Young Naturalist Educator
and
Library STEM Programming

This work occurred with The New York Academy of Sciences in conjunction with the SUNY-ESF Science Corps. During this time, I worked both individually and with a team to develop and implement STEM-related lesson plans for students at local libraries in and around Syracuse, New York. Additional duties involved tutoring in after-school programs and the design and procurement of materials for activities.

Individual work centered around the Petit Branch and White Branch libraries in Syracuse, NY. The Petit Branch Library is a local library in the Syracuse University campus neighborhood and the White Branch Library is near the North-Side of the city outside of the "university bubble". Group work centered around the development and implementation of lessons in the CNY Young Naturalist Program sponsored by The Izaak Walton League of America at libraries in Manlius, Cazenovia, and DeWitt, NY. I participated in the lessons held at the Manlius Library in Manlius, NY, a town outside of Syracuse, NY.

Lessons Topics and Synopses

There were two types of library programs that I participated in during the course of this work. One program was a weekly event in which any student could visit the library to participate in science activities. These were geared towards more hands-on, explorative topics that changed each week to expose students to a multitude of topics. This occurred at the Petit Branch and White Branch Libraries. Contrarily, the Young Naturalist Program focused on a specific set of environmentally-related topics throughout the various weeks of meetings. This occurred at libraries in Cazenovia, Manlius, and DeWitt, NY.

I took inspiration from the NGSS-related Project WET and Project Wild (Flying Wild) curricula, as well as age appropriate science lessons from websites like Education.com's Learning Library, to develop fun activities for students that engaged them in a variety of subjects. I also utilized materials from the Izaak Walton League and my past experience from my Vocational High School Degree to co-develop hands-on lessons for students to interact with the subject of Aquatic Ecology. For the Young Naturalist Program, Individual Service Plans (ISPs) were developed, as well as lesson handouts and presentations, depending upon the topic.

Lesson #1 ISP Example

Lesson #1 Handout Example

Activities held at the Petit Branch and White Branch Libraries covered a variety of topics, such as:

Bird Migration
Butterfly and Moth Camouflage and Mimicry
Immiscible Substances in Homemade "Lava" Lamps
Non-Newtonian Fluids with Oobleck
Chemical Reactions with Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Seeds Transportation and Egg Landing
Chemical Reactions with Taco Sauce and Penny Tarnish
Non-Newtonian Fluids with Slime

Activities held at the Manlius Library with the Young Naturalist Program included:

The Water Cycle
Watersheds and Wildlife
Macroinvertebrates and Aquatic Ecology

STEM Library Programming
(Click on the Photo for a Better Viewing Experience)

The Great (Bird) Migration Challenge

This lesson was adapted from the Project Flying Wild Series! Students started the lesson by drawing, coloring, naming, and describing their own type of bird! This is Steve, one of my coworker's birds.

The Great (Bird) Migration Challenge

This lesson was adapted from the Project Flying Wild Series! Students started the lesson by drawing, coloring, naming, and describing their own type of bird! This is Egberd, one of the student's birds.

The Great (Bird) Migration Challenge

This lesson was adapted from the Project Flying Wild Series! The student begins their migration journey for their bird by visiting different stations. Each station has a different event that could possibly happen to a bird during migration. They read the instructions and move (or don't move!) accordingly.

The Great (Bird) Migration Challenge

This lesson was adapted from the Project Flying Wild Series! The student is actively moving to the next station. Each station is numbered. Some stations have dice that are rolled to determine the number of stations the student and their bird moves to. The stations were located throughout the corner library.

The Great (Bird) Migration Challenge

This lesson was adapted from the Project Flying Wild Series! This is the result of our great migration journey with our birds. Unfortunately, only one of our birds survived the journey. We recorded how each of our birds passed to better understand the threats birds face during migration.

Butterfly and Moth Camouflage and Mimicry

In this lesson, students learned about coloration on butterflies and moths. We discussed how some colors help them blend into the environment while others are used to symbolize warnings or danger to predators. Local butterfly and moth species in the community were provided as examples. Students then colored their own butterflies.

Butterfly and Moth Camouflage and Mimicry

Butterfly and Moth Camouflage and Mimicry

An example of a colored butterfly. The students cut their butterflies out and were then tasked with finding a spot in the library where their butterfly blended in (camouflaged) and a spot in the library where the butterfly would stand out.

Butterfly and Moth Camouflage and Mimicry

This is an example of one of the butterflies that a student colored. They placed the butterfly in a spot outside of the library where their butterfly would most likely blend in. They matched the colors of the sign to the colors of their butterfly.

Butterfly and Moth Camouflage and Mimicry

This is an example of one of the butterflies that a student colored. They placed the butterfly in a spot inside of the library where their butterfly would most likely stand out. They compared the pattern on their butterfly to the pattern of the paper.

Immiscible Substances in Homemade "Lava" Lamps

Experiment Setup. I've included nametags for students to get to know each other. On the white board, I've drawn a lava lamp and different stages of the lava movement for students to observe. This board is later used to collect student ideas about how a lava lamp works before we proceed to the experiment.

Immiscible Substances in Homemade "Lava" Lamps

Students creating their "lava" lamp. They dyed water with different color food coloring and added it to a bottle of vegetable oil. The water and oil will remain separated due to immiscibility. One student is in the process of adding an Alka-Seltzer tablet to make the "lava" flow.

Immiscible Substances in Homemade "Lava" Lamps

Student creating their "lava" lamp. They dyed water with green food coloring and are adding it to a bottle of vegetable oil. The water and oil will remain separated due to immiscibility.

Immiscible Substances in Homemade "Lava" Lamps

Another view of the initial white board after discussion with the students. Their ideas of how lava lamps work are written in blue on the right.

Non-Newtonian Fluids with Oobleck

In this lesson, students explored Non-Newtonian fluids by playing with Oobleck! Oobleck is a mixture of corn starch and water and can exhibit properties of a solid and a liquid depending upon the force applied to it. Here, students describe characteristics of solids and liquids based on their prior knowledge.

Non-Newtonian Fluids with Oobleck

After describing solids and liquids, I present Oobleck to the students. To demonstrate the properties of the Oobleck, I strike the Oobleck with a hammer. Such force results in the hammer bouncing off the Oobleck like a solid as opposed to sinking into the Oobleck like a liquid.

Non-Newtonian Fluids with Oobleck

A student explores the liquid properties of the Oobleck by slowly moving their hand through the suspension. By moving slowly, the Oobleck flows around the student's hand like a liquid. When they increase the speed of their movement, it becomes more difficult to move through the Oobleck. This is due to the inconsistent viscosity that is natural with Non-Newtonian fluids like Oobleck.

Non-Newtonian Fluids with Oobleck

Students test their ability to enact the "solid" properties of the Oobleck by quickly running across the Oobleck. With enough force and speed, their feet barely mix or sink with the Oobleck.

Chemical Reactions with Alka-Seltzer Rockets

This experiment explored the reaction of Alka-Seltzer. The acid-base reaction of the tablet when dissolved in water creates gas. This gas, if given no where to go, builds up in the vessel and can burst. The cap on the bottle was slightly loosened to allow the rocket to launch once the pressure from the gas exceeded the bottle's limit.

Seeds Transportation and Egg Landing

In this activity, students learned about the different ways trees and plants spread their seeds, such as in pinecones and samaras. Students then got to build a transport for their own "seed" (an egg). They were tasked with transporting the egg in a way that it could travel through the air or on the ground without damaging the egg. This was used to symbolize how some plants have also developed ways to transport their seeds whilst protecting the seed from their environment.

Chemical Reactions with Taco Sauce and Penny Tarnish

In this experiment, students learned about the ability of taco sauce to remove tarnish from a penny. We first used taco sauce to remove the tarnish. Then, each student was given individual ingredients (tomato paste, vinegar, water, salt) to see which of these ingredients was responsible for removing the tarnish. When individual ingredients did not work, they combined pairs of ingredients to determine which pair removed the tarnish. The dissociation of chloride in the salt when mixed with vinegar reacted with the copper oxide to remove the tarnish from the pennies.

Non-Newtonian Fluids with Slime

Students mix the various ingredients together to make the always-popular material: Slime! Slime is a non-newtonian fluid that exhibits properties of solids and liquids in different circumstances. The polymer chains within the slime, once all ingredients are mixed together, interact when force is applied to cause the slime to act in different ways.

Non-Newtonian Fluids with Slime

Students stretch and show off their various slimes to observe the properties of the Non-Newtonian material!

Young Naturalist Programming
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The Water Cycle: An Incredible Journey

This activity was inspired by Project WET! In this activity, students take the journey of a water droplet through various stages of the water cycle, from rain to streams to even glaciers. At each station, students roll a die to see where they are going next. I utilized the makerspace at the Fayetteville Library and learned how to laser cut to make these wood dice for the activity to replace the old, worn out dice.

The Water Cycle: An Incredible Journey

This activity was inspired by Project WET! In this activity, students take the journey of a water droplet through various stages of the water cycle. This was setup as a practice area at one of the local libraries. Here, you can see the different stations labeled with a colored flag, a sign, and its respective die. The colors represent a bead that is added to a bracelet for each station that is visited. One bracelet can be seen on the table to the left. The students keep the bracelets as a visual indication of their water droplet's journey.

The Water Cycle: An Incredible Journey

This activity was inspired by Project WET! In this activity, students take the journey of a water droplet through various stages of the water cycle. This was the actual implementation of the activity at the Manlius Library. Students are gathered at the various stations to start their journey!

The Water Cycle: An Incredible Journey

This activity was inspired by Project WET! In this activity, students take the journey of a water droplet through various stages of the water cycle. This was the actual implementation of the activity at the Manlius Library. Some of the younger students needed help starting their bracelets with the pipe cleaner.

The Water Cycle: An Incredible Journey

This activity was inspired by Project WET! In this activity, students take the journey of a water droplet through various stages of the water cycle. This was the actual implementation of the activity at the Manlius Library. Students and facilitators discuss the water cycle and their water drop journeys thus far.

Watersheds and Wildlife

The Water Cycle Lesson worked in conjunction with the Watershed and Wildlife Lesson. To start the lesson, students learn watersheds, water bodies, and local wildlife that inhabits these areas.

Watersheds and Wildlife

The Water Cycle Lesson worked in conjunction with the Watershed and Wildlife Lesson. Students take to the field with their Field Guide Worksheets to observe the environment, water bodies, and wildlife around them.

Watersheds and Wildlife

The Water Cycle Lesson worked in conjunction with the Watershed and Wildlife Lesson. Students take notes and write about the ducks they see in the pond (Swan Pond) outside of the Manlius Library.

Watersheds and Wildlife

The Water Cycle Lesson worked in conjunction with the Watershed and Wildlife Lesson. Students gather to discuss their observations of the wildlife and water bodies around them.

Watersheds and Wildlife, Macroinvertebrates and Aquatic Ecology

The next lesson starts with a review of watersheds and wildlife from the last lesson. Afterwards, students learn about different macroinvertebrates in the water bodies they explored around Manlius Library.