Learning about Climate Science and Forging Solutions to Environmental Problems
By: Beatrice Winter, Lower School Science Specialist
To integrate climate science in the Lower School STEAM classroom, we follow 3 simple rules:
- First, and more importantly: we start by fostering a sense of wonder and love of nature,
- Our projects are “real-life”; personally relevant, and
- When confronted with climate-related problems and concerns, we focus on actions and solutions.
Our message: We want to empower students! They can be change-makers in their community, and they are not alone.
The Water Project
This is a STEAM project that we often do at the beginning of the year with the second graders. The project varies from year to year, following the students’ questions and concerns.
This year in September, the students spent a long time exploring the creek nearby; wading in the water, throwing stones, observing leaves and sticks (and old plastic bags) being carried by the current. We listened to their questions, concerns and ideas. Back on campus, they used “pool noodles” to model the river bed and came to the conclusion that gravity is the force that pushes the water from the creek (or from anywhere where rain falls) to the ocean. The girls built a model landscape that represented a variety of bodies of water and the movement of water from the Appalachian mountains to the Atlantic ocean. They designed, built and tested water filters. Then we went back to the creek and threw a piece of wood with our email address (we used a wood-burning tool). We are still waiting for an answer.
One year, the girls created posters giving the Stone Ridge community ideas on how everyone can limit water pollution. Another year, we designed solutions to pick up oil from the water. A student had observed some car oil on her driveway, and was worried it would be picked up by the rain water and end up in the creek, then in the ocean. We poured some oil on the concrete stairs outside, and when we poured some water from a watering can, the oil was indeed picked up and went down,.. until it reached the grass. There, it was absorbed! This helped the girls understand the idea of the rain gardens: planting vegetation whose roots can absorb and clean the water before it slowly goes down to the waterway.