Clearwater is proud to offer high quality Hudson River programs at your school. These offerings are a great complement to your students’ classroom study of the Hudson, or their Clearwater experience. All of these programs are stand-alone experiences or can be used as a pre- or post-trip activity with our Tideline program or our shipboard programs. Many activities can be adapted to include specific topics you’re covering with your students right now! All programs reflect the NYS Learning Standards.
1. The Hudson Before and After Hudson (K-12)
How has the Hudson changed since Henry Hudson sailed upriver in 1609? What will the future Hudson River look like? This Quadricentennial-themed program can be conducted as an assembly or with individual classes. The program gives an overview of Hudson River geology, history, and ecology through slides, artifacts, stories, and songs. $200 with $50 per additional class.
2. Water Pollution Clean Up Activity (grades 3-12)
A hands-on activity where students come face to face with the realities of water pollution – where it comes from, where it goes, and what it leaves behind. Students in small groups will clean up a sample of mock-polluted water using simple tools that are analogous to what you find in a water treatment plant. They will assess our treatment strategies and discover how we can pollute less. $200 with $50 per additional class.
3. Pay or Pollute Watershed Challenge (grades 5-12)
A decision making activity where students assume the identities of stakeholders in Hudson River regions and participate in the process of community influence on environmental issues. In small groups, the students are given several pollution scenarios and must come to a consensus of whether to pay for a solution or continue to pollute. Students will realize the challenges of community decision-making and creating a comprehensive watershed protection plan. $200 with $50 per additional class.
4. Discover the Hudson! (grades K-12)
This one-hour presentation introduces students to the Hudson River – its history, features, and uses over time. This is a wonderful classroom experience to lay down the foundation of your Hudson River studies. This presentation is often used as a pre-trip experience before a field program or a sail on the sloop. Using a PowerPoint slide show, the students take a tour of the Hudson and view the beauty and the challenges facing our river. $200 with $50 per additional class.
5. Hudson River Extravaganza – the field trip that comes to your school! (grades K-12)
Two Clearwater educators come to your class with live fish and macroinvertebrates and divide the class in half to rotate through these two learning stations. Students will identify fish, and collect and identify aquatic invertebrates. Life cycles, adaptations, and human impact on these animals will be discussed. Our most popular classroom program, it is hands-on, interactive, and helps develop a personal connection to our river, through the examination of the diverse life in the estuary. $400 for one class – $50 each additional class
6. Eels on Wheels: The Life Cycle of an Eel (grades 3-8)
The North American Eel has one of the most interesting life cycles in our estuary. They are born in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda and drift with the currents to reside in the Hudson. The program begins with a slide show of the eels’ life cycle. The group then divides in half to complete a mapping exercise of the eels’ migration and to observe live eel specimens. The program incorporates map skills, math, geography and life sciences. $200 with $50 per additional class.
7. Hudson River Puzzles (grades K-8)
Using a 20-foot puzzle of actual charts of the Hudson River, a Clearwater educator will present a hands-on lesson about the navigable Hudson. Students will examine individual puzzle pieces, develop questions about chart symbols, identify key chart abbreviations, create hypotheses for number representation, determine highest and lowest parts of the river for their section, see the river in almost its entirety and generate an appreciation of the flow and width of the Hudson through a “river walk”.
8. The Power of Song (grades K-12)
The Power of Song is an interactive learning experience that exposes students to socially conscious music and empowers them to be active on issues that concern them. Several learning options are available. Full Description.
*Although our office is in Beacon, Clearwater programs are available to the entire Hudson River Watershed. Outside of a 20-mile radius, a $50 travel fee will be necessary.
