Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center

Educational Activities - Level I Programs

Level I Activities

These are activities that have been pre-planned by our staff. Depending on each group's focus we ask that you allow one and one-half to two hours for these programs. You can choose to do a walking tour of the center and brief hands on activity or a tour and a more in-depth activity (allow 2 hours).

Kindergarten - Animals 2X2

Goldfish, Guppies, Trout Comparison

Compare and Contrast these three different types of fish. How are they all shaped for life in the water? How are they different?

S1.1, S1.2

Grade 1 - Pebbles/Sand/Silt & Insects

Macro Invertebrate Collection

Go out to our creek and collect insects, water insects, and possibly crayfish. Learn some basic species identification. How many different types can you find? Why do they all live in the creek?

S1.1, S1.2

Insect Collection

Collect insects from several different habitats around Columbia Springs - the creek, the wetland, and the lake. Which insects live where and why?

S1.1, S1.2

Substrate Comparison

Where do we find pebbles, sand, and silt? What types of habitat do they create? What is the environmental role of these habitats?

S1.1, S1.4

Grade 2 - Air/Weather & New Plants

*Duckweed Population Growth

What is duckweed? Where does it grow? Given different water samples, in which will it grow faster? More lushly? Come walk Columbia Springs to see several places duckweed grows. Return to your classroom with several samples growing under different conditions and the skills to measure and compare their growth!

S1.3, S2.1, S5.1, M1.1, M1.2, M2.1, M3.1

Lichen, Moss, & Fern

Learn the bryophyte life cycle. Where do they grow and under what conditions? What environmental role do these fascinating plants play?

S1.1, S1.2, S1.4

Grade 3 - Earth Materials & Human Body

Comparative Anatomy, Human & Trout

How are each adapted to the environment in which they live? How have humans and trout solved similar survival problems in different ways?

S1.1, S1.2, S1.4

Stimulus/Response of Fish/Humans

How do we respond to light, sound and temperature? How do fish? In what ways do these responses allow each species to survive?

S1.2, S1.4, S2.1

Soil Core Samples

Sample soil in the forest, on rocky slopes, and in the wetland area. How are these different soils constructed? Investigate rock and clay content, oxygenation, leaf decay and organic matter content.

S1.1, S1.3, S1.4

Soil Chemistry Testing

What role do the chemical properties of soil, such as metal content, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium, play in the determination of local vegetation?

S1.1, S1.3, M1.2

*Rock, Physical Properties Water and Freezing

Examine local geology, specifically the role of water in erosion. What are the environmental impacts of erosion?

S1.1, S2.1, S2.2

Grade 4 - Water & Structures of Life

Water Test: Temperature

Compare environmental differences through investigation of temperature conditions in our creek, lake, and wetland.

S1.1, S1.3, M2.1, M3.1

*Temperature at School

Monitor water sources near by your school. How does temperature differ between sites? Morning to afternoon? What are the reasons for these differences?

S1.1, S1.2, S2.1, S2.3

Seeds and their Dispersal

Come walk the Biddle nature trail and see how local flora reproduce. How do seeds travel?

S1.1, S1.2, S1.4, G2.1

Adaptations in Feeding and Movement; Fish, Birds, Humans

Explore how each group has adapted to live in water, on land, or in the air. How does each group meet their survival needs?

S1.1, S1.2, S2.2

Grade 5 - Landforms & Environments

Water Quality Testing; pH, Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphorus, Phosphate, Iron and Color

Compare the different properties of water at several sites, or come back and resample the same site. What differences do you see? How does water composition change in different environments?

S1.1, S1.3, G3.1, M3.1

*Closed/Opened Systems

Using a juice bottle (64 fl oz. 1.89L), create ecosystems that are open or closed to surrounding air. How do closed systems maintain sufficient oxygen? Explore how this balance can also exist in nature.

S1.1, S1.2, S2.1, S2.3

Middle School

Water Quality Testing; Alkalinity, DO, Hardness

Using a slightly more advanced water testing kit, sample several sites around Columbia Springs. Classes can sample within the water cycle, comparing the springs, creek, lake, and wetland.

S1.1, S1.3, G3.1, M3.

Indicator Species; Stream Quality by Macroinvertebrate Count

Use biological means to test water quality. What types of invertebrates live at your sample site? Does one species dominate? What does this reflect about the water in which they live?

S1.1, S1.2, S1.3, S5.1, M1.1, M1.2, M2.1, M3.1, G3.1

Quick Reminder

Long-term projects are started at the center but brought back into the classroom and observed over time.

Long-term projects are denoted by a star (*).