Students are given the opportunity to observe and interact with different domesticated animals while remaining on their home campus. This experience brings a variety of animals to the FFA campuses. Animals students have interacted with in the past include chickens, cows, pigs, llamas, goats, and even a large tortoise.  This experience is one day for the Oak Cliff campus and one day for the Waxahachie campus.

This is FFA students’ first off-site E360 experience.  During this experience students will be in an outdoor setting where they can walk through and observe many different types of animals in controlled environments.  Additionally, students will have opportunities to interact on a more personal level with some of the zoo animals in the Children’s Zoo area.

This experience will allow students to hike in prairie pockets and hike rugged limestone hills.  Students will have the opportunity to see the lake while in the park and visit an old Texas farm called Penn Farm.  This trip is near the campuses and demonstrates to students that there is nature in their own backyards and that they don’t have to go far to explore.

Lesson Plan:

This experience will bring FFA students face-to-face with 300,000 gallons of aquaria that feature Texas’ freshwater aquatic life.  Students will have the opportunity to take a tram ride through the fishery’s operational hatchery and experience the hatchery purpose and process; conduct a walk through tour of the aquarium ponds and observe fish and other aquatic animals in their natural environments; watch a dive show and interact with the diver while he feeds the fish; tour the TFF Hall of Fame and exhibit; hike the wetlands trail; and fish in the catch-and-release recreational fishing ponds.

Lesson Plan:

This is the original E360 experience that started it all.  Students will be transported to 360 Ranch in Henrietta, Texas to interact with nature in a rural setting.  This is the first experience that is separated between girls and boys with one trip for each group.  This helps foster genuine interactions and connections within experience groups.  This experience, with oversight by the E360 team, is run by FFA’s NJROTC cadets.  The cadets lead students in competitive games, and team building exercises.  In addition to cadet led activities, students will participate in a nature hike and hayride, a fine arts activity, and receive instruction in leave no trace and first aid.  While at 360 Ranch students will eat two fantastic meals prepared by FFA staff, culminated by a brisket dinner.  Students and staff at the ranch receive an E360 t-shirt to commemorate their time at the ranch.

Lesson Plan:

This is the first overnight experience for FFA students in E360.  Like the 4^th grade trip, this trip has a boy’s trip and a girl’s trip.  FFA students and staff stay at the Riverbend Retreat Center in Glen Rose, Texas.  During the day while at the retreat center students will participate in a variety of activities including ziplining, ropes course, rock wall climbing, and archery tag.  Evening activities include making s’mores, playing board games, and more.  On day two students will go to Dinosaur Valley State Park and get to have a ranger talk about the dinosaurs that were there and see their tracks in the river, go on a guided hike, and pay a game to help them understand the predator/prey relationship.  The trip also includes a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center to go through the drive-though zoo.  During the zoo visit students will get to feed animals from the windows of the bus.  At the midway point of the zoo tour, students will visit a petting zoo and have even closer interactions with some of the animals.

Lesson Plan:

Students spend the day rock climbing during this experience.  Upon arrival students are issued essential equipment and given a quick safety brief.  After getting to the bottom of the basin to rock climb students receive instruction on tying knots, belaying for each other, and safety.  This trip is integral in teaching FFA students to work together, trust each other, and face their fears.  The rock face has approximately nine different climbing routes varying in difficulty for students to attempt and overcome.  Depending on student numbers and participation, a short hike along the lake provides the opportunity to have discussions and learn about the native flora and fauna of the area.

Lesson Plan:

This is the original E360 experience that started it all.  Students will be transported to 360 Ranch in Henrietta, Texas to interact with nature in a rural setting.  Like the 4^th grade trip, this trip has a boy’s trip and a girl’s trip.  This helps foster genuine interactions and connections within experience groups.  This experience, with oversight by the E360 team, is run by FFA’s NJROTC cadets.  The cadets lead students in competitive games, and team building exercises.  In addition to cadet led activities, students will participate in a nature hike and hayride, a fine arts activity, and receive instruction in leave no trace and first aid.  While at 360 Ranch students will eat two fantastic meals prepared by FFA staff, culminated by a brisket dinner.  Students and staff at the ranch receive an E360 t-shirt to commemorate their time at the ranch.

This experience takes students to the forests of East Texas where they will soar through the sky on a six-line zipline course through the trees.  The longest run is over 950 feet long and 100 feet in the air.  Students will receive safety instruction from course staff at “ground school” then will venture out on the 90-minute course.  While students wait for their turn on the course, E360 staff will guide them on a hike through the forest to examine the native flora and fauna and engage them in team building activities with their group.

Lesson Plan:

This will be a brand-new experience for FFA students in the spring of 2025.  This trip will provide students the opportunity to tent camp on the beach of Galveston Island State Park.  While there all meals will be prepared by FFA staff and served out of the E360 kitchen trailer.  All students will also be issued an E360 jacket to help keep them warm as they experience the cool breeze coming in from the ocean.  Activities currently proposed for this trip include hiking on the beach, learning to paddle utilizing a kayak, pier fishing, a visit to Moody Gardens, a college visit to a local university, and will culminate with a stop at the Houston Space Center. 

This experience will take students to West Texas where they will stay at Prude Ranch and sleep in bunk houses.  FFA students will engage in a variety of activities that include day and night visits to McDonald Observatory to tour the facility and to have a nighttime star party, swimming in the natural spring at Balmorhea State Park, a visit to learn about the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, exploration of the caves at Carlsbad Caverns, horseback riding, challenge course, and a college visit to Sul Ross State University.  While at SRSU, students will have a tour of the university conducted by the admissions department and have lunch in one of their cafeterias. 

This is the culminating experience of E360, which takes FFA students out of Texas to Granby Colorado to stay at the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch.  Students will stay in dorm-style buildings while at the Y.  All students will also be issued an E360 jacket set to help keep them warm as they experience all the mountains have to offer.  During this experience students will have the opportunity to go into the Rocky Mountain National Park for a variety of hikes, visit the Grand Lake area for shopping and a picnic, test themselves as they overcome an elevated challenge course that is 30 feet in the air, and will have opportunities to engage in different activities while on the grounds of the Y such as shelter building, forest ecology, team building, archery, and rock climbing.  Students also have some guided free time each day to roller skate, play volleyball, basketball, fuse ball, ping pong, pool, or miniature golf.