Physical Science Applications

The Living Classroom Sustainability Lab
Project Director: Christel Driscoll
Staff: Thomas Fournier
Lincoln Middle School
Portland, Maine
207-874-8145
Project website
driscc@portlandschools.org

This project will educate students, staff, and community about sustainable practices. Students and community volunteers will construct a 33' diameter, 850 square foot geodesic dome this spring. Construction of the geodesic dome will be a focal point to learning about forces, energy, structural integrity and public relations for the students. The geodesic dome provides a self-sustaining environment where we will learn "green" habits such as using alternative energies for heating, composting, plant growing, and recycling. All electrical items in the dome will be powered by solar energy. Compost waste will be provided by our school lunch waste. This will then be used to grow our own plants and vegetables. We want students to learn where their waste goes and how it can be used productively to produce food. Surrounding the geodesic dome will be an "education park" created by 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. This will most likely start fall of next year. Our goal with the education park is to share with students and community an inviting greenspace that educates individuals about indiginous Maine plant species and plants that represent our ethnic communities. Incorporated in the education park will be student artwork to represent who we are as a community.

Wave Connections: Science of the Arts
Project Director: Dr. Catherine Hibbitt
Staff: Giovonne Calenda, Paul Otto
Lincoln School
Providence, Rhode Island
401-331-9696
chibbitt@lincolnschool.org

In Wave Connections: Science of the Arts, understanding of wave phenomena (light and sound) is applied to creative arts at the core of a cross-discipline and cross-division investigation. Students learn basic science (wave physics, wave interactions, and mathematical analysis of wave) and experience the progression of scientific research through experiments centered on the sounds (music) and light (colors of natural dyes). This basic understanding then becomes a tool to assess the colors of natural dyes, quantitative comparison of dye success, individual creative projects and harmonograph analysis of wave interactions. Focusing research on the arts allows students to understand the intimate connections between science and "non-science", uniting subject areas through investigative science. The cross-division design of the project takes advantage of strengths and scientific backgrounds of students at different stages in their education, as well as the positive energy of collaboration.

Wave Power Generation, A Closer Look at the Production of Electric Power
Project Director: John McDaniel
Nevada Union High School
Grass Valley, California
530-273-4431
jmcdaniel@nuhsd.k12.ca.us

Wave Power Generation: A closer Look at the Production of Electric Power Using Water Waves. Students will design, fabricate and test a wave tank to be used by science classes at Nevada Union High School. The wave tank will then be used for advanced studies in wave power generation. Students will have the opportunity to design, build and test electric power generators that utilize the Nevada Union High School Wave Tank as a source of wave power.

An "Introduction to Scientific Research" Course-Preparation of Functional Polymeric Microspheres
Project Director: Dr. Norman Nielsen
Northwest Christian High School
Lacey, Washington
360-491-2966
normniels@comcast.net

Our students will form a new laboratory research course in which they will study and perform experiments in an emerging technology. Their goal will be to prepare mono-disperse polymeric microspheres into which they will incorporate quantum dots and metaloporphyrin dye. Students will examine the literature, design experiments, carry out polymerizations, and diffuse dots and dye into the resulting spheres. They will characterize the spheres and use them to measure the concentration of oxygen in biological systems. In their study and characterization of product spheres, they will interact with scientists and use high tech equipment at The Evergreen State College nearby. Students will analyze their research and present results to other NCHS science classes and to parents at the annual science fair and thus receive a hands-on introduction to scientific research as practiced today to help prepare them for college or university.

Coal Mine Chemistry: A Canary Sings a Science Lesson
Project Director: Elaine Paulishak
Staff: Rosann Moskel, John Smolley, William Buza, Rebecca Rabel
Mid Valley Middle School
Throop, Pennsylvania
570-307-1150
Bioperson@aol.com

Our community lies in the middle of coal mining country. Generations of families at our school have worked the mines. Coal as an energy source is making a comeback and the advent of the Sego mining disaster has spotlighted the need for safety in mines. This project allows middle school students to study the chemistry of mines and design safer mines through scientific inquiry. The students will visit an underground mine, interview former mine workers, talk with reclamation engineers, conduct prescribed experiments, and design experiments related to mine safety. From their study, they will produce journals, a documentary for the school board, safe mine designs for a Science exhibit, create activities for sixth grade students, and present their scientific studies at the Junior Academy of Science meeting. Years ago it was the twill of a canary that gave miners a sense of security; in the future it will be an educated and informed generation of coal miners that will keep the canary singing.

HOPE: Hands On Physics Education
Project Director: Amanda Potter
Staff: Jim Crites, Mike Sizemore
Frenship High School
Wollforth, Texas
806-866-4440
apotter@frenship.us

The goal of the HOPE project is to use science principles to reduce fatalities and serious injuries caused by young drivers in our community. Another goal is to increase student knowledge of Newton's Laws of Motion and their relevance to the everyday lives of our students. Tenth grade students, Texas' beginning drivers, will conduct speed and motion experiments using state of the art equipment to demonstrate how the laws of physics apply to safe driving practices. Students will use model cars, ramps and other equipment to explore the laws of motion apply them to moving vehicles. Next, police investigators will present the students with actual accident scenes. Students will calculate speed, velocity and force using the data presented by the investigator. Then, a new car dealership will be invited to present the latest safety technology to our students. Finally, students will share what they have learned with the community through posters and presentations.

Science Exhibit Development: Thermal Infrared Light
Project Director: Jeffrey Regester
Greensboro Day School
Greensboro, North Carolina
336-288-8590
Project website
jregester@greensboroday.org

Seniors at Greensboro Day School will design and build an interactive exhibit for display at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, which sees over 165,000 visitors per year. The topic of the exhibit is thermal infrared radiation. Students will learn the science of the electromagnetic spectrum in general and IR in particular, and also electronics, microcontrollers, programming, public speaking and the practical shop skills needed to turn an exhibit design into reality. NSCG visitors will be able to conduct a variety of experiments illustrating the properties of thermal-infrared light and learn about its significance and uses in science, engineering, medicine and the military.

Physics Outdoor Labs
Project Director: Claire Small
Staff: Melinn Burlingame, Tracy Bond, Mitch Wright, Matt Jones
Springdale High School
Springdale, Arkansas
479-750-8832
csmall@sdale.org

To many students scientific concepts can seem unrelated to their everyday lives. We want to show students how they can apply what they learn in class by helping develop outdoor labs for use by themselves and others. Students will develop a collection of outdoor physics lab stations. University physics faculty, strongly involved in the preparation of future science teachers, will review these activities, lending pedagogical advice. This collection of stations will be used as a central location to conduct physics labs or demonstrations in four general areas. The four areas included are motion, forces and simple machines, sound, and optics. At the end of the year-long project, students will organize a science field day for area schools to come and investigate each area. Students work together in math, science, art, and agricultural classes to complete the outdoor centers. We make these outdoor labs available to community members and bring them into class to discuss their careers.

An Investigation of the Flow of Iron Through the Otter Creek Watershed
Project Director: Dr. William Smith
Staff: Robert Mercer, Lorraine Skala, Dr. Amanda Grannas
Bristol High School
Bristol, Pennsylvania
215-781-1030
willsmith2@aol.com

Environmental chemistry is a growing interdisciplinary field in the sciences. The Earth's crust is composed of approximately 1.9% iron which occurs as both the ferrous, Fe (II), and ferric, Fe (III), species in nature. All ground and surface waters, and the sediments below them, contain iron in one of these two species. The cycling of iron between these two species and between dissolved, colloidal, and particulate forms has a significant effect on both the biotic and abiotic chemistry related to freshwater. Bristol High School chemistry students will investigate the concentrations and states of iron throughout our local ecosystem. This is novel research. Students will be involved from the beginning in developing research questions and carrying out the procedures to address their questions. At minimum, they will publish and present their findings to each other. Ideally, they will generate interest in the larger community of environmental chemists. Iron was chosen as a model heavy metal because of its low toxicity and because it can be complexed to form an intensely colored material which is detectable by a relatively inexpensive UV/Vis spectrometer to be purchased with the grant money.

Energy…The More You Know!
Project Director: Peter Stewart
San Jose Middle School
Novato, California
415-883-3203
pstewart@nusd.org

In this project, students will design, videotape, and edit a public service announcement (PSA) about energy. These PSA's will serve to increase student awareness about the science and sources of energy as well as how energy permeates their lives. By creating a PSA, students will have the hands-on opportunity to produce a storyboard, learn cinematography, do video editing, and give public presentations, while learning about energy. Ultimately, we expect the students will show their PSA to their school and to the community on a day to celebrate energy called "Earth-Energy Awareness Day."

Integrating Literacy and Science

(CONECT) Classroom and Outdoor Experiences Coming Together
Project Director: Kelly Bartashnick
Staff: Kim Chumney
Baylor-Woodson Elementary School
Inkster, Michigan
734-467-5697
kmisy@aol.com

The purpose of Classroom and Outdoor Nature Experiences Coming Together (CONECT) is to combine classroom lessons with outdoor learning experiences. Children are spending less time outdoors and even less time experiencing nature. Studies have shown that children's connections with the natural world are vital to learning compassion for the world around them. The CONECT program will be designed to prepare students for real world experiences with nature through a series of lessons both in and out of the classroom. CONECT will teach upper elementary students how to use laboratory equipment, collect specimens, keep journals of observations (words and sketches), analyze their findings, and investigate the world around them. In many of our schools today, science is at a minimum in elementary curriculum. CONECT is a pilot program that will create a curriculum to integrate reading, writing, art and science in a way that allows for elementary teachers to incorporate it into their programs.

Norris Elementary Wetland
Project Director: Renee Branham
Staff: Dora Wade, John Byrd, Merna Crawhorn, Jo Ellen Emert, Jess Anne Cole,
Dr. Denise Wilburn
Norris Elementary School
Norris, Tennessee
865-494-7422
rbranham@acs.ac

"Why does this Green Frog have 5 legs?" This observation and question, based on the finding of a Norris student, is the heart of science. Asking the questions "what's here and how does it change over time" demands a curriculum rich in discovery and hypotheses-based science, applied math, literacy, and technology. The goal of Project NEW (Norris Elementary Wetland) is for students to conduct research, including the scope of recently discovered amphibian deformities in our area, on the parade of organisms that will be "marching" into the NEW habitat. Thanks to in-kind community support, we have completed construction of a $100,000 on-site wetland to reduce non-point source pollution and serve as an outdoor lab. The next phase is teacher training in wetland ecosystems and selection of class projects. We want a community of learners with a solid understanding of how wetlands contribute to quality of life. A NEW website database and across grade strategies for sharing findings will serve as evaluation criteria.

Improving Communication Skills through Engineering Design Projects
Project Director: Mark Goldner
Staff: Rachel Hayashi, Matt Durant, Aaron Levy
Heath School
Brookline, Massachusetts
617-879-4570
Mark_goldner@brookline.k12.ma.us

8th graders at the Heath School will work collaboratively on three engineering projects that will improve their writing skills and oral communication skills, as well as their understanding of basic physics and the engineering design process. Students will (a) brainstorm and decide upon an effective design, (b) construct the project, (c) use Venier data collection tools and digital video and still photography to quantitatively analyze and evaluate their design, (d) present their process and analysis in an oral presentation, and (e) write about the process and analysis in a report. During each project we will partner with a younger grade class where the 8th graders will communicate the engineering process and physics concepts. A major focus is development of writing skills. Students will set up a weblog where they will discuss their progress and give each other feedback. In addition, students will create a formal presentation where they analyze the performance of their project. Finally, students will write an analysis paper. This project is collaboration between the science, English, technology and special education teachers.

Reading Rocks: A Hole in One!
Project Director: Dianne Haberstroh
Staff: Melissa Danner, Jill Coburn, Robert Steckel
Orefield Middle School
Orefield, Pennsylvania
610-351-5750
haberstrohd@parklandsd.org

"Reading Rocks: A Hole In One" is an interdisciplinary literacy based science program that incorporates PA geological concepts to be shared with the community at Spring Hill Miniature Golf Course. Fourth and seventh grade students will form partnerships to create interactive hands-on activities, books, a fossil dig, batting cage science and more to be shared at this local miniature golf course. Students will learn successful reading and writing strategies in the content area of science. These students will produce informational, manipulative signs to be placed at several golf holes throughout the miniature golf course. An indoor display will include student created books, informational pieces, rocks, minerals, fossils and mining history of PA. A giant sand pit will be the place to dig for fossils and batting cage science will challenge even the strongest arm. Highlighting the project will be a special Parkland School District Night where the entire community will share in the displays created by the students. The entire community will be engaged in this unique interactive science-learning environment while having fun!

Weather Watchers
Project Director: Jenna Hallman
Staff: Pam Monroe, Cindy Culp, Courtney Rouse, Vince Dicarlo
Calhoun Academy of the Arts
Anderson, South Carolina
864-260-5090
jennahallman@anderson5.net

The second grade teachers at Calhoun Academy of the Arts will increase student interest and awareness of weather phenomenon through field experiences, authentic interaction with an on-site weather station, and the integration of reading, writing, and math with science concepts. Background knowledge will be developed with a visit to the National Weather Service. The students will interact with weather specialists and learn about weather instruments. Following this experience, the students will begin to collect and record weather data using the instruments from the weather station. Their findings will be presented in a weekly school news program. Due to students' limited exposure to winter weather we will provide them with an interactive learning experience at EdVenture Children's Museum. The students will have the opportunity to experience snow and the fun it brings. At the conclusion of the project, we will hold a parent participatory "Science Night" to showcase student science learning through the arts.

E.Y.E.S. (Equipping Young Enthusiastic Scientists)
Project Director: Greer Harvell
Clifford C. Meigs Middle School
Shalimar, Florida
850-833-4301
harvellg@mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us

The purpose of this project is to put visual data collection equipment into the hands of my students. Each year my students participate in a research based essay project on the natural world. They choose an expedition site and from this site choose a topic to investigate. Researching literary and internet sources provide students with a starting point and this information combined with data collected in the field is analyzed and developed into their own theory that they will then communicate in essay form. The journal entries made during their investigations make it possible to target where and when the initial enthusiasm for the project begins to fade as frustration at inability to collect more sophisticated data mounts. The digital microscope, access to visual equipment in the field and real time communication with scientists via webcam will enhance the quality and scope of research as well as provide a springboard for discussions.

Saving Our Valley, One Child at a Time
Project Director: Karen Hutchison
Staff: Sharon Applegate, Marna Pickard
Edgerton Elementary School
Kalispell, Montana
406-751-4040
hutchisonk@sd5.k12.mt.us

Glacier National Park is the Crown Jewel of the Continent but is it becoming cubic zirconia? Young people often underestimate their own power to affect change. Our proposal integrates literature and science to develop a sense of environmental stewardship in sixth grade students. Through reading nonfiction and fictional novels, students will understand past human impact on Earth and their potential impact on the future. Together with the Flathead Conservation District, students will examine a particular site within the Flathead River Watershed; they will collect data, analyze it and draw conclusions regarding the extent of human impact at that site. This will lead them to propose ways in which they can correct the problems. The students will then share their findings with other students and implement their solutions.

Horticultural Therapy Program for Students with Disabilities
Project Director: Theresa Mansor
Staff: Pete Cummins, Carla Russell, Craig L. Bell
Atlantic City High School
Atlantic City, New Jersey
609-343-7300
tmansor@yahoo.com

Activities developed in the Horticulture Therapy Program will take special needs students through the learning cycle of experiencing, sharing, processing, generalizing, and applying; encouraging students to draw on experiences, questions, and active investigations. Horticultural education provides the basis of instruction to connect the experiences to the science learning process. Students will explore plant characteristics and life cycles, seeds, basic plant needs, and soil connection. Indoor and outdoor gardening activities will help students develop both project skills and life skills. The tactile nature of horticultural therapy is often a good fit for students with disabilities providing hands-on science and not simply a modification of the traditional curriculum but an authentic way to experience science.

The Apollo Project
Project Director: Anna Matthys
Staff: Gerge Louk, Judy Myers, David Billings, Janet Armstrong
Oakland Elementary School
Lafayette, Indiana
765-771-6130
amatthys@lsc.k12.in.us

Although most people associate Apollo with the moon, in ancient mythology Apollo was also in charge of the sun. Our Apollo Project is designed to give elementary students "exposure" to the sun. At its core, it is a long-term data collection and inquiry project integrated with a strong creative writing and literacy component. Essentially, it involves weekly observations of the sun in various wavelengths of light. Students will document changes in sunspot activity, compare visible-light images of the sun with Hydrogen-alpha and Calcium spectra images of the sun, and predict future solar activity. This data will be accessed as students develop their own research questions as they continue their study. Literacy is seamlessly coupled with the observations through journaling of observations and questions, reading non-fiction material related to the sun, studying various mythologies associated with the sun, and a strong creative writing component.

"The Worm Goes in and the Worm Comes Out ..."
Project Director: Roberta McCarthy
Staff: Dr. June Levy, Sylvia Hayes, Erin Fitzpatrick
Celentano Museum Academy
New Haven, Connecticut
203-691-3400
Roberta.mccarthy@new-haven.k12.ct.us

Our students will learn information about the dependency of man on worms and the environment. Experimentation with the worm bin and worms will be recorded and graphed. Our portfolios will also contain exploration of the human system. Our strategies of connecting information to our own lives, wondering about the interdependence of man and other more simple forms of life will be part of our literacy and research. The cycle of life and the interdependence of all forms of life will be explored using all the multiple intelligences emphasized by Gardner.

Green Eggs & Sand: An Early Childhood Ecosystem EGGS-ploration
Project Director: Angie W. Meadows
Staff: Cathy Simon-Cord, Cynthia Craig
Wilmington Montessori School
Wilmington, Delaware
302-475-0555
angie_meadows@wmsde.org

Dr. Seuss's prose will pave the way for environmental investigation of the Delaware Bay and its 300 million-year-old resident, the horseshoe crab. This keystone species not only provides food for migratory shorebirds (green eggs); it also protects us from bacterial infection. Hands-on discovery experiences will model the scientific process and problem solving. Communication skills will be strengthened through reading (nonfiction, fiction), writing (journals, letters), and illustration (story boards). Classroom activities will be enriched by scientists, authors, artists and field trips focusing on the Delaware Bay ecosystem, horseshoe crabs, and their relationship to shorebirds. Teacher training will promote use of science content to foster natural development of language and literacy skills in early education. Students will strengthen environmental consciousness and their family and community through service learning projects and creation of a scientific video-documentary.

Project Director: Diane Petersen
Staff: Kirsten Thomsen, Stacey Northcott, Lynn Chambers, Justin Grillo,
Kelly Hinderer, Angie Deishl
Waterville Elementary School
Waterville, Washington
509-745-8585
dpetersen@waterville.wednet.edu

Our project integrates the state standards in science, reading, writing, speaking and art into projects centered on the topic of biodiversity. We have asked the over-arching question "What is the biodiversity of Waterville?" Each classroom teacher has chosen a specific group of animals, water issues or geologic influences to study. For example, third grade asks the question, "What is the biodiversity of birds in Waterville?" and first grade asks, "What is the biodiversity of butterflies in Waterville?" while 6th grade asks, "What are the water issues related to the biodiversity of Waterville?" Students will do reading, writing and speaking assignments based on the Washington state grade level expectations as they work to answer these questions. In addition, learning will be shared in a published field guide, with models of each animal and in a model garden.

"Crest to Coast: Etna Elementary Marine/Coastal Education Project
Project Director: Susan Rickey
Staff: Gary Warner
Etna Elementary School
Etna, California
530-467-3320
srickey@sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us

Involving personnel from our local community and Northern California we intend to develop a Coastal and Marine Science Education / Restoration Program at Etna Elementary School. Sixth grade teacher Susan Rickey, project director, and Gary Warner, project coordinator, will work together to administer this project. The main components to implement this program, beyond classroom instruction, will be the use of our 1 acre outdoor learning center on campus, our two room science / technology lab and a restoration / field study trip to the Klamath River Estuary and the near by coast line. Follow up activities will take place by students and shared with our school, community and other school districts. Students will focus on literacy in the form of non fiction reading, poetry, research papers, journals, news paper articles, letter writing, note taking, essays, movies, and oral reports to prepare, document and reflect upon their project experiences.

WIN: Weather's Impact on Nature
Project Director: Karen Scholz
Staff: Waleska Landing
Sarah Greenwood School
Dorchester, Massachusetts
617-635-8710
kscholz@boston.k12.ma.us

At our dual language school for K-8 in the city of Boston, via our proposed Weather Impacts Nature (WIN) Project students will collect, record, analyze and discuss results of weather data from a school-based weather station. The WIN Project will directly link the school's literacy objectives with an innovative method for teachers to integrate science content, literacy applications and our six-trait writing program. Through this process students will increase their ability to think critically, interpret and communicate scientific and technical information within the context of investigating recent changes in weather patterns and the effects on the local environment, economy, habitats, and lifestyles. By installing a weather tracking station and linking our school to the Weatherbug Network, we will also create a platform for scientific discourse with a larger community, making science more accessible to our large population of English Language Learners and increasing student achievement.

Rock'n in the Golden Valley
Project Director: Bret Sutterley
Staff: Alvina Knispel
Math Science Magnet School at Dutcher Elementary School
Turlock, California 95380
209-667-8817
bsutterley@turlock.k12.ca.us

This Proposal will provide hands-on opportunities for our students to learn about the unique geological features of the Great Central Valley of California, and surrounding foothills and mountains. California abounds in unique geological features including two large tectonic plates running north to south along our borders, subduction, glaciations, earthquakes, fault lines, and volcanic activity. All these features have led our state to having continual and constant change. I want our students to become familiar with these changes from a scientific perspective. My goal is to take what they learned about the geology of our area, and teach other students through a class written book, pod casts and video.

Integrated Urban Ecology of San Diego Bay
Project Director: Dr. Jay Vavra
Staff: Tom Fehrenbacher, Rod Buenviaje
High Tech High
San Diego, California
619-243-5032
jvavra@hightechhigh.org

"We propose an original multidisciplinary study culminating in the publication of a book, tentatively titled "The People of San Diego Bay." As the fourth in a published series, we wish to continue our student-driven research of San Diego Bay through scientific fieldwork, interviews, photography, nature reflections, poetry and art. We hope to make our discoveries by focusing upon selected individuals, some of whom have made their livelihood from the Bay's commerce, others who have found rest and recreation upon its waters, and still others who have sought to save and restore our City's great resource."

Habitat Mapping and Genetic Survey of Falcipennis canadensis (Spruce Grouse) in Wallowa County, Oregon
Project Director: Michael Baird
Staff: Mike Crawford, Kevin McCadden, Mike Rowley
Enterprise High School
Enterprise, Oregon
541-426-3193
mbaird@enterprise.k12.or.us

Enterprise High School Biology teacher, Mike Baird, has been working with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) to find, capture, radio-collar, and monitor movements of spruce grouse, Falcipennis canadensis, in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeast Oregon. This population is the only known population of spruce grouse in Oregon and represents the most southwestern extent of the spruce grouse range in North America. The Wallowa Mountains population is isolated geographically by the Palouse Prairie, the eastern Washington scablands, the Snake River and Hell's Canyon leading to speculation about the genetic relationship between the Oregon population and populations in adjacent Idaho and Washington. In the future, under direction of the ODFW, a newly developing wing feather will be pulled from captured grouse. Quills contain blood and a sample of the blood will be obtained from the ODFW. The samples will be gene sequenced. Students will plot spruce grouse locations using Arc GIS software and create a map that correlates grouse locations with existing vegetative layers obtained from the Forest Service. This project will examine genetics, populations, habitats, evolutionary principles and the use of technology to make maps, spreadsheets, perform genetic analysis and plot GPS locations.

Winds of Change: A pre and post Katrina Investigation of the Impact of the Hurricane on the Local Environment
Project Director: Suzette Burton
Staff; Shani Gauthier, Melinda Miller
Hancock High School
Kiln, Mississippi
228-467-2251
suzburton@aol.com

Our school is located in a rural setting, surrounded by wetlands, which include both fresh and salt environments. Students’ homes are located along these waterways using them for both recreation and income. With funding from a grant (2001-2005) students were able to monitor these wetlands to determine the quality of the environment. Students became very possessive of their little strip of water. Testing of the perimeters documented a high quality stream with good macro-invertebrates, and physical / chemical perimeters. On August 29, 2005, the lives of Mississippi Gulf Coast families and the environmental conditions were changed by the winds and flooding of Hurricane Katrina. Streams once pristine are now littered with debris from destroyed homes, dead animals, and fallen trees originating from sources miles away. Exotic plant species have found root in that debris. Chemicals released during the flooding flowed into streams and into the Gulf of Mexico. Salt water intruded fresh water wetlands leaving fragile flora dead. A year after the storm the community is still trying to reclaim their lives. Likewise, students want to know the fate of their little strip of water and if it can be returned to pre-Katrina purity. This grant will offer an opportunity to face this issue.

Genetics and Evolution through Poecilla winge
Project Director: Catherine Campbell
Staff: Ron Kaminskis
Scarlett Middle School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
734-997-1220
Campbel1@aaps.k12.mi.us

What affects the color patterns of male Poecilla winge? This question allows open investigation to determine if fish colors are affected by female sexual selection, predator pressures or other environmental factors. Students will study the research done by Dr. Jon Endler (U.C. Berkley), an evolutionary biologist who first conducted studies on this small guppy-like fish. The students will also research fish husbandry and learn how to care for the fish and learn the natural history of the fish. Working in small groups, they will then design and conduct their own experiments, using a state-of-the-art controlled aquaria system. Students will maintain the fish through a minimum of six generations, carefully recording color and pattern changes, and noting changes, numbers of males successfully mating and number of progeny produced by each female. Excess progeny will be marketed and sold to local aquarium stores and hobbyists with brochures, video and displays created by students to market the fish and explain the project and results. Subsequent students could choose to attempt to replicate results or introduce new independent variables, such as increasing or decreasing predators, changing the substrate or changing the number of female fish.

Alison Project
Project Director: Dorothy DeBlauw
Staff: Kristen Friesen, Martin Jeffries
Tri-Valley School
Healy, Alaska 99743
907-683-2278
ddeblauw@dbsd.org

The ALISON Project—Alaska Lake and Snow Observatory Network—is an integrated research and education project that addresses issues of Arctic Change and its effects on freshwater ice. Partnering with students as citizen scientists, ALISON is spearheaded by Professor Martin Jeffries, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher, and supported by Denali National Park and the Murie Science and Learning Center. Twice a month, October through April, fourth- and fifth-graders travel 20 miles to the park and hike one mile down a steep trail to Horseshoe Lake. There, they collect data on snow and air temperature, snow depth and density, and ice thickness. This data is sent to the scientist and he incorporates them in to his multi-year study, providing first-time-ever information on heat flow from frozen freshwater lakes throughout Alaska. The students are contributing to Arctic climate science in the context of global change research.

Kolea K.I.D.S. (Kindling Insight, Developing Stewardship)
Project Director: Valerie DelosSantos-Duarte
Saint Anthony Grade School
Wailuku, Hawaii
808-244-4976
valalika@maui.net

Kolea are migratory birds that reside in the cold of the tundra and the warmth of the Pacific. For many years, their numbers on and around our campus seemed to slowly increase but recently, students have noticed a decline in the population in these fields and have wondered aloud, "Why?" Kolea K.I.D.S. will help students search for an answer to their question as they learn about migration, the interconnections between two ecosystems, and threats that human impact have created for the kolea. Working to reduce these threats, students will come to understand too, that in science, one must not only ask questions and seek answers, but must take responsibility for the answers found.

California Kelp Restoration Project
Project Director: Steven Doucette
Staff: Nancy Caruso, Lori Bacigalupi
Pacifica High School
Garden Grove, California
714-663-6515
Project website
sdoucette@earthlink.net

For the past two years, our school has participated with the Coastkeeper Alliance by growing kelp spores for replanting off the coast of California. Our TAPESTRY Grant allows us to expand our role to "scientists" and advocates. Our project includes the addition of another school, four plantings under different growth conditions and a public awareness campaign. Each planting begins with divers delivering harvested sporophylls to our classroom. Students then follow a two-day procedure to release the spores. They then populate settling trays lined with ceramic tiles. These settling trays are placed on our kelp kart, which controls the water temperature, water circulation and light. Students monitor and record measurements as determined by the protocol in the experimental design. After six weeks, divers remove the tiles for reef implantation. Students will also develop an informational website and build a portable booth that can be used to deliver public awareness campaigns. At the end of the project students will visit the site where divers are planting their kelp. While students will not be able to dive, they will be able to watch as the divers enter and leave the water with their tiles. Underwater photographs and video will capture the events taking place below.

Steelworks Reclamation Garden
Project Director: Cheryl Ford
Staff: Carol Fortino, Dan Zufall, Brandon Grebence, Richard Rhoades
South Park Elementary
Pueblo, Colorado 81005
719-549-7600
Reach4stars04@hotmail.com

This project involves students in planning and building an outdoor 35x100 ft. Reclamation Garden at the Steelworks Museum of Industry and Culture. A tri-level mentoring program will involve low-income, minority 5th graders in science, middle school students from Math Engineering, Science Association (MESA) organization, and high school MESA, Biology 2 and computer assisted design (CAD) students. The Reclamation Graden will demonstrate how stripped-mined land for coal can be reclaimed by recontouring tailings and slag heaps, reseeding slopes, and recreating wetlands. Students will take field trips to a strip mine, a coal-fired electricity plant, and the Oregon Steel plant. Middle school students will present environmental experiments to elementary classes and help them design garden layouts. Biology 2 students will teach middle schoolers advanced science concepts and Computer Aided Design students will help refine designs. All students will design explanation panels for inside the museum.

Environmental Change Can Be a Good Thing
Project Director: Mark Johnson
Staff: Joni Stierhoff, Lisa Huml, Erin McMullen, Carrie Watts
Stingel Intermediate Elementary
Mansfield, Ohio
419-529-5037
Johnson.marke@ontarioschools.org

The Agents of Change Project will engage science students in a hands-on approach to environmental stewardship. Students will record the "baseline" health of selected ecological niches on the school grounds such as grasslands, woodlots, intermittent streams and hardscapes. Software will be used to graph and store data and the data will be compared to the ecological health of each niche studied. Students will then become "agents of change" as they research the native plants in our state that would normally inhabit these niches and then methodically introduce the flora that would improve the health of each area. The study would be ongoing from year to year as each group adds to the efforts of the year before, adding new plants and observing changes over time.

Lynnhaven Legacy
Project Director: Mark Kinzel
Staff: Lydia McNeal, Tamara Freeman, Shannon Farrell
Lynnhaven Middle School
Virginia Beach, Virginia
757-496-6790
Project website