Outings Program
Marin Academy’s Outings Program epitomizes experiential education. Along with Minicourse, Wilderness Quest, day trips and hikes, MA students get outdoors into California’s mountains, deserts, and coastal waters—something MA has promoted since 1972. While the program has evolved over the years, its core values of experiencing nature, ecological knowledge, personal development, and stewardship remain the same.
Adventure and fun are powerful learning tools; small-group interactions in the outdoors contribute to students’ cognitive, physical, social, and emotional growth. Wilderness experiences actively promote, encourage, and develop perspective, compassion, balance, integrity, mindfulness, communication, and responsibility.
We backpack, ski, camp in the snow, hike on Mt. Tam, SCUBA dive, and kayak. And while some outings require experience, most are geared for beginning explorers. We plan developmentally-appropriate and valuable outings that offer manageable risk, natural beauty, and skills with which to engage our natural environment.
Our Mission
The Marin Academy Outings Program uses structured, purposeful, and challenging outdoor experiences to meet the following goals:
To teach students to see themselves as playful and invested stewards of our natural environment
To catalyze personal growth for students and to help them forge stronger, more compassionate relationships with themselves, their peers, and with nature
To supplement and promote MA's overall educational program by balancing rigorous academic study with rigorous experiential curriculum
