 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Programs for Schools Programs at your school-we come to you! Teachers: Not to worry, we can bring our hands-on programming to your school! We have multiple sites around the Washington, DC metro area, including our mobile programs, The M/V Half Shell or The Rolling Rainforest. Our educators will hit the road to deliver these unique hands-on programs in your classroom or facility. Whether you want to get prepare students prepared for a shipboard program or just provide a different type of exciting learning experience, our school-based programs can fill those needs. Some of these programs are one-time programs or can be coupled together, others are multi-experience programs. Programs available may include: Shad Restoration Program
As another spring approaches, students throughout the Washington, D.C. region will be helping return American shad to the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. Since 1996, over 50 schools from Washington D.C., Alexandria, Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have raised American shad in their schools and released them at a site across from Old Angler’s Inn, at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, at Chapman Forest, and at Leesylvania State Park. The fish swim over 12,000 miles in their lifetime, leaving their release site in the Potomac River to swim out to sea and then returning to where they were born to lay their own eggs. Recently, schools from Delaware, New Jersey, and North Carolina have joined the shad program. Click here for more information on the Shad Program
The Rolling Rainforest: Since its creation in 2001, thousands of youth and families have discovered the wonders within this unique 380 square foot mobile exhibit. With over 80 species of plants and animals, the diverse flora and fauna inside replicates what adventurers would find in an area of similar size in a real-life Central American rainforest. Students study an array of topics during their visit, including pollination, adaptations, food chains, habitats, and ways in which the rainforest is directly linked to their own local ecosystem. Each grade focuses on a different theme, so students can experience The Rolling Rainforest anew year after year. Rolling Rainforest programming is available June through March to public, public-charter, and private schools, as well as camps. Travelling throughout the United States, The Rolling Rainforest offers interactive programming to children grades pre-K through fifth. The Rolling Rainforest is also available for large-scale events. Guests both old and young are invited to tour the exhibit and learn how the tropical rainforest directly impacts their daily life. Schoolyard Greening: Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region offers two schoolyard greening programs to educational institutes in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Schoolyards Stewards and Monarchs, Milkweed, and Me! both provide an in-depth, hands-on look at how urbanization is affecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and what youth can do to have a positive impact on their local ecosystem. Students enrolled in the Schoolyard Stewards program examine the questions, “what is stormwater runoff, why is it harmful, how can we help prevent it, and how does it impact the watershed as a whole?” Monarchs, Milkweed, and Me! focuses on the crucial role of pollinators in the watershed (specifically monarch butterflies) and what their loss could mean for the entire food chain, including humans. Through interactive watershed education lessons, creation of a native garden, and community outreach, students come face-to-face with real-world problems and discover they can be part of the solution. A professional development session is included in each program to ensure staff understand all that goes into planting and maintaining a schoolyard habitat. To see some of our current projects, please visit http://schoolyardstewards.org. Park Outreach Programs: The park outreach program is designed to allow large groups of students to learn about the natural world in an organized, outdoor setting. Up to 150 students per day are invited to visit a local park and participate in a variety of hands-on, interactive learning stations based in science, history, English, and the arts. Perfect for a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), park outreaches present students the chance to take knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom and apply it to the world around them. Activities can include: *Donning hip waders and exploring a local pond while learning about bio-indicators! *Using butterfly nets to catch and study local insects! *Going on a nature hike while learning to identify flora and fauna native to the Chesapeake Bay watershed! *Utilizing models to understand the effects of stormwater run-off! *Exploring the world of decomposers and the role they play in the food web!
BayWatch: The BayWatch program aims to foster in students a solid understanding of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed through exploration, critical thinking activities, and live animal encounters. Three field trips help students understand their connection to the watershed:
Preschool Programs: Living Classrooms believes that high-quality, challenging, and accessible science education should be made available for 3- to 6-year olds as a vital foundation for future science learning. Such high-quality learning experiences are made possible through our program’s hands-on, play-based, and interdisciplinary learning curriculum. Lessons are designed to enhance young learners’ understanding of scientific concepts while simultaneously building upon their language and literacy developmental needs. Students are encouraged to become real thinkers, find multiple solutions, gather and evaluate evidence, and apply scientific ideas. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience: Couple two of these classroom sessions with a shipboard experience to provide your students with a "Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience". Pre and post trip activities will be utilized to assist with preparing the students for their upcoming trip on board Half Shell and reinforcing topics covered on the trip. To book your next school based program, please contact: |
|
