Rose Ley – Thank’s to Rose, and the whole staff, who are starting to embrace the Citizen as a tool to show off some of the things that are happening in our schools. If we continue to get more stories and updates, we will create a section specifically dedicated to Salida schools. This would seem particularly poignant considering the investment the community is embracing in the form of the bond. Let us know your thoughts. -bd
“This is AWESOME!” “Come see what I found!”
About a year ago, the 5th grade teachers from Salida Middle School took four teams of five students to Cañon City for a day-long exploration of alternative energies. The day was one of professional development for teachers provided by the University of Colorado Science Explorers, a phenomenal program out of the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Kristi Dahl, science explorers director, and I talked about the possibility of Salida Middle School hosting a day of Science Explorers in our area. We did on Friday, October 15. Because the paleo-ecology workshops were being piloted, ten teachers and fifty middle school students got to participate at a cost of two teachers, ten students.
The day was divided into three workshops. In Dinosaurs, students and teachers built a life-size dinosaur; in Fossils, students and teachers engaged in a geo-safari based on the research of a true paleo-ecologist from the University of Colorado, Boulder; in Ancient Ecosystems, students and teachers acted as real paleontologists, using leaf-margin analysis to determine the prehistoric climate in Eastern Wyoming.
It was, as many students and teachers expressed, “AWESOME!” Learn more
Featured CU Scientist John Hankla, Museum and Field Studies
John has introduced us to the amazing world of paleoecology through his harvester ant research and his extensive personal collection of dinosaur fossils. Our 2010-2011 workshop series, Paleo-Explorers, has resulted from a combination of John’s paleontological expertise and resources and Science Explorers’ skill in creating age-appropriate, hands-on science curricula. Check out some of John’s work.
Awesome! My students loved the program. Thanks for the great article.
When I heard that the Science Explorers were coming to Salida, I thought, “Well, it sounds a little juvenile, but hey it’s science and will get me out of a day of school. Plus it’s different and I won’t have to go over the scientific method for the twentieth time.” When I arrived at the gymnasium, I was astonished to see a life sized dinosaur standing at the free throw line. I fought to control the urge to run up and examine it closer. It was definitely not what I had expected. The science experiments we performed with erosion were hands on and fun. We then sorted through piles of pebbles from anthills looking for fossils. The ants that made these hills basically gathered fossils and brought them together. It was amazing! We spent an hour picking out dozens of fossils and fragments of fossils that may have never been categorized before. It was awesome because the fossils we found today may someday provide answers to vital question about the past. Then we built a life sized dinosaur skeleton and learned how to make molds of objects found in the field. It was a fun and educational event and I would recommend that it be held again.
The day we spent with Science Explorers totally rocked! My 7th grade science students loved all of it :>)
Thank you Rowan. I hope the rest of your 8th grade group also enjoyed Paleo-Explorers. Thanks for a great day in Salida!