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EDUCATORS |
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NEW FROM
THE ECHO BLOG |
ARE THERE FISH IN YOUR BEER? |
POSTED JANUARY 18 AT 5:00 PM |
As a craft beer lover and avid home brewer I was thrilled… |
READ MORE + |
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SCHOOL
PROGRAMS
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ECHO Education programs model inquiry-based
teaching by facilitating student activities, prompting investigations,
and encouraging dialogue during intentional exhibit exploration. And,
of course, they’re lots of fun! |
ECHO TEACHER'S CHOICE PROGRAM OPTIONS
ECHO provides teachers with a broad range of
topics for deeper immersion and clearer connection to their curriculum
for students in grades K-12. All ECHO programs are linked to Vermont
Science or Social Studies Standards and Grade Expectations and are
taught by ECHO Education Staff or by supervised pre-service teachers
interning at ECHO.
Signing up for Teacher’s Choice Programs
- Using the chart below, review programs
for students in your grade level. Click on the title for a brief
overview, PDF version of the program description.
- ECHO will match your program choices to
an appropriate ECHO Inquiry Trek for a complete program experience.
- For trips of more than 25 students, the
group will be divided into sessions and the same program will be
repeated so all students can participate in the same experience using a
session rotation. ECHO will assist you with planning the number and
length of programs for a well-orchestrated experience with ample time
for exhibit exploration, ECHO Encounters, lunch, and
visits to the gift shop.
- Preschool
Programs for children 3-5 years old are led by ECHO’s Youth
Education Specialist. Pre-registration is required by contacting the
front desk.
|
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| Program Title (PDF
desc.) |
Grade
Range |
Duration
|
Description |
| Wetland
Wonders |
K - 6 |
45 min |
It’s a sponge, it’s a filter, it’s a
nursery… it’s a wetland! Explore the living and non-living elements of
a wetland through model-making, experimental inquiry and an engineering
solution to preserve this unique ecosystem. |
| Creature Feature |
K - 6 |
45 min |
What makes a fish a fish or a frog a frog?
Investigate five vertebrate groups, their form and function, and the
key to classification. |
| Amphibians
All Around |
K - 6 |
45 min |
Explore life cycles, characteristics, and
behaviors of amphibians found in the Lake Champlain watershed… and
beyond. Sketch, call and hop your way to understanding this unique
group of vertebrates. |
| Lake Champlain in a Bag |
K - 6 |
45 min |
How is Lake Champlain like a bathtub? Your
students will play key parts in a flowing watershed diorama. |
| Rock and Roll Geology
|
3 - 6 |
45 min |
Explore 10,000 years of geologic history
and both human and natural impacts. Explore rapid and gradual
geologic change and perform actual geologic tests. |
| Native American Artifact Inquiry |
3 - 6 |
45 min |
Use scientific inquiry and games to
illuminate the sophistication of Native American ingenuity, learning
styles and values. |
| Properties
of Water in the Lake Champlain Basin |
3 - 6 |
45 min |
Surface tension, solutions, and states of
H20. Where does water flow? What’s at stake for our
Lake? |
| Properties
of Matter in the Lake Champlain Basin |
3 - 6 |
45 min |
Explore concepts of volume, density, chemical and physical change, and how states of matter can influence our environment. |
| Zoom
in on Zebra Mussels |
3 - 6 |
45 min |
Uncover characteristics that allow invasive species to adapt to
conditions in the Lake Champlain Basin. We will focus on Zebra Mussels
to understand how some adaptations for survival can cause havoc in the
watershed. |
ECHO SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMS
Experience all the learning at ECHO with
support from ECHO’s Volunteer Education Interpreters:
- Movie shorts, games, crafts, experiments,
and hands-on activities.
- Daily Animal Feedings and Demonstrations.
- ECHO Treks: Choose either our
"paper/pencil" ECHO Treks that guide student exhibit exploration
gathering data, estimating, drawing, etc. (we provide the clipboards
and pencils!) OR and ECHO Inquiry Trek that guides student exhibit
exploration through small group inquiry question prompts and discussion.
LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PROGRAM RESOURCE ROOM
- Dive deeper into Lake Champlain at the Resource Room, located
on the top floor of ECHO.
- An excellent teacher or student resource
for Lake and watershed curriculum or project planning across
disciplines using website links, maps, charts, pamphlets and multimedia.
- A quiet space for small group preschool
stories, games and puzzles.
UPPER LEVEL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGES
ECHO is happy to help customize a visit for
high school, college, university students. We welcome the opportunity
for more advanced exploration and discussion. For more information,
please contact Director of Education Molly Loomis.
Suggested Presentations and
Discussion Topics
- What are the benefits of partnering with
a science center?
- Orientation to informal education in
science centers.
- What is inquiry-based science all about?
- What goes into making an
exhibit?
- What are the barriers and solutions to
reaching under-served populations in a science center?
Opportunities for Personal Growth
at ECHO
- Get
involved through internships, work-study, service learning,
or as a volunteer.
- Link field work, lab work, or research
results to informal learning in a science center.
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1.802.864.1848
