Our Upper and Lower Elementary students ventured out to the banks of the Hudson River (several blocks away) this week with nets, thermometers, and water-quality test kits in hand to begin their annual Hudson River study.
Each year, thousands of students and educators collect scientific information. Statistics are taken on the salinity, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen in the water to help monitor the health of the Hudson River. This year, student scientists from over 70 sites along the Hudson River participated from the mouth of the river here up to Troy, in upstate New York.
This activity demonstrates for our students their role in protecting and caring for the Hudson estuary system. Our STEAM program prioritizes experiential learning, and by getting our elementary students outside and experiencing the river, we bring their learning alive. Once on the riverbank, students captured, studied, and released small crustaceans and fish that call the Hudson River their home.
A Day in the Life of the Hudson River and Harbor is a program hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program and Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve in partnership with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
To learn more about Hudson Montessori School’s Upper Elementary,STEAM Program, or other programs we offer to our students ages 2 to 6th grade (7th grade, coming next year!), sign up for a school tour.