The Research Accelerator program converted to a virtual format for many of our school partners this Fall and Winter. Central to the Research Accelerators is conducting field science and experiments. The Upham team has continued to navigate this challenging terrain by leaning into the technology and resources we have available.
With Escuela Verde field science research team, the students and Upham staff developed a trail camera experiment. The group was curious if Upham's barred owl, Stella, received visitors and wanted to observe how her behavior was different during the day and night. Upham staff went onsite and set up trail cameras inside and outside of Stella's mew. Pictures were then shared with students through Google Drive. Upham staff and students came together again to review the results. Check out their scientific story!
The Upham team also worked with the Doerfler School 6th and 8th graders. We had met with them a few times in December and January and had realized during one of our sessions about reptiles that the students in both classes were very interested in the turtles. The Upham team and students decided that for the last two sessions, we wanted to explore the cold-blooded features of the turtles. Painted Turtles and Box Turtles were removed from their enclosures, had their temperatures taken, and placed in buckets or a bucket of water. Johanna measured the temperature of the turtles at regular intervals throughout the class period and the students made notes about the changes. See their results below!
We have also been working with Maryland Avenue Montessori students who are still in the process of conducting their trail camera experiments remotely at Upham!
These experiments are only possible thanks to the creativity of our team, the fortitude of the students and teachers we work with and our sponsors who support our work. We have intentionally organized the Research Accelerators to include multiple sessions per class that scaffolds the scientific process through story-sharing and by focusing on a specific portion with each visit culminating in the design and execution of these experiments.