. The Director is SarahAnn Payne.
Families are advised to expect participants to be outside all day long, with clothing that may get very dirty, wet, or muddy, and to dress in layers with appropriate footwear such as gym shoes or hiking boots in warmer months and waterproof or snow boots on rainy or colder days. The program notes that most activity areas are rough and unpaved, some trails are steep, and most days involve a hike over uneven terrain, so wheelchairs or walkers require prior planning between KCOEC staff and the lead teacher. KCOEC staff needs to be notified of students requiring special attention prior to arrival, and specific medical items such as inhalers for asthmatics, EPI pens for severe allergies to bee stings, and supplies for diabetics with specific needs must be considered. Electronic devices and jewelry are to be left at home or at school, and adult chaperones may have cell phones for emergency purposes but must silence them during their stay at the center.
Last updated February 5, 2026.
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