Classroom Science Lessons

Our stream model uses sand, flowing water and assorted props to demonstrate how a natural river changes the landscape and how human alterations to rivers affect the health of the river ecosystem.  Students gather around the model to observe, make predictions and discuss.

The health of our rivers and streams is impacted by human changes to the surrounding landscape. In this lesson, students gather around our watershed model for a demonstration on how water moves across the land and into local streams and rivers. We will discuss human actions, environmental consequences and solutions.  

Streams and rivers are valuable resources that are monitored to ensure their health and identify problems as they arise. In this class students will learn about several water quality parameters and how they relate to stream health. Students will use science equipment to measure pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature and turbidity on fictitious stream samples and use their data to determine water quality.

Local wildlife leave a variety of clues behind that we can use to learn about them and their  habitats. In this class, students rotate through several stations that we set up with animal artifacts including skulls, pelts, and track prints. Students use the artifacts to practice making field observations and learning about local animals.

Students can touch and explore costumes, artifacts and our sand and water stream model to learn about beaver adaptations and the ability that beaver have to change the landscape.

We can learn a lot about the natural world by being curious, slowing down and observing what is right around us. In this class students learn the basics of tracking and practice using track models and guides to identify animal tracks and decode the story they leave behind.

The classroom will become an ecosystem as students are assigned the role of a local plant or animal. Students move around the room looking for organisms that are connected either directly or indirectly to them. This class covers food webs and how human impacts to plants and animals can ripple through the system.

This class introduces students to the concept of energy transfer from producers, consumers, and decomposers in a local food web. Students can use Food Web Jenga to learn about the importance of producers and the interdependence of plants and animals in the ecosystem.

Adaptations, structure-function of bird beaks and habitat niche are explored in this class as students experiment with a variety of beak models. Students use their beak models to collect different types of “food” as they run through timed trials. Results are recorded and graphed (in upper grades).

Educators use a selection of  common northwest birds to give students the fundamentals of bird identification. Students will learn key bird characteristics and vocabulary, and how to use popular field guides.

We use 4-6-inch trout from a local trout ranch to support students in learning about salmon adaptations, structure-function of fish anatomy, and differences or similarities between fish and humans. Each pair of students have their own fish to dissect.  

This lesson uses a board game format for small groups of students to explore the ways human decisions and actions can either help or hurt salmon as they travel from river to ocean.
 

Using a collection of preserved samples, students learn about common aquatic macros and practice identifying them with field guides. We discuss anatomy, food chain connections and the use of macros by scientists to asses water quality.

We focus on healthy rivers and streams and the use of macroinvertebrates by researchers and natural resource managers in water quality monitoring. Students will use field guides to identify a selection of macro samples, assess their relative sensitivity to pollution and assess water quality in fictional streams.