Wrapping up Classrooms Unleashed
Over 500 students experienced hands-on science learning in the classroom without walls this spring! Classes from Washoe, Carson, and Douglas Counties participated in a variety of field adventures including forest and desert ecology, animal adaptations, and water quality testing, both on foot and by snowshoe.
Field-based programs are exciting as they allow students to make connections between their in-class science lessons and the ecosystems right in the backyard. 4th grade students from Roy Gomm Elementary School were able to take the lessons they learned through the “Walking Our Watershed” unit and experience their watershed with a trip to Pyramid Lake. Sierra Nevada Journeys instructors, Kristen Ashbaugh and Joanna Furgiuele, met students at Popcorn Rock directly across the lake from where the Truckee River empties into Pyramid. After quick introductions, students split into smaller groups and headed to the water’s edge where they worked to hypothesize whether or not the lake water is healthy. 
Real experimentation was conducted with water quality tests including pH and dissolved oxygen, and the results were then compared to the data from water sampling along the Truckee River earlier this spring. Students were thrilled to collect and study macro-invertebrates!
Our most recently completed program was a two-week long GATE program with students from Carson Middle School, Seeliger Elementary School, and Empire Elementary School in Carson City. Students met for about three and half hours in the early part of the day to partake in various team-challenges and hands-on activities that covered topics like the solar system and plate tectonics. This program was particularly exciting for the SNJ instructors who had the privilege of facilitating because the students were so passionate about learning and eager to share their knowledge with others. Instructors Kylie Rowe and Darcey Lewis later exclaimed, with much enthusiasm, that the GATE program was as much a learning experience for the two of them as it was for the students, who offered a plethora of knowledge on subjects ranging from the Big Bang Theory to the fish living in Pyramid Lake.
These outdoor experiences have a significant impact on students, and Sierra Nevada Journeys looks forward to hosting many more schools for snowshoeing and other outdoor learning days in the future. If you would like to schedule any field trips or in class lessons for the 2010-2011 academic year we are ready to put you on the calendar. Please contact Joanna Furgiuele, Outreach Manager, at 775-355-1688 or joanna@sierranevadajourneys.org. Have a fantastic summer!
