On Tuesday, October 15, 2019, Mr. McCain and Mr. Vaughn took a group of their 8th grade Science students on a canoeing field trip for the day with a group known as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. This foundation is an organization that cooperates with school districts and other groups to inform and offer hands-on educational experiences. This was more than just a joy ride on the water, but instead a day chalked full of hand-ons / minds-on educational activities that illustrated the relevance to the current science unit of study. The primary foundational concept is how both human and environmental actions effect local waterways. These issues are compounded as water travels through our watershed, which eventually leads to the Chesapeake Bay. The trip was to reinforce material that is being covered in the current 8th grade science curriculum in accordance with the state standards. The students learned about the makeup of the watershed, and how the major rivers, like the Susquehanna River, have an effect on the bay.
Students could be found canoeing up and down both the Swatara Creek as well as the Susquehanna River during the day. Along the creek and river, students stopped to learn about stream biology, and water chemistry. Students were able to find and catch macroinvertabates living in sections of the river or creek, and classify those species in order to determine the health of that body of water. Students also used professional instruments to compare and contrast different water characteristics of both the creek and the river including pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, nitrates, and phosphates. Students could also be found catching fish using long nets along the shore of the Susquehanna, while learning about adaptation and classification of the fish species.
The students had a great time learning about the local waterways, and even got to view the airplane that was still in the river after crashing a week before. What better way to learn about science, than to be outside doing hands-on experiments on one of the most beautiful days this fall.