Coloma Outdoor Discovery School
Coloma Outdoor Discovery School (CODS) is an outdoor learning center beautifully situated on the banks of the South Fork of the American River within the Coloma Resort. Our programs offer an experience in Gold Rush Living History that is unique and can only happen here in Coloma. Each year since 1990, we have been providing educational experiences to thousands of students from public and private organizations throughout the state.
Connect With History
CODS allows students to connect to the history of Coloma and nature through our residential and day programs based on the California gold rush and California’s 4th grade standards.
Residential Gold Rush Programs
2-day/1-night and 3-day/2-night
Day 1
Upon your arrival, travel back to the start of the gold rush in 1849. Our experienced sourdough naturalists will lead your greenhorns through a visit to our general store to get their mining supplies, help them create their new gold rush identity, show them how to pan for gold as well as many other educational and fun activities to experience a day in the life of a miner.
Day 2
Your second day at CODS is spent exploring Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park just across the river from our campus. Each CODS naturalist will lead their group to visit the many historical locations in the park while sharing the stories and history of the folks who came to Coloma because of the gold rush. The length of your hike day varies by program.
Day 3
If you are staying for 3 days, the final morning is filled with enjoyable wrap up activities and games to help you reflect on your time spent in Coloma learning about the past to change the future.
Other Details
During the evening you will be joining us for a campfire filled with songs and skits from the gold rush era or listening to our Native American presentation. Evening program varies depending on program and staff availability.
All participants should bring a bag lunch on arrival day.
Students and chaperones stay in climate-controlled cabins. Teachers are provided with separate accommodations.
Program rate and availability varies depending on the length of program, the number of participants and the time of year. Please contact Program Director, Aimee Shearer, for current rates and availability.
Program Director, Aimee Shearer - Aimee@cods.org
1-Day Gold Rush Program
The 1-day program runs from 10:00am- 4:00pm.
Your day will begin with an interactive skit to set the tone and themes for the day. Our sourdough naturalists will then take their town of greenhorns to make their gold pouches, play a game and do some gold panning.
A burger lunch will be provided by our kitchen and served in a brand new gold pan that you get to take home with you. Veggie burgers available upon request.
After lunch each CODS naturalist will lead their group to visit the many historical locations in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park while sharing the stories and history of the folks who came to Coloma because of the gold rush until your departure time.
Program rate and availability varies depending on the length of program, the number of participants and the time of year. Please contact Program Director, Aimee Shearer, for current rates and availability.
Program Director, Aimee Shearer - Aimee@cods.org
Accommodations:
While at camp, students will sleep in climate controlled cabins with at least a 1/2 bath (toliet and sink).
Food Allergies
Regarding Celiac and Gluten concerns:
- We are not a Gluten Free Kitchen! We cannot guarantee that food in our kitchen does not touch a surface that a gluten food item touched. However, we endeavor to follow all serve safe practices and are careful about cross contamination.
- We offer quite a few gluten free options at CODS.
- Our Taco dinner is completely gluten free except for our flour tortilla- we also offer a corn tortilla as well. At pasta dinner the alternative is our GF Vegan lasagna that is in its own packaging too. Both evenings the cookies are GF, baked in house on clean trays that also bake other (gluten) foods.
- At breakfast, we offer a GF blueberry muffin for those that need it and request it- it is served in the blister pack it comes in. Our cereals, eggs, poultry sausage, and fruit are other GF options.
- For the hike day lunch, we offer a few alternative snacks – kettle corn and GF pretzels in blister packs and GF bread. Our naturalists are careful to serve a celiac student first to minimize potential cross contamination with the bread and other bagels that will be served.
- At deli lunch we offer GF Bread on request
- There is no alternative to the cornbread snack on day 1 so participants that cannot eat it will benefit from bringing an extra snack to eat.
- Regarding Nuts: We do not serve any food that contains nuts as an ingredient. Some foods are processed in facilities that also process nuts. We are not a nut free campus as participants bring their own lunch from home on day 1, and some participants need to bring supplemental food for dietary restrictions-we do not guarantee that there are no nuts on campus or on eating surfaces in the state park. We do provide a new bandanna to use as an eating surface.
- Regarding Seeds: We offer sunflower seeds at the salad bar, our peanut butter alternative at lunches is made from sunflower seeds as well. Some items we serve are processed in facilities that process sesame seeds.
- In an effort to reduce gluten in our menu, we find that many of our foods contain soy. So, if soy is a concern, it might be the most prevalent allergen in our menu.
We do support participants with concerns about our food to bring supplemental food from home. There is no food allowed in the student cabins however, so a teacher or other designated adult will need to oversee the storage and distribution of the food at the appropriate times. Supplemental food is recommended to come mostly prepared ahead of time. There is refrigeration and a microwave available and a teacher accommodation is equipped with a full kitchen.
Please notify your child's teacher if you have any allergy concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Teachers
Chaperone
Students
DOCUMENTS AND RESOURCES
REACH OUT TO OUR TEAM FOR MORE INFORMATION
WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING
Jo'lynde L.
"Came here with my daughters 4th grade class and it was such a great time a lot of history. What a nice experience and they have the kids help out with a lot the of duties. And they make cornbread out of a Dutch oven which is pretty neat."
Gina F.
"My son just returned with his 4th grade class and he said his experience was "the best experience of his life!". Rave reviews from both students and chaperones on the entire program! Thank you for providing such an authentic and incredible experience for the children!":
Sara G.
"The program was not only safe, but extremely well-organized, entertaining, educational, and motivational. The kids were busy every second of every day doing hands-on activities, hiking, taking on responsibilities they didn't normally have, and reflecting on their experiences. I can't wait to go again next year!"
EMPLOYMENT
Coloma Outdoor Discovery School seeks to employ professional naturalist educators who are excellent role models, and communicators. People who have a love of children, teaching and the outdoors. If you are interested in learning more about joining the team, please share your resume and contact Kevin@cods.org
