Hickory Lane Explorers At a Glance
- Founded:
- 2026
- Location:
- Southeastern Wisconsin
- Focus:
- Nature • Science • Jewish Learning
Hickory Lane Explorers, Inc. is a Wisconsin nonprofit corporation created to provide children with meaningful opportunities to learn through nature, science, outdoor exploration, and Jewish learning.
We believe children learn best when they have room to wonder, ask questions, get their hands dirty, and discover things for themselves.
A walk through the woods can become a science lesson. A bird in the backyard can lead to a study of habitat and migration. A simple nature journal can teach a child to slow down and really notice the world around them.
Our goal is simple: to help children become curious, capable, thoughtful explorers who appreciate the natural world and understand their responsibility to care for it.
What We Do
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Nature & Outdoor Education
Children learn by observing, exploring, measuring, collecting information, and spending time outdoors.
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Science Learning
We encourage children to investigate how the natural world works rather than simply memorize facts.
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Jewish Learning
Jewish teachings are woven naturally into our time outdoors, helping children see the connection between Torah, gratitude, responsibility, and the world G-d created.
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Practical Skills
Children learn to use tools such as magnifying glasses, binoculars, compasses, field guides, maps, and nature journals.
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Seasonal Exploration
Our subjects follow the natural year in Wisconsin, from fall leaves and migrating birds to winter wildlife and spring growth.
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Creative Work
Drawing, journaling, building, mapping, and other hands-on projects give children ways to record and share what they discover.
We want children to leave each program knowing a little more about the world around them and being eager to look a little closer the next time they are outside.
Our Approach To Learning
Hickory Lane Explorers is intentionally hands-on.
Rather than beginning with a textbook and asking children to remember the information, we often begin with a question:
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
How could we find out?
Children may learn how to use a compass and then use it to make their own map. They may study birds and then go outside to look for signs of those birds in their own neighborhood.
Along the way, children practice observation, patience, problem-solving, careful work, and good stewardship while learning real science.
We also recognize that children do not all learn in the same way. Some children come alive when they can move, build, investigate, or work with their hands. Nature provides a setting where there is room for different kinds of learners to find their place.
Jewish Learning
Jewish Learning & Values
Jewish learning is an important part of who we are.
Our programs draw on Jewish teachings and values in a natural way rather than treating Jewish learning as something separate from the rest of the experience.
When we study birds, we can talk about G-d's creation. When we explore a forest, we can consider our responsibility to care for the world around us. When children work together, we can talk about kindness, responsibility, gratitude, and being a good neighbor.
We want children to see that learning about the natural world and living a Jewish life are not separate paths. They can walk together.