Intel Education - An Innovation Odyssey Day 80

MIAMI, Florida—Using the tools and techniques of real scientists, students at the Science Zoo Magnet program of Richmond Heights Middle School are making detailed studies of a fragile ecosystem just a few miles from their neighborhood. The Florida Pines—the last large stand of pines in South Florida—provide a living laboratory for kids who are curious about the natural world and willing to get their hands dirty.

With a doctorate in science education, teacher Suzanne Banas is well equipped to guide her students through the technological and scientific challenges of the project: monitoring a 20-foot by 20-foot plot of pineland for three years. Housed in portable classrooms at the Miami MetroZoo, the 300 sixth- through eighth-graders enrolled in the part-time magnet program don't shy away from the tough classes. While other kids might flinch at the idea of taking on advanced science and zoo research, these kids plunge in feet-first.

The challenges for student teams include:

Plotting and mapping a square of pineland
Using handheld computers, graphing calculators, and spreadsheets to record data
Recording tree heights using a clinometer and trigonometry formulas
Calculating diameters of tree trunks using circumference formulas
Identifying plant and animal species with guidance from zoo personnel
Gathering weather data using probeware for a 24-hour period each month

The pinelands, sitting atop a limestone ridge on South Florida's east coast, support a rich diversity of life for students to study. As they work on graphing a topographical representation of vegetation on their plot, they may observe butterflies and birds fluttering and flitting through the pines and the silver palm. As they gather climate and weather data with probeware (such as a thermometer or hydrometer), they might see an indigo snake slither beneath the poisonwood, or a tortoise lumber under the prickly pears and herbs. Far less prevalent are four endangered plants clinging to their last small shred of habitat. The novice scientists keep a lookout for these troubled species with their poetic, slightly quirky names (deltoid spurge, Blodgett's wild mercury, Small's milkpea, and rockland lantana).

For Banas, the project is a labor of love—a love for kids mixed with love for the environment. She's got a special soft spot for the animal world. "I have always loved animals," says the National Board-certified teacher. "I have many homeless or abandoned ones in my classroom." (As she talks, Rex, her scarlet macaw, tries to get a few words in. He was born without feet, she explains, but that hasn't hampered his verbal acuity.) She and her team of fellow teachers at the magnet school recently won a Program of Promise Award from the Florida Department of Environmental Education for their studies on the South Florida environment. The magnet program is one of 11 such programs associated with AZA (American Zoo & Aquarium Association) zoos nationwide.

The technological tools that the students are mastering help ensure the accuracy and rigor of the project, says Banas. "Handheld computers make it easier to record and transfer data to the desktop without errors," she says. "And they allow students to take readable notes in the field. Using calculators in the field lets students get immediate answers to formulas. Probeware allows weather data to be gathered over long periods of time. And digital pictures ensure that necessary data are collected."

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