Brighton Academy Students Learn About Sustainability at Junior League STEM Day

“Has anyone seen sea plankton under a microscope before?” a volunteer from The Upstate Freshwater Institute asked.
 
Brighton Academy 6^th graders shook their heads. And then, that changed.
 
Thanks to the 10^th annual Junior League STEM Day, 6^th grade girls at Brighton Academy were invited to rotate through stations in their school’s STEM Center – meeting volunteers from local organizations who spoke with them about all things sustainability.
 
Baltimore Woods Nature Center led stations that showed different types of trees and plants, and also examined invertebrates found in streams and creeks. The Museum of Science & Technology station taught students about soil permeability and examined water sources under microscopes. The Upstate Freshwater Institute helped students locate microscopic creatures that make up the food webs in our ecosystem. And Cornell Cooperative Extension taught students about rain gardens – how to build them and why they are useful. Muralist Ally Walker of Ally Walker Inks showed the murals she’s created throughout Syracuse and then asked students to draw what they’d like to see as a mural in their school’s STEM Center.
 
“It was pretty fun to look under a microscope and learn these things,” Arianna Thomas explained. “It’s interesting to me, and it’s fun to do this during the school day because we’re still learning, but it’s in such a fun way! I don’t think I’d be interested in learning about these things if we weren’t doing it like this, where we’re seeing things up close and hands-on.”
 
In addition to the station rotations, students enjoyed hearing the guests speak about their work in STEM fields as well as learning about local STEM careers. The event wrapped up with a catered lunch, provided by the Junior League of Syracuse.
 
Students have been so enthusiastic about activities like this in their school’s STEM Center that science teacher and Content Liaison Kathleen McKenna is hoping to help lead students in experimenting with hydroponics and a greenhouse next year. Thank you to the Junior League of Syracuse for sparking this joy of learning for our students!