The Leahy Center for Lake Champlain Presents:
LAKE CHAMPLAIN LIVE!
A
Unique Science Opportunity
Aboard UVM's Research Vessel Melosira
Summary:
Now you can take your students out on Lake Champlain!
Work with scientists and educators at the Leahy Center for
Lake Champlain to conduct scientific research aboard the University of
Vermont's Research
Vessel Melosira. This state-of-the-art
boat is staffed by university researchers and professional educators,
and is fully equipped to enable
your students to conduct real lake studies. Students learn
about
current research and then apply scientific tools and techniques to
collect
their own data. Throughout this hands on experience, students will be
challenged as
they follow the scientific method, raise questions, and apply critical
thinking
skills in comparing data they collect to historic data. This trip
includes
admission to ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center
Essential Question:
How do scientists study the complex system and environmental problems
in Lake
Champlain
Focusing Questions:
- What can we learn from studying aquatic plants and animals?
- Why is it important to keep track of long term trends
(i.e., water clarity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, plankton
communities and zebra mussel populations)?
- How do scientists measure and track those items?
- How do human activities affect the lake?
Vermont Standards and Grade Expectations:
7.13 Organisms, Evolution and Interdependence
S9-12:36; Students demonstrate their understanding of equilibrium in an
ecosystem.
7.16 Natural Resources and Agriculture
S9-12:49; Students demonstrate their understanding of processes and
change within natural resources
Key Program Activities
- Understanding the natural history and unique regions of the
lake
- Physical and chemical characteristics: lake water clarity;
dissolved oxygen and temperature measurement from the water's surface
to the bottom
- Lake ecology: overview of Lake Champlain ecology, collect
and analyze a plankton sample
- The zebra mussel story: learn zebra mussel basics, collect
zebra mussels to estimate the population density
Other options at ECHO:
If you are looking to combine the research vessel trip with an ECHO
experience geared towards middle to high school students, consider the
following options:
ECHO Treks,
Voices for the Lake, Lake
Champlain Basin Resource Room visit, Water Wizardry,
and Climate Conundrum.
Other options at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory:
Rubenstein Laboratory Class: Keeping the Balance in Lake Champlain.
For more info visit the Watershed
Alliance website
Details
Trips will be scheduled on a first come, first serve basis**
Times: 9am, 11am
Fee: $250 for a maximum of 22 participants (including all chaperones
and
teachers)
Grade Level: 7-12
To register, contact Caitrin Noel or Meghan Rogalus at (802)
859-3086
**Trips may be rescheduled due to weather or if both time slots are not
filled
on any one day
What to Bring: Wear comfortable, stable shoes, and
dress warmly as
conditions on the lake can be much different than on those on land on
any given
day. Please remember motion sickness medicine if you require it. A
camera
and/or binoculars are nice to have. Other suggested items depending on
the
weather: sunglasses, sun hat, sunscreen, rain coat and hat.
The Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Lake
Champlain is a
2.2 acre campus at One College Street on the Burlington Waterfront
recognizing Senator Patrick Leahy's lifelong dedication to the
stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin.
The Leahy Center is home to ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, the
University of Vermont’s Rubenstein Ecosystem Science
Laboratory, the Lake Champlain Basin Program Resource Room, Lake
Champlain Sea Grant and Watershed Alliance, and the Lake Champlain Navy
Memorial.
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