#science

Fifth Graders Explore at Nature’s Academy

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Picture yourself immersed in nature’s classroom. There are mangroves to explore, sea creatures to capture and superheroes who are learning how to save our environment. This adventure is made possible by Nature’s Academy, a non-profit environmental education company focusing on educational field trips.

 

 

We recently spent the day exploring Leffis Key with students from Daughtrey Elementary School. The preserve is within Coquina Beach in Manatee County. Staff from Nature’s Academy walk the fifth graders through the mangroves in search of ecological discoveries. They will gasp at schools of fish, view sea birds through a pair of binoculars and learn that those mangroves grow from a tiny seed pod. Students will be serving as citizen scientists and provide their data to an online database that will help to benefit the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

The mission of Nature’s Academy is to enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) literacy and foster environmental stewardship. After eating lunch, students gear up for a trek into Sarasota Bay. They are provided with water shoes for wading, and a net for collecting small marine life through an activity called dip-netting. They drag the net through the sea grass in hopes of finding shrimp, crab or tiny fish.

 

 

After collecting specimens, the excited young scientists learn a fascinating lesson about the creatures they’ve discovered. They have removed the sea life from their home – only temporarily – in order to learn more about each species. The students from Daughtrey will take their new knowledge with them – and a reusable water bottle to get them thinking about STEM and environmental literacy. Nearby, another group of students are learning about how the removal of litter through coastal cleanups can better sustain the well-being of local waterways.

 

 

Nature’s Academy uses grants and donations to provide amazing outdoor educational field trip programs to every fifth grade student in Manatee County, at no cost to them or their schools. For more information, visit their website. Congratulations to its founder, Dana Pounds, who recently received a First Place Gulf Guardian Award from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency.)

#WeManatee stands for We are the School District of Manatee County. No matter what challenges we face, we strengthen each other when we stand together.

 

ManaTeach: Oneco Elementary School

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This week’s ManaTeach video comes from Madeleine Lewis and her third grade students at Oneco Elementary School in Bradenton, Florida.

 

“We conducted a science experiment to close our unit on Physical and Chemical changes in Matter. The students helped to organize what information needed to be included in the video to thoroughly explain the process before and after. The experiment was similar to a typical volcano (baking soda and vinegar causing a chemical reaction) but with the addition of oil, the explosion stayed contained – basically creating a lava lamp.”

 

ManaTeach: Oneco Elementary

The juices are flowing in Ms. Lewis' third grade class at Oneco Elementary School! In this week's #ManaTeach video, the students are teaching us a lesson in physical and chemical changes in matter. The end result may look familiar to you.

Posted by School District of Manatee County on Monday, October 23, 2017

 

 

ManaTeach allows teachers, staff and students within the School District of Manatee County to share, “What I Taught. What I Learned.”

 

To watch more videos, search “ManaTeach” on YouTube.

 

Former Astronaut, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Spends Solar Eclipse at Buffalo Creek Middle School

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The students and staff at Buffalo Creek Middle School in Palmetto won’t soon forget where they were for #SolarEclipse2017. While students from the School District of Manatee County were limited to watching the event safely indoors, this group had a guest speaker that was “out of this world!”

 

Florida Senator Bill Nelson thanking school nurses and the Cafeteria Manager for all they do at Buffalo Creek Middle

 

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, made a stop at the school while visiting the area. He was joined by his son, Bill Nelson, Jr., staff and deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene attended the event, along with School Board Chair Charlie Kennedy, Vice-Chair John Colon, and Board Member Scott Hopes. After greeting Buffalo Creek’s Cafeteria Manager and two school nurses in the hallway, the U.S. Senator made his way into the cafeteria amid cheers and clapping.

 

Photo: School District of Manatee County

 

With two giant screens playing out the historical event on television, the former astronaut used a lamp and a globe to teach a science lesson about the Solar Eclipse. Afterwards, he took questions from an audience of approximately 300 students, such as “How do you go to the bathroom in space?” “Very carefully,” joked the Florida Senator.

 

Photo: School District of Manatee County

 

In January 1986, Sen. Nelson became the first sitting member of the United States House of Representatives to fly in space. He flew as a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Senator also shared his experiences eating in space, how it feels to be weightless, when he thinks an American will travel to Mars, and what tragic events led to the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters.

 

An eighth grade student, who is a member of the yearbook staff, joins veteran reporters to capture the special event

 

About an hour after speaking to students and staff, Eleanor, an eighth grader, found herself in the middle of a press junket — surrounded by television, radio, and newspaper reporters.  When Sen. Nelson was finished answering questions, he looked around for the young woman. “I promised her a photo,” he said, “She mentioned that she was taking them for the school yearbook.”

 

Principal Dustin Dahlquist accepts a signed poster from Senator Bill Nelson, who flew in space aboard STS-61-C Columbia

 

Senator Nelson left a lasting impression on the Hawks. Students got a science lesson from a prominent figure on a day that will appear in future history books. The next time you’re at Buffalo Creek Middle School check out their newest gift, a signed poster from a former astronaut.

 

 

#WeManatee stands for We are the School District of Manatee County. No matter what challenges we face, we strengthen each other when we stand together.