Summer Institute Day 4
Today, the team headed back to Romberg Tiburon Center to investigate current environmental issues, specifically erosion, being addressed through engineering.
Today’s Goals:
Content: Connect “school science” to current environmental problems being addressed through engineering.
Pedagogical: Develop methods to engage children in current issues in science
NGSS Three Dimensional Focus: Design fall units that engage the three dimensions
Because of the rainy weather, the team drove down to the Center’s dock, rather than walking. There, everyone had a chance to observe some living shorelines in person. We were also fortunate enough to see the buoy that we learned about in the presentation from Tuesday.
Next, each group got to design and build the living shoreline that they thought would be most effective in facilitating wave attenuation.
After our designs had been created, each team went to test the effectiveness of their living shoreline.
After a short break, we enjoyed a guest speaker from UC Berkeley, who presented her studies of changing bay conditions.
Following lunch, we created posters and calculated the rate of attenuation for our initial and redesigned models from the morning.
Next, we enjoyed a read aloud about the life and persistence of conservationist Rachel Carson.
Finally, the team closed out the day with some additional planning time with grade level teams.
