Center for Earth and Environmental Science
Indiana University ~ Purdue University, Indianapolis

K-12 RESOURCES

seam summer institute:  lilly arbor project ecological field study experience

CEES, in conjunction with Project SEAM, offers a five-day summer institute for high school teachers at the Lilly ARBOR Project site, an environmental science field station at IUPUI.  Project SEAM is a collaborative effort involving fifteen central Indiana school districts and five post-secondary institutions that have teamed in order to create a "seamless" transition between high school and college for all students. To this end, workshops for secondary teachers provide professional development opportunities and introduction to the resources available at Indiana colleges and universities.  The Ecological Field Study Experience at the Lilly ARBOR Project site utilizes the resources available within the Center for Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) and the Department of Earth Sciences at IUPUI to demonstrate the principles of science-based environmental stewardship.  The summer institute includes:

• Background content knowledge necessary for teachers to utilize an ecological restoration research site for field and laboratory experiences. 

• Web-distributed data sets that are generated by researchers at the site. 
• Support and infrastructure to facilitate experimentation at the site by high school science students during the school year. 
• Strategies for creating and delivering lessons for the high school students.

Project web site: http://www.cees.iupui.edu/Education/Workshops/Project_Seam/index.htm

Top

applied environmental science field experience

CEES develops and implements science-based curricula and outreach programs within our local research sites for upper elementary to high school students and teachers, university students, community members, and environmental professionals.  Programs include lectures, tours, summer camps and workshops.  Participants are immersed into the ecosystem function as well as scientific research and management of wetlands and riparian systems.  Activities involve ground water and river water collection and analysis, flora and fauna studies, and Global Positioning System exercises.  All programs integrate research-grade advanced technology and are age-specific.  Teachers and students can additionally utilize our on-line water monitoring database when they return to the classroom to compare and analyze water quality data collected during their site visit. 

Top

the great coral reef adventure

 The Great Coral Reef Adventure is an educational outreach program that links Indiana’s wetlands and watersheds to the water quality of Florida’s coral reefs.  The partnership between The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and CEES teaches water quality monitoring techniques to a group of fifteen 10-15 year old students.  The students worked in Central Indiana wetlands, Fall Creek, and the White River to evaluate water and habitat quality.  In March, the students continued water quality and habitat studies in South Florida at NOAA’s Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Florida Keys Coral Reef Classroom.  Trip activities culminated with a live satellite broadcast hosted by the student participants.  Results of research experiments and monitoring efforts were prepared and presented by participants at an exhibit at The Children’s Museum. 

Top

reconstructing Indiana's glacial history

 Indiana was partially covered by glaciers during the last ice age and two Geology faculty members, Dr. Kathy Licht and Dr. Jeff Swope, are providing an opportunity for students from around the state to help reconstruct Indiana's glacial history.  Using the rocks picked up in Canada and deposited in Indiana, we can determine the path the ice took on its journey over the landscape. Teachers are trained to reliably identify 'average' rocks from Indiana glacial deposits and to collect a random, representative sample from a local stream or quarry.  This provides teachers with a hands-on activity for students who are responsible for providing research data for this state-wide study.  Since the project's inception in spring 2001, about 20 teachers and home-schooling parents have volunteered to participate in the project, which will impact well over 1,000 students.  The project is currently targeted toward grades 6-8 to help fulfill science standards and to give students an opportunity to participate in research funded by the National Science Foundation that is designed to further our understanding of the last ice age. 

Project web site: 
http://www.geology.iupui.edu/research/klicht/Projects/igpshome.htm

Top

Dino Dig!

Dino Dig was a project that took a group of fifteen 9-12 year old students to a late Cretaceous (70 million year old) dinosaur excavation site in Wyoming. Students spent 9 days working in the field alongside paleontologists excavating bones from a dinosaur bone bed. They learned how to excavate bones, prepare bones for shipment, and created an exhibit of their adventure for a display at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. While at the site, participants documented the excavation, communicated with people worldwide via the World Wide Web, and answered questions using e-mail. A live satellite broadcast was transmitted to schools throughout Indiana. To provide more children with this incredible opportunity, students in Indiana participated in a “virtual” dinosaur dig. Participants served as docents at DINOMITE! – a three-day dinosaur festival held at the Children’s Museum, where the results of research from the dig were presented. Dino Dig was a cooperative project between CEES, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Earth Museum of Minneapolis, and Ameritech.

Top

Elephant Ancestor’s in Indiana – Can You Dig It?

CEES has been a partner with IMAX 3D Theater and White River State Park to deliver distance education programs called Elephant Ancestors in Indiana – Can You Dig It? The two-way interactive broadcast is delivered via the Vision Athena Network and is available to approximately 100 schools in the greater Indianapolis area and 250 schools throughout the state. The program is a distance learning initiative of the Corporation for Educational Communicators (CEC). The broadcast focuses on paleontology in Indiana and Indiana’s Ice Age including locating and identifying prehistoric animals, the discovery of an Indiana Mastodon, reconstructing Indiana’s Ice Age climate and paleontological tools and techniques The program is a Distance Learning Program module associated with releases of the IMAX movie ‘African Elephants’. The programs aired in October 1999, October 2000, and April 2001 and are on-going.

Project Web Site: 
http://www.cees.iupui.edu/Education/K-12_Resources/ICE-Age_Indiana/index.htm

Top

Center for Earth and Environmental Science
 School of Science
 Indiana University~Purdue University, Indianapolis
 723 West Michigan Street, SL118
 Indianapolis, IN 46202
 www.cees.iupui.edu
 cees@iupui.edu