Even as the global pandemic slowly recedes, many schools have placed field trips in indefinite timeout.
At the moment, many students are unable to see the Tennessee Aquarium firsthand – but nothing says the aquarium can’t come to them.
For almost a year, the aquarium has sought a way to leverage its education department to augment the efforts of classroom-bound teachers. Soon, that effort will bear new fruit with “Science Streams,” a professionally produced series of eight free videos crafted to meet national science standards for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The Tennessee Aquarium produced “Science Streams” in collaboration with Chattanooga-based Atomic Films. Grants from Tennessee American Water and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee funded the series.
The support of Tennessee American and BlueCross BlueShield helped to increase the potential for Science Streams to reach teachers throughout the country, says Dr. Brooke Gorman, the aquarium’s director of science education.
“Our original plan was to make the series freely available to Title I schools and to charge a small fee for other schools,” Gorman says. “We’re thrilled to have received enough support to be able to make the videos free to all teachers.”
In each video, Aquarium staff members lead discussions of and walk students through activities on a wide range of age-appropriate scientific topics, including: what animals need to survive (kindergarten); how plants grow and flourish (first grade); the water cycle (second grade); survival through adaptation (third grade); invasive species and reintroduction efforts (fourth grade); natural instinct versus learned behavior (fifth grade); ecological relationships (sixth through eighth grades); and the science of studying animal behavior (ninth through 12th grades).
In addition to walking students through the ins and outs of photosynthesis and breaking down the problem posed by invasive species, “Science Streams” also includes a suite of 10 behind-the-scenes videos.
These pieces pull back the curtain to showcase many facets of life at the aquarium, from conservation projects and diving to veterinary work and the care requirements for Giant Pacific Octopuses.
A link to view these videos and access to the accompanying educator guides will be made available for free to educators who register via tnaqua.org/educate/science-streams.
After submitting an online registration form, teachers will be emailed individual login information within two business days, providing them access to all 18 videos.
Source: Tennessee Aquarium