Since 2015, we have been participating in the Day in the Life of the Hudson River Program, a long-term longitudinal study monitoring the health of the Hudson River. Through this science-based research project led by New York State and Columbia University, our Elementary and Middle School students explore a different facet of the Hudson River while making real-world connections to their classroom studies in social studies, science, and technology.

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Armed with turbidity tubes, refractometers, and other gear, our students examine river tides and currents, water chemistry, flora and fauna, and more. This study provides students with an opportunity to understand and appreciate the river and our natural resources. Our students explore various aspects of the major waterway, including its history, current state, and methods for preservation and protection. We have developed invaluable partnerships between students, scientists, city planners, local citizens, and other program partners who care for our Hudson River home. 

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Our students join forces with thousands of students from our southernmost part of the Hudson River up to the Mohawk Valley in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. Columbia University analyzes each student group's data and informs the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Cornell New York State Water Resources Institute about the health of the Hudson River.

 

Every year, we have a new annual schoolwide theme, and we tie-in the Day in the Life of the Hudson River study to our yearlong theme. For example, past study themes have include the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the river's water quality, the river's historically vital role in the migration of people, and the indigenous people groups who once called the estuary home.​​

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For more information about our STEAM Program, please email our STEAM educators:

• Michelle Velho, STEAM Director, sciencemichelle@hudsonmontessori.net
• Grace Sanvictores, Middle School Director, STEAM Educator, gsanvictores@hudsonmontessori.net

• Samantha Gordon, STEAM Educator, steamteachers@hudsonmontessori.net