Morgan Middle School 6th grade science students participated in a Geography Fieldtrip in November. WATERS fellow, Jamie, organized a fantastic half day fieldtrip. Students walked to CWU campus where they participated in several interactive geography activities hosted by a enormous number of enthusiastic volunteers!
Students created their own watershed and watched it in action with Bob Tuck and the YBEEP Mobile Watershed.
WATERS fellow, Tiffany, helped students calculate the slowest stream velocity ever using an orange, stopwatch, and meter tape. As one student said, "I learned that sometimes when things look like they aren't moving, they actually are." An important water flow concept!
Jamie helped students explore the Yakima basin watershed using GIS (geographic information system). Students looked at land use categories along the Yakima River and marked their home on the map, checking to see if they lived in a floodplain. Several other GIS experts, including 2008-2009 WATERS fellow Chris Hilferty, as well as, were able to help out.
Students also had a chance to participate in "The Amazing GeoRace". Teams, guided by a knowledgeable leader, used handheld GPS units to find three waypoints. Each waypoint was at a unique location on campus and was linked to a science question. Students received stickers at each location after puzzling out the answer to the question in their Geography Fieldtrip handbook.
Jamie managed to round up an impressive number of volunteers to help out on Geography Day! Special thanks to everyone for making the day a real success!
