As the closest American high school to the Atlantic Ocean, Ocean City High School (OCHS) sometimes has unique opportunities, such as participating in the “Bringing Wetlands to Life in Ocean City” program. In fact, all three schools comprising the Ocean City School District (OCSD) will participate in the program this winter and spring, providing students with exceptional opportunities to learn about and interact with their wetland surroundings.
From January to June 2016, OCSD will partner with the Wetlands Institute Program at the Ocean City Free Public Library to provide hands-on science experiences to 1,000 students from kindergarten through high school. Students will research, identify, and apply scientific methods through interactive activities, which will vary by grade-level, and field trips. All lessons and field experiences will encourage students to develop a better understanding of the organisms and ecosystems present within the Ocean City community, as well as the overall scientific process.
“The Wetlands Institute lessons and visits will develop and reinforce science skills while bringing our students closer to their community,” said OCSD Superintendent Kathleen Taylor, Ed.D. “The Ocean City School District and Ocean City Free Public Library work together in educating the community at-large. This program is special in that it enables our natural landscape to educate many young members of our community.”
The $19,411 grant from the Ocean City Public Library will provide the necessary funding for 10 separate programs, each geared towards a different grade-level, as well as field trips.
The topics include:
- What Color is Nature?: Using live animals to study camouflage, disruption, warning, and attraction coloration.
- Aquarium Habitat: After students learn what makes a suitable habitat for marine life, they will create their own, capable of supporting aquatic life.
- Turtles: Students will use turtles to compare habitats and look at the reptiles from the ocean, marshes, and mainland.
- Saltwater Gene Pools: Students will learn to categorize animals using color, shape, and size.
- Fish: Through observance of live fish in their classroom, students will develop a better understanding of Ocean City’s fish and their adaption to different niches.
- Plankton: Students will study all things crustacean.
- Alternative Energy Education: After discussions of fossil fuel and alternative energy, students will build miniature solar cars to generate electricity.
- Terrapin Tracking: Using a mock terrapin-tracking project, students will track their peers and staff around their school building to study movement patterns and develop conservation plans.
- Sustainable Fisheries: Students will receive an introduction to sustainable fisheries and the use of both sustainable and non-sustainable fishing methods.
- Advanced Saltwater Gene Pools: Students will be tasked with classifying live marine organisms based on their characteristics.
All students will have an opportunity to research, explore, and extend their understanding of the topics they learned with an interactive field trip experience. They then will be tasked with creating a presentation to be displayed/read to their peers, community members, and the OCSD Board of Education at Wetlands Night in the spring.
— News release from the Ocean City School District
