2025 Trout In The Classroom Programs

In 2025, the Penns Creek Chapter supported the Pennsylvania Trout In the Classroom (PA TIC) programs in Mifflin, Juniata, and Snyder counties. Things kicked off in January when our chapter members helped with food and egg packaging at the PA Fish and Boat Central (PFBC) Regions office in Bellefonte. Eggs and food are packed into secure Styrofoam boxes containing ice to maintain the correct temperature.

Schools get between 150 and 200 trout eggs that hatch shortly after they arrive. With their teachers guiding them, students take on the daily care of the trout and their aquarium, which is set up with a filter and chiller to keep the water nice and cool at 52-56 degrees Fahrenheit. By the end of the school year, the students release the trout that have made it into a state-approved public waterway. After the big release, they get to join in on some fun outdoor activities that build on what they learned in class, like collecting and identifying macroinvertebrates (“stream bugs”), trying their hand at fly casting, or even helping with tree plantings.

The PA TIC year begins in January when the trout eggs from the PFBC arrive in the classroom.

Chapter members, along side PFBC staff, standing in front of trout eggs and feed ready to be shipped to PA TIC schools.

Egg and food packing involves assembling trout eggs and trout food into specialized boxes for shipment to schools.

The package received by the schools contain hatchery trout eggs and a supply of high quality trout food.

Young trout are raised from eggs to fingerlings in a classroom aquarium which simulates a coldwater ecosystem.

During the release day field trip students release their raised trout into a state-approved stocked trout waterway.

TIC programs culminate in the spring with a field trip where students hands-on conservation education.

Teaching kids to cast a fly rod is a great way to get them hooked on fishing and help them connect with nature.