K-12 OPPORTUNITIES FOR HANDS-ON LEARNING: SCHOOLYARD WINTER LIMNOLOGY

Hands-on learning experiences and in person engagement with real scientists are critical to enriching learning and connecting youth to science and careers in science. The Center for Limnology at Trout Lake Station and North Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research Program host an annual educational event for 4th and 7th grade students in Vilas County. This event allows students the opportunities to meet and interact with scientists, learn by doing hands-on activities (including lake sampling through the ice), and interact with data to make real world-connections. Framed in the history of the LTER Schoolyard programs, we will walk through a typical day with students on the ice and in the lab and present how we have integrated elementary and middle school science standards to create a natural fit in Wisconsin science curriculum for teachers. A preliminary assessment of the program was done using data collected from surveys of 7th and 8th grade students as well as station staff to identify ways to improve student connections to science and to foster feelings of belonging in the scientific community while also identifying ways to make the program more enjoyable for staff volunteers. Results of this preliminary assessment suggest that student participants feel science is accessible to them but may need more opportunities to engage with science topics and scientists in order to deepen their interests. These results will be directly used to update and improve the Schoolyard program and built upon for future and long-term assessment of our participants.

Primary Presenter: Amber Mrnak, Center for Limnology, Trout Lake Station (amrnak@wisc.edu)

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