Bon Voyage to Bad Boating Habits

Abstract:: Students will learn about common boating-related threats to waterways. They will learn about the problems created in waterways by recreational boaters and discuss ways boaters can change their behaviors to reduce their impact on waterways. Students will also learn about the history of water pollution through a study of the Cuyahoga River. They will create a commercial to raise awareness about boating-related pollution. Exercises will also help students explore the reliability of information on the Internet by comparing various articles on MTBE, a common gasoline additive that can contribute to water pollution, and expose students to the problems associated with unintentionally transporting invasive species in ballast water. An experiment that will help students visualize measurements parts per million is also included.

Toward the Scientific Revolution, Fall 2003

Abstract:: The emergence of Western science: the systematization of natural knowledge in the ancient world, the transmission of the classical legacy to the Latin West, and the revolt from classical thought during the scientific revolution. Examines scientific concepts in light of their cultural and historical contexts.

No Strings Attached

Abstract:: In this set of exercises, students will study rivers and waterways around them by using the Internet, maps, and their knowledge of local landscapes. The students will use an EPA Web site to investigate what is upstream and downstream of them. They will also look at graphs of flow in familiar river locations on a live U.S. Geological Survey Web site. Using small rocks and a washbasin, students will build a model that leads to extending their understanding of streams in different geographic locations. A topographic map exercise will expose students to topographic maps and allow them to look for the origins of streams. Finally, a reading exercise will illustrate the issue of the importance of lower-order streams to downstream areas, and students will be asked to implement their ideas to protect a stream on a dairy farm.