Tideline Discovery Program Now is the time to schedule your field trip to the Hudson River! Scheduling Application Acrobat Scheduling Application Text You can send it by email. Fulfilling NYS Learning Standards New Post-trip activities for your students! The Discovery Program is a hands-on learning experience offered on the Hudson’s shores from March to November. It enables students to embrace the many educational possibilities offered by our magnificent river. Program content and activities vary depending on grade level and topics of interest to the teacher. As an introduction, we will send you a slide show about the river’s ecology, history and environmental issues before your program. The content of the field experience is described below. For schools located in the Mid-Hudson Valley, trips are scheduled at the Esopus Meadows Environmental Center; however, the program can be set up in a local riverfront park near you if necessary. Some program activities can be brought to your classroom in special situations, but there’s nothing quite like being on the river to truly experience it! Learning Stations The learning station format allows us to connect with students in small groups where attention is more easily focused. Learning stations provide hands-on, engaging and fun opportunities for each child to forge his/her own personal connection with the river. Note: activities are subject to change if it rains. The following are our basic learning stations. These stations are used for every program. Seining - Each small learning group will get an opportunity to help pull the seine net out of the river and gently retrieve whatever we have caught in the net. Fish Study - Fish adaptations and senses are examined first hand using an aquarium stocked with “the catch of the day” collected by the children during the seining activity. Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Study - Explore the wonderful world of a drop of water, and learn about the creatures that form the foundation of the “pyramid of life”. Beachcombing - Scavenger hunts, mobiles made of beach bits to hang in the classroom, a beach unnature trail, and wildlife observation are just a few beachcombing possibilities. The tides and currents wash all sorts of surprises up onto our shorelines. Students explore the waterfront for clues about their past and their future. Elective Learning Stations The following are elective learning stations we offer to customize your program and better fit your individual curricular needs. When you fill out your scheduling application, be sure to select one elective. If you do not select an elective, we will select one for you! Scheduling Application Acrobat (PDF) Format Scheduling Application Plain Text - You can send it by email. Grade Level Subject Area Elective Station K-12 Science Math Navigation - Using Hudson River charts cut into a giant jigsaw puzzle, students piece together a sense of the navigable Hudson and learn how to identify navigational aids. K-12 Language Arts Rivery Reverie - A creative wallow into the murky deep. A guided activity in which students spawn a river poem—with surprising ease . . . and tidal results. K-12 Music Music - Write an environmental parody, learn songs about the natural world, or participate in a traditional sea chantey. Music hath charms to soothe the spirited school student! (Most programs include music in a large group—please let us know what kind of music station you’d like. See above.) 3-12 Science Mechanical Advantage - Think you can raise that 500 pound boom by yourself? Now try. This station examines the power of the pulley, and demonstrates the physics of mechanical advantage. 3-12 Science Environmental Ethics Water Wasting Wingding - See for yourself how much water you use in one day. After discussing an average family’s daily water usage, two teams form bucket brigades to fill garbage cans with their daily expenditure of water. It’s a race to the finish . . . now how could you finish with less? (This activity has the potential for getting wet. Be prepared!) 4-12 Science Environmental Issues Water Chemistry - Water is our most precious resource. Is clear water clean water? Using simple testing equipment, we learn about pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. How do these factors affect the water quality of the river? When you throw something away, where is away? 4-12 Science Math Language Arts Orienteering - Using mariner’s compasses, clues painted on stationary objects, cooperation and true grit, students will explore Esopus Meadows through an orienteering course. Each coordinate has a clue word that needs to be recorded. At the end of the activity, both teams put their clues together in a language experience that forms a wise environmental quote. An especially good activity for instilling logistical self-reliance and teamwork. 6-12 Science Physical Education Seining - For kids who can’t get enough! Each group dons waders and takes turns catching fish. (This activity has the potential for getting wet. Be advised! Students must have an extra set of clothes with them!) 5-12 History Cooperation Language Arts Building the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse - One of the first things the kids see when they arrive at their field trip site is the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse. This elective station allows the kids to actually “build” a flat version of the lighthouse using recycled materials from the Materials Exchange while simultaneously learning tidbits about its construction and history. 2-12 Art Beach Bits Mosaic - After finding incredible little bits of brick and pottery on the shore of our beach, the students make a mosaic design by gluing the beach bits to cardboard in a shape selected by the group! 5-12 Art History Hudson River School Design - After a brief lesson on Hudson River School Painters, the students will create on site landscape designs using a variety of mixed media in the style of the Hudson River School. We are capable of creating single-discipline thematic field trips. Call Eli Schloss at the Clearwater office: 845-454-7673 x106. A typical program timetable accommodates 20-50 students at five learning stations. 9:30am The group arrives and is greeted by the Clearwater leader, who discusses safe behavior and the day’s plans, often followed by a song or story. 9:50am Students separate into their small activity groups and rotate through the stations. 12:20pm Lunch break (students are expected to pack their trash back to school). 12:45pm Finish rotating through stations, whole group game, music or other complementary activity. 1:45pm Review or closing activity. 2:00pm Group departure. *Note: Discovery Program trips do not involve sailing on the sloop Clearwater. Those interested in sail programs should contact our office and ask for the Sail Coordinator. Program Fees Fees for Discovery Programs are based upon the number of children participating per field trip; larger classes require more educators, increasing the cost of the trip. The prices listed below are those required to have a group size of 10-12 students per station. For up to 24 students, the fee is $420 25-36 students, $500 37-48 students, $570 49-64 students, $645 These fees cover the cost of the self-guided pre-trip slide show or CD (Powerpoint presentation) to be sent to your school and your educational program at the Esopus Meadows Environmental Center. Please note: EMEC is a carry-in/carry-out facility. Please bring a container to remove all your lunch garbage, etc. Scheduling Application Acrobat (PDF) Format About Esopus Meadows Environmental Center Under a lease arrangement with Scenic Hudson, Clearwater manages the Esopus Meadows Environmental Center and conducts education programs on an adjacent 68 acre parcel of riverfront property with an adjoining park. Bathrooms and drinking water are available here. Most of the Discovery Programs scheduled for the Mid-Hudson region take place at this site, which is located in the village of Ulster Park south of Kingston, New York. This area offers a rich natural history: it is a stopover point for migrating waterfowl and ospreys, a winter habitat for bald eagles, and an important spawning ground for many river fish. The historic Esopus Meadows Lighthouse is visible offshore. About Clearwater Clearwater is a not-for-profit environmental advocacy and education organization based in Poughkeepsie, NY. Our sailboat, the sloop Clearwater, was launched in 1969 and has become a symbol of environmental awareness recognized around the world. Clearwater is funded primarily through membership support.