STEM-based Learning

Natural Science Road Show is informal, STEM-based environmental education at local schools (while our Mary E. Fritsch Nature Center undergoes an assessment and possible reconstruction after the detection of mold).
The project is a series of 6 multi-component discovery programs: Birds, Physical Forest, Insects, Sensational Seeds, Tracks, and Cooking with the Sun. We have physical exhibits, in-school field trips (outreach), and professional development courses. 

Every Experience Counts

Each program has three components: a physical exhibit, in-school field trip workshop, and professional development course. Each component has STEM-based curriculum materials, derived from our organizational focus areas of Ecosystems, Energy, and Food Systems, for professional development courses and fields trip workshops that have been approved by the Kentucky Department of Education to comply with NGSS and Common Core Standards. 

Helping achieve KELP

In 2011, the Kentucky Board of Education approved the implementation of the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Plan (KELP) developed by the Kentucky Environmental Education Council. KELP was adopted shortly after the state adopted common core standards. The plan identifies 7 goals, 3 of which we are helping to achieve. The proposed project benefits students and teachers by staying on top of changes to state education standards and bringing in trained outdoor education instructors. We are assisting regional school systems in their ability to deliver quality environmental education, and creating formal partnerships within the region so the informal, place-based experiential discovery programs are incorporated into the culture leading to increased environmental stewardship, awareness, and literacy.

Informal Learning

When studying the physical exhibits, students start by examining the birds or insects in the display case and then touching the specimens.  After having time to explore, they identify questions to pursue (concept formation). They design and carry out further investigations and report their findings to the class (concept application).  The cycle is repeated as students test ideas and refine or change their assumptions and understandings. Each field trip workshop also uses materials like sunflower seeds, compost bins, animal tracks, or shadow boxes to encourage exploration, concept formation, and concept application. The professional development courses help encourage strategies to engage students in this type of learning process and ways to use the natural environment to teach the ideas. Experiential learning is vital to schooling for sustainability. Only through direct contact with the natural world will students develop an in-depth understanding of fundamental ecological principles. By working with others to solve real-world problems, they also develop skills at the heart of sustainable living.

Sustainability Learning

In 2015, it was determined that field trips to the MEF center could pose a safety hazard and is in need of major repairs. After several requests from schools and teachers for field trip opportunities and offers from regional libraries to conduct programs around our exhibits, ASPI created the Natural Science Road Show to continue to deliver our place-based, experiential learning programs with the project goals. We have worked with all age groups and learning levels, but we believe real change is possible when concepts are introduced at an early age. When we adapted our programs for the project, we aligned our project goals to meet the needs of state and local agencies, and former program participants (teachers and students). 

See Some Examples
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