This afternoon Lincoln Elementary, St. Joseph, is connecting to Liberty Science Center for their Aquatic Ecosystems program. The program starts with a tour of the Liberty Science Center and the tanks they have with various aquatic ecosystems.
After an introduction of ecosystems, the students participate in an activity drawing an aquatic ecosystem from the side as if they were actually in it. The students’ drawings then lead into a discussion of the components of an ecosystem.
After discussing fresh and marine water ecosystems, students learn about the estuary and Hudson River where the Liberty Science Center is, and then they compared that estuary to where the St. Joseph River meets Lake Michigan. Note the green screen technology! Also look at the great images they shared of the St. Joseph River. It’s nice when the content provider can tailor to the local area too. They called the teacher ahead of time to find out what they were studying so they could tailor the program as requested.
Next, the students do an activity to look at cryptic camouflage and then try to guess what is hiding in several pictures.
This was our first program with the Liberty Science Center. While their programs are a little on the expensive side, the program is visually rich and can be tailored to exactly what the teacher needs.