Being a Scientist in Outdoor Learning

Written by Kerry Craig, ES Teacher - Outdoor Learning

For our Scientists in Elementary School, Winter has  been a time of research, learning and discovery…

For our ECF5 Ornithologists, Winter has been a time of finding out about garden birds - What do they look like? What do they do? What are their names? We have taken full advantage of our bird feeders, and the fact that many trees are without leaves, to observe them, both with the naked eye and with our binoculars. We have noticed many blue tits, great tits and sparrows. We have even spotted a visiting pheasant. Of course, feeding them regularly means that we see more of them, so we have been making bird feeders with pine cones to hang on our trees. We have now moved on to a slightly bigger birds that we are lucky enough to observe their behaviour up close - the school chickens!

ECF3/4 have been finding out about woodland animals this winter, putting their Zoologist hats on and finding out about hedgehogs, squirrels and other animals through non-fiction books, songs and stories, and of course observation and experiential learning. Learning about which animals like to hibernate, and where they like to live, led us to building animal homes in the outdoor learning area. There was also the building of a tin can insect hotel, in conjunction with one an 8th Grader who made this happen as part of her Community Project.

Our Grade 5 Hydrologists are studying water as their PYP transdisciplinary unit. As part of this ongoing study, students came down to the Outdoor Classroom to build water filters with natural materials such as sand, stones, pine cones and soil. The water they had to filter was full of dirt, small stones and leaves so they had to collaborate with partners to find the best way to filter all of these things out, leaving only the water. After reflecting on their designs, they had time to make adjustments and do further research in their respective classrooms.

Did you know that there are Botanists at NASA experimenting with different growing conditions to find out if plants can grow in Space for astronauts to eat?

Grade 3 has been learning about how scientists organise themselves. Our Botanists in Grade 3 have been finding out about some of the things this type of scientist does. Did you know that there are Botanists at NASA experimenting with different growing conditions to find out if plants can grow in Space for astronauts to eat? Using the hand-held and the table top microscopes we found out amazing things about plants by dissecting a tulip plant. Seeing pollen close up was fascinating as were the patterns on the petals and the tubes in the stems. Finally we focused on the need for Botanical drawings, both in the past and even now in the present, and we practised the skill of drawing from observation - zooming in, labeling and using colour.

Winter may not seem like the ideal time to study most trees, but we enjoy a rich diversity of trees in our playground

There are several different types of evergreen trees that we can become more familiar with. Our Grade 2 Dendrologists have been observing and discussing the needles and cones from these trees, and by matching the needles, cones and bark to information in books, we are learning to tell the difference between pine, spruce, and fir trees. A campfire led to conversations about different woods we can use for different purposes and what happens to wood when it burns. The charcoal will be used for future natural art projects with Grade 1.

Outdoor Learning creates opportunities for all types of scientific research and discoveries as part of the STEM curriculum at ISP.

Kerry Craig, ES Teacher - Outdoor Learning