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ECHO SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Girl with snapping turtle
 

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!

New for 2008 – 2009:

ECHO TEACHER'S CHOICE PROGRAMS

Where teachers choose from over 30 topics for students K – 12 grades. All ECHO programs are linked to Vermont Science or Social Studies Standards and Grade Expectations.

Signing up for Teacher’s Choice Programs

  • Review programs for students in your grade and click on the title for a detailed program description.
  • ECHO will match your choices to an appropriate ECHO Trek for a complete inquiry program.
  • For groups up to 60 students. Choose one 60 minute program or up to two 30 minute programs.
  • For trips of more than 25 students, the group will be divided into more than one session and rotate to each experience.
  • NEW! Preschool Programs for field trip options for children 3 – 5 years old led by ECHO’s Preschool Educator.
  • Add time for your lunch, gift shop, or additional self-guided exhibit explorations and ECHO Encounters.
Program Title Grade Range Duration Description
Beavers K - 3 30 min What makes this amazing mammal so unique? How does it create new habitats?
Body Coverings K - 3 30 min Scutes, scales, fur or feathers? What keeps animals warm and healthy?
Creature Feature K - 3 30 min What makes a fish a fish or a frog a frog? Investigate five vertebrate groups and the features that help these animals survive.
Birds of the Wetland K - 3 30 min Can you do the heron dance? What is a raptor? How does a duck swim? Explore the diversity of feathered friends in the wetlands.
Marsh, Bog, Swamp! K - 3 30 min Who are the scientists of the marsh? What are the parts of a healthy wetland? Who can live in a wetland?
Watershed Waterworks K - 6 30 min Where does water flow in nature? Why is Lake Champlain important to living and non-living things?
Amphibians Around Us K - 6 30 min Explore life cycles, characteristics, and behaviors of this unique group of vertebrates found in the Lake Champlain watershed and beyond.
Lake Champlain in a Bag K - 6 30 min How is Lake Champlain like a bathtub? Your students will become crucial parts of a working watershed.
Life in the Wetland 3 - 6 30 min What characteristics make it possible for life to survive in a wetland? Why is the wetland considered an animal “nursery”?
Wetland Wonders 3 - 6 30 min Make predictions and conduct two wetland experiments that help students understand the value of this unique habitat.
Rock and Roll Geology 3 - 6 60 min Go back ten thousand years investigating mock “time capsules” to understand how Lake Champlain came to be.
Hands on the Land 3 - 6 60 min How have humans changed the landscape and impacted life over time? What changes can we make to minimize damage to our environment?
Zoom In on Zebra Mussels 3 - 6 60 min What are "invasive species?" How did zebra mussels get here and why are they a problem to the lives of other species?
Skeletons and Skulls 3 - 6 60 min What can bones tell us about animals' form and function? Be a scientist and find out how animals live using clues from skulls and bones.
Rocks Rock 3 - 6 60 min What is the rock cycle? Explore rocks, their properties, the forces of change, and the stories we find in stone.
Weather Watchers 3 - 6 60 min Explore wind, precipitation, temperature, and how these non-living things interact and help us predict the weather.
Stewardship Jenga 3 - 8 30 min What is stewardship? What choices can we make for a better environment?
ECHO Jeopardy 3 - 8 30 min Explore ECHO's exhibits through a unique scavenger hunt, then test your knowledge featuring ECHO’s PRS voting system in a Jeopardy game.
Eco-Footprint 3 - 12 30 min What influence can your students make in reducing human impact on the environment? PRS voting system tells the story.
Vermiculture 3 - 12 30 min How does a worm move? What happens when worms eat garbage? Investigate this fascinating invertebrate with hand lenses and a high-tech microscope.
Aqua Action 3 - 12 30 min Explore the importance and availability of water, and key issues affecting Lake Champlain. Develop a Public Service Announcement telling others about key stewardship actions.
Tricky Traveler Investigation 5 - 8 30 min What are the stories behind our local invasive species? What characteristics make them so adaptable to new environments? Can they be controlled? What can you do to help?
Climate Conundrum 5 - 8 60 min How can animals indicate climate change? What choices can people make to respond to this global issue?
Voices for the Lake 5 - 8 60 min Using the 2008 State of the Lake Report as a resource, how will students vote in a mock “Town Meeting” about issues with our Lake? Students use role playing and PRS voting system.
Properties of Water 5 - 8 60 min How does water behave in our environment? Explore volume, density, percolation, evaporation, and the Lake’s seiche phenomenon.
Contour Mapping 5 - 12 60 min How can you map an underwater landscape or a mountain range? Use math to understand elevation and slope and their impact on environmental change.
Molecular Water 8 - 12 60 min A water molecule comes alive through experiments that have students questioning, predicting, and testing results as they explore bonds, adhesion, cohesion, surface tension, and capillary action.

ECHO SELF-GUIDED PROGRAMS

Experience all the learning at ECHO with support from ECHO’s Volunteer Exhibit Interpreters:

ECHO Wathershead Weather Reporter Studio
 
  • Movie shorts, games, crafts, experiments, and hands-on activities.
  • Daily Animal Feedings and Demonstrations: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.
  • ECHO Treks: Several options exist for teachers from “I Spy at ECHO” scavenger hunts to Inquiry Treks that foster deeper observations and questions for discussion at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of discussion.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PROGRAM RESOURCE ROOM

  • Dive deeper into Lake Champlain at the Resource Room located on the top floor of ECHO.

UPPER LEVEL HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGES

ECHO is happy to help customize a visit for high school, college and university students. We welcome the opportunity for more advanced exploration and discussion with high school and college groups. For more information please contact Tracy Truzansky.

Possible Presentations and Discussion Topics
  • Benefits of partnering with a science center for pre-service teachers.
  • Orientation to informal education in science centers.
  • Public speaking and inquiry-based teaching.
  • Access issues in public educational institutions.

Opportunities for Personal Growth at ECHO
  • Get Involved with Internships, Work-Study, Service Learning, Project Graduation, and Volunteerism.
  • Linking field work, lab work and communicating results into public education.
  • Leadership through developing programs for Community Science Nights, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, Preschool or After School Programs.

ECHO PARTNERS AND SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS