Over the past two weeks our students had an incredible opportunity to come together with habitat groups from each of the five second grade classrooms and Skype with experts from their National Parks!
Rainforest groups had a Skype interview with Dr. Paul Beaver from Amazonia Expeditions. He just returned from the Amazon on May 11th. He shared pictures, stories and answered questions.
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| Dr. Paul Beaver from Amazonia Expeditions! |
The Grasslands groups chatted with Ranger Aubrey, the Education Technician at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. She shared a Slide share and answered students’ questions and showed many plants, animals and landforms the students have been researching.
Ocean Life Park Rangers Tessa, Nate and Clay skyped in from Buck Island (off St. Croix) and talked about their jobs as rangers, as well as animals and plants on the island. Students were able to make many connections as they spoke about the endangered turtles, invasive plants, their love of coral and how they help to protect and restore the reef. They were so impressed with students’ knowledge of the island!
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| Park Rangers Tessa, Clay and Nate showing how they measure and tag sea turtles! |
Desert groups chatted virtually with Teacher Ranger Heidi Wagner, and went on a virtual field trip through Arches National Park to explore the plants, animals and monuments in the park. They discussed the famous 2,000 arches, and journeyed through time to learn about the history of the park. May is wildflower season and several students saw photographs of plants they have studied!
Wetland groups had the chance to skype with Park Ranger and Educator Dylann Turffs from Everglades National Park! As she talked, she showed slides of wildlife in the park and answered questions about specific plants and animals that children have studied.
We can't wait to send some of our projects to the experts and show them what we learned throughout this habitat study!
