This year, the fifth and sixth graders embarked on a new adventure for their spring experiential education trip. The class flew to Boston, MA, to spend a week in the city and nearby Penikese Island.
After visiting the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Discovery Center and the Marine Biological Library, the class and their three leaders chartered a boat through Penikese Island School from Woods Hole, MA to Penikese Island. Penikese Island is located on the west island of the Elizabeth Island chain in Buzzards Bay. The island has a long and varied history, including being a place for people seeking treatment for Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease), a residential school for young men, a sheep farm, and a state-run bird sanctuary.
On the island, students were immersed in experiential, nature-based education and field study. Students observed the many species of birds that inhabit the island, such as gulls, terns, eider ducks, geese, and oystercatchers. An oyster farmer from a neighboring island brought a three-tiered net filled with oysters to demonstrate how he collects and harvests oysters. Students learned about ocean acidification through a hands-on experiment that involved adding carbon to seawater and watching the pH change. While exploring an intertidal zone, students tested the salinity of the seawater using a salinity refractometer. The intertidal zone also gave students the opportunity to interact with crabs, mollusks, dogfish eggs, and sea squirts.
At the end of two packed days of learning, the students and leaders boarded a boat back to Woods Hole. The trip back to the mainland took the group through the Martha’s Vineyard Channel as opposed to Buzzards Bay. Each student had a chance to drive the boat and learn more about the navigation devices used on board.
A surprise invitation to board the R/V Neil Armstrong completed the time spent in Woods Hole. The R/V Neil Armstrong is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and supports advanced oceanographic research all over the world. A truly unique and special opportunity, students spoke directly with an engineer on the vessel.
Back in Boston, the students explored the New England Aquarium, Paul Revere’s house, and the Freedom Trail, visited the USS Constitution, and “made way for ducklings” in Boston Common.
~ Brittany Perrot, Homeroom Teacher and Trip Leader