Listed below is a brief description of all (Grades K-12) virtual field triip being offered at the Howard B. Owens Science Center. Field trip descriptions are listed by first semester and second semester including the grade level(s) and brief summary.
ELEMENTARY
Grade K—Do you need what I need? Your kindergärtners focus on life science with us! We engage by learning ways animals and plants survive, their needs, how they differ, and a spotlight is given to things that are living, versus those that are non-living. Have your students Zoom with us to evaluate how the living compare!
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Grade 3 —Let's Investigate! Pendulums in Motion: Start the year off by conduct investigations using a simulation modeling pendulum motion and explain the investigative process (Scientific Method).
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Grade 3 —Weathering Sights and Blights: Our storyline has third grade students transformed into homeowners, while living in a coastal beach community. During your virtual visit students face two weather-related scenarios and are challenged to help reduce their impacts by choosing with support, the best claim to help them alleviate possible devastations.
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Grade 4—A Preferred Choice: Hop on board as we prepare to drop anchor in the midst of a weather alert, that gives way to a localized, Earth changing disaster for humans, bringing about torrential rains and quickly gives way to a sloppy, soggy, floody mess! During our program students prepare for a flood event, assist another, and use criteria and constraints to provide the best solution for the scenarios experienced during the lesson.
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Grade 4—Cosmic Collisions : Blast off on an investigation of the Solar System's most powerful events! Students will explore impact craters, planetary oddities, Saturn's rings, and the asteroid belt to discover how collisions have shaped the worlds we see today. Through simulations, they'll uncover how speed, mass, and energy influence the outcomes of cosmic crashes.
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Grade 5—Climate Heroes: The Power of Trees : In this very fun and interesting lab by the Nature Conservancy, students explore how trees mitigate climate change and benefit the Earth. Students will also learn about Maryland’s current "Five Million Trees by 2031 Initiative" and about the “School Yard Forest Program” for their schools Specimen Tree Inventory, Mapping and Native Tree Planting oppotyunties.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Grade 7—Adapt to Survive: A Rabbit Survival Investigation: In this investigation, students use the PhET Natural Selection simulation to explore how genetic variations affect the survival and reproduction of rabbit populations in different environments. Students collect and analyze data to identify patterns in how traits become more or less common over time. Using evidence from the simulation, they explain how natural selection leads to changes in populations across generations.
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HIGH SCHOOL
Beer's & Breathalyzers: This activity introduces students to a practical application of chemistry and provides an opportunity to apply mathematical skills to quantify breath alcohol levels. This activity can be tailored to fulfill inquiry requirements for AP and IB Chemistry courses. (chemistry—all levels)
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Tuna Be or Not Tuna Be This MISA-style preparatory activity challenges students to refine a simulation to develop a sustainable fishing method. Teachers will receive a MISA-style question set to practice students upon completion of the activity.
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ELEMENTARY
Grade K—Do you need what I need? Your kindergärtners focus on life science with us! We engage by learning ways animals and plants survive, their needs, how they differ, and a spotlight is given to things that are living, versus those that are non-living. Have your students Zoom with us to evaluate how the living compare!
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Grade 1—Can You Code a Sandcastle? During this one hour introductory program students explore computational thinking through the engaging story of “How to Code A Sandcastle” by Josh Funk.* Throughout the story students engage in “unplugged interactive activities” that allow them to help Pearl solve a big problem with coding and practice simple coding vocabulary. *Permission was obtained from the author to use the book, images and text in this program.
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Grade 1—You are my Sunshine: When little Patrick gets a bad case of sunburn he mistakenly wishes that the Earth didn’t even have a Sun. Join Patrick and his friends as they discover how our wonderful sun heats and lights the Earth,helps plants to grow, keeps solar system planets in orbit, provides power and even makes it possible for us to see the moon. Program activities will also interactively teach students how to prevent sunburn and how to find the Big Dipper and Spring Constellations in the nighttime sky.
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Grade 2—Can You Code a Sandcastle? During this one hour introductory program students explore computational thinking through the engaging story of “How to Code A Sandcastle” by Josh Funk.* Throughout the story students engage in “unplugged interactive activities” that allow them to help Pearl solve a big problem with coding and practice simple coding vocabulary. *Permission was obtained from the author to use the book, images and text in this program.
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Grade 2—A Place to Call Home: Get ready to have your students explore habitats! Virtual explorations encourage student musings with the use of their senses, infer names of habitats, and observe for clues to help support their habitat choice. Register today, and see lovely footage from Southern Maryland farms!
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Grade 3 —Weathering Sights and Blights: Our storyline has third grade students transformed into homeowners, while living in a coastal beach community. During your virtual visit students face two weather-related scenarios and are challenged to help reduce their impacts by choosing with support, the best claim to help them alleviate possible devastations.
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Grade 4—A Preferred Choice: Hop on board as we prepare to drop anchor in the midst of a weather alert, that gives way to a localized, Earth changing disaster for humans, bringing about torrential rains and quickly gives way to a sloppy, soggy, floody mess! During our program students prepare for a flood event, assist another, and use criteria and constraints to provide the best solution for the scenarios experienced during the lesson.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Grade 6—The FOG Factor: The FOG Virtual Field Trip teaches students how pouring grease down drains affects sewer systems. Through demonstrations and real pipe visuals, they see how temperature changes cause grease to solidify, analyze evidence, and propose solutions, connecting science concepts to real-world environmental problems.
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Grades 6, 7 & 8—Discover New Worlds: Exoplanets: Become an exoplanet hunter! Students explore how scientists use starlight to detect worlds beyond our solar system and uncover clues about their composition. Using these techniques, they investigate a selection of potentially Earth-like planets and evaluate their suitability for future exploration or even interstellar travel.
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HIGH SCHOOL
Beer's & Breathalyzers This activity introduces students to a practical application of chemistry and provides an opportunity to apply mathematical skills to quantify breath alcohol levels. This activity can be tailored to fulfill inquiry requirements for AP and IB Chemistry courses. (chemistry—all levels)
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Tuna Be or Not Tuna Be This MISA-style preparatory activity challenges students to refine a simulation to develop a sustainable fishing method. Teachers will receive a MISA-style question set to practice students upon completion of the activity.
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