Inquiry in the Outdoor Laboratory

Nature is the well-spring of the sciences. Often students are bound to books and beakers in a classroom setting that tips the balance toward science as a body of knowledge and de-emphasizes science as a process. This project is designed to capitalize on the human need to make sense of the world, to recognize and make patterns, to explore phenomena with the senses, and, above all, to question.

Students participating in this project investigate patterns, cycles and changes in the natural world beginning with their own observations and inferences. Students learn to quantify their observations, find evidence to support or disprove a particular perspective and are guided to ask increasingly elegant questions.