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New curriculum offers hands-on Great Lakes science lessons for upper elementary and high school students

Posted September 19th, 2013 in Education, Great Lakes Cleanup

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Caitie McCoy and others have just completed work on a new curriculum for elementary and high school science students.

Helping Hands: Restoration for Healthy Habitats offers lessons and hands-on activities to connect students in the Great Lakes with recent or ongoing cleanup and restoration projects happening in their communities. The range of activities offers new ways to engage students with real-life examples that show environmental science in action.

Teachers interested in having Sea Grant lead the curriculum in their school should contact Caitie McCoy. Caitie can work with the teacher to customize curriculum to meet school-specific needs. The curriculum expands Great Lakes literacy among students, many of whom may become future researchers and educators.

Community leaders in Areas of Concern that would like to help Sea Grant lead or set up an educational program are also encouraged to contact Caitie. The complete curriculum is free to download at the link above.

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Who: 9-12th grade educators with a freshwater aquarium in their classroom

What: Pilot test a new NGSS-aligned curriculum for the Know Your H2O water quality test kits, which includes three multi-day lessons, taking up to six class periods

When: Feedback needed by December 31, 2025

Interested? Contact Amy Shambach (ashambac@purdue.edu) or Julie Fiorito (fiorito4@illinois.edu).

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Who: 9-12th grade educators with a freshwater aquarium in their classroom What: Pilot test a new NGSS-aligned curriculum for the Know Your H2O water quality test kits, which includes three multi-day lessons, taking up to six class periods When: Feedback needed by December 31, 2025Interested? Contact Amy Shambach (ashambac@purdue.edu) or Julie Fiorito (fiorito4@illinois.edu).

As the sun sets on the 2025 Shipboard Science Immersion aboard the R/V Lake Guardian, we celebrate 15 incredible educators who immersed themselves in Great Lakes science alongside scientists from the @epa_greatlakes, @uwmilwaukee, and @purduefnr. These educators return home not only with new knowledge but also with support to incorporate hands-on, experiential learning and stewardship in their own classrooms and other learning environments.

This week-long experience was conducted in partnership with the EPA, @noaa.SeaGrant, and with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Hosts for the Lake Michigan immersion are the Center for Great Lakes Literacy partners, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, and @uwiscseagrant.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 17914067808152824

As the sun sets on the 2025 Shipboard Science Immersion aboard the R/V Lake Guardian, we celebrate 15 incredible educators who immersed themselves in Great Lakes science alongside scientists from the @epa_greatlakes, @uwmilwaukee, and @purduefnr. These educators return home not only with new knowledge but also with support to incorporate hands-on, experiential learning and stewardship in their own classrooms and other learning environments.This week-long experience was conducted in partnership with the EPA, @noaa.SeaGrant, and with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Hosts for the Lake Michigan immersion are the Center for Great Lakes Literacy partners, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, and @uwiscseagrant.

Shipboard Science Immersion educators are diving into scientific sampling alongside Dr. Paris Collingsworth, processing samples from Green Bay to study how larval fish and zooplankton communities shift from nearshore to offshore in Lake Michigan.

Back in the lab, with @purduefnr graduate student Anna Hill, the educators are sorting benthic samples, identifying the organisms collected. The relatively large quagga mussels are easy to spot!

@epa_greatlakes @nyseagraa2966 @miseagrant @ohioseagrant @uwiscseagrant @paseagrant @ilextension @noaaeducation @seagrant_noaa

#greatlakes #lakemichigan

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18416165869099795

Shipboard Science Immersion educators are diving into scientific sampling alongside Dr. Paris Collingsworth, processing samples from Green Bay to study how larval fish and zooplankton communities shift from nearshore to offshore in Lake Michigan. Back in the lab, with @purduefnr graduate student Anna Hill, the educators are sorting benthic samples, identifying the organisms collected. The relatively large quagga mussels are easy to spot! @epa_greatlakes @nyseagraa2966 @miseagrant @ohioseagrant @uwiscseagrant @paseagrant @ilextension @noaaeducation @seagrant_noaa #greatlakes #lakemichigan

Shipboard Science Immersion educators stepped off the ship and onto beautiful Beaver Island for a hands-on day at @cmichbiology Biological Field Station, hosted by the amazing Dr. Kevin Pangle!

From seining for fish and towing a plankton net to testing water quality with a multiparameter sonde, educators practiced aquatic science techniques that can translate to shoreside learning within their educational programming. The day wrapped with a scenic dune hike — science and nature at its best!

@epa_greatlakes @noaaeducation @seagrant_noaa

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 17947345337875156

Shipboard Science Immersion educators stepped off the ship and onto beautiful Beaver Island for a hands-on day at @cmichbiology Biological Field Station, hosted by the amazing Dr. Kevin Pangle!From seining for fish and towing a plankton net to testing water quality with a multiparameter sonde, educators practiced aquatic science techniques that can translate to shoreside learning within their educational programming. The day wrapped with a scenic dune hike — science and nature at its best!@epa_greatlakes @noaaeducation @seagrant_noaa

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