Ramsey students make science real

COEUR d'ALENE — McEuen Park and Tubbs Hill served as textbooks on Thursday for more than 100 fourth-graders from Ramsey Magnet School of Science.

Throughout the day, students either participated in science-based GPS activities on Tubbs Hill, or got hands-on with water at four stations in the park. Science day is in its third year at Ramsey, and is the brainchild of fourth-grade teacher Troy Wassink.

"It lets them experience the environment at their own pace while noticing what a great area we live in," Wassink said. "And every year scientists from the community come in and teach the students, which gives them some idea of what a career in science would look like."

Jim Ekins, area water educator for the University of Idaho Extension, was one of the first scientists Wassink contacted. Ekins is no stranger to providing hands-on science lessons to schools in North Idaho, and was also able to connect Ramsey with other scientists involved in water.

He told The Press Thursday that the four stations throughout McEuen Park add variety to the traditional learning experience.

"It's not like they're running around playing tag all day," Ekins said. "We have some pretty intense lessons planned for them."

Those lessons, Ekins added, are all in sync with statewide standards for science.

Using bugs the water educator caught himself at Rathdrum Creek, Ekins taught the fourth-graders about the importance of macro-invertebrates to the many bodies of water in the area. Each student used a spoon to scoop up one of the insects, along with some water, and looked at them using a small magnifying glass.

"Looking at the bugs is cool and all, but I want you to identify the macro-invertebrates that you see," Ekins said, encouraging the group of students to note which bugs they identified in their journals.

There was a flurry of activity at the station, with students eager to share their findings with classmates.

"It makes science more real for the kids," Ekins said. "They get to have their own investigation and figure out exactly what they're looking at."

At other stations, students learned about pollution, the water cycle, watershed, and used a model of a town to get a big picture of water in their community.

The other half of the day was spent on Tubbs Hill, using GPS units Wassink obtained through grant funding. Wassink said prior to the trip, students practiced using the devices, which made them ready to hit the hill and find specific coordinates.

Each spot, he added, has its own individual lesson such as vegetation and geological formations. Every lesson learned during the field trip is then followed up on with additional instruction in the classroom.

"Kids aren't getting enough science," Ekins said. "We can integrate more science into what they are doing without interfering with their other studies."