In , through Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Community Robotics, Education, and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab Satellite Network, Intermediate Unit 1 will take part in the launch of Nearby Nature, an educational project that will enable middle and high school students to study scientific phenomena in almost any outdoor space.
Sponsored by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Chevron, Nearby Nature will empower students in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and provide them with the tools to measure aspects of their surroundings, including fine particulates in the air, dissolved solids in water, and more. The CREATE Lab along with Intermediate Unit 1, West Liberty University, Marshall University, and Regional Educations Service Area (RESA) 3, will develop and provide training to teachers beginning in on incorporating the Nearby Nature Kits in the classroom.
The project will develop curriculum and classroom kits for inquiry-based learning, with both indoor and outdoor activities. Kits will include technology from the CREATE Lab and the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program that will be available through a lending library for schools teachers and students.
“Nearby Nature will give teachers the opportunity to use cutting edge technologies,” said Nancy Stahlschmidt, Intermediate Unit 1 Curriculum Specialist, “and acquire skills to engage students with their surrounding outdoor environment.” This project is part of a larger effort of the Robotics Institute’s CREATE Lab at the CMU School of Computer Science to push for environmental education through technology innovation and social empowerment. Intermediate Unit 1 is excited to begin the project starting in the new year and is looking forward to helping expand students knowledge on their surrounding environment.
The CREATE Lab Satellite Network engages educators and local communities in the development and dissemination of cutting edge technologies, and innovative approaches to learning and teaching. For more information or to learn how to get involved, contact Ryan Hoffman, the Nearby Nature Project Coordinator, at ryan@cmucreatelab.org.