Listening to the River

The Project

What is Listening to the River?• Informal Science Education project funded

by a $1.4 million federal grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)

• An exciting opportunity to engage students in self-directed science exploration and multi-media documentation of their local watershed

Why is this Exciting and Newsworthy?

• Important and rare NSF grant coming to the GT Region

• Opportunity to showcase our local watershed and build capacity in local organizations

• Opportunity for local youth to develop science and technology skills

• Shows what’s possible with community partnerships

Who is Involved?Coalition for Watershed Education

Land Information Access Association (LIAA)

Northwestern Michigan College’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute (WSI)

Great Lakes Children’s Museum (GLCM)

Interlochen Public Radio (IPR)

Who is Involved?Supporting Organizations

MSU Extension/4H

Traverse City Optimist Club

Grand Traverse County Conservation District

Girl Scouts of Crooked Tree

Informal Science Education• Science learning that occurs outside of the

classroom

• Engages learners of all ages and backgrounds

• Voluntary, open-ended and self-directed

• Hands-on, active experiences in– Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM)

OK…but what are we going to do?

Four Primary Components over 3 years– Watershed Discovery Expeditions– Soundscapes Radio Segments– Waterscapes: Traveling Children’s Museum

or Science Center Exhibits– Listening to the River Website

Project ActivitiesWatershed Discovery

Expeditions• Youth (ages 11-17) field teams

join adult guides and science and technology experts to explore and document various aspects of their local watershed with state-of-the-art mapping and multimedia technology.

Project ActivitiesSoundscapes Radio Segments• Students document their

watershed discoveries with advanced sound recording technology to produce independent radio segments for broadcast on Interlochen Public Radio.

Project Activities

Waterscapes: Traveling Children’s Museum or Science Center Exhibits

• Content collected on the field excursions is used to create immersive exhibits that recreate the experience of exploring a watershed.

Project Activities

Listening to the River Websitewww.listeningtotheriver.org

Offers project information, educational resources and serves as a project management site and place to collect, aggregate and display mapped watershed data and multimedia information.

What’s in it for Teens?

• Make field trips into your local watershed, focusing on science and technology;

• Use technologically advanced equipment: such as GPS units, super sensitive microphones, digital and video cameras, sophisticated web design software;

• Help design interpretive museum exhibits;• Produce radio broadcasts;• Connect with others who share your

interests.

Excursion Guidelines1. At least six youth team

members, working in pairs;

2. One or more adult volunteer mentors and/or content specialists;

3. A structure that gives teens the primary responsibility for making decisions on what data to collect;

4. A preliminary field excursion plan, jointly agreed upon by all team members, that includes individual and group goals for project learning and group interaction;

5. Opportunities for additional learning experiences and production outside of the field work;

6. Reflection time after the field excursions;7. Personal evaluation and recognition of progress on

individual and group goals.

WD Excursions vs. School• Grade-free

• No texts

• Peers of all ages

• Non-competitive teams

• Travel to little-known places

The Role of Volunteer Guides …• Work with teens on

field trips to build a sound and video map of settings throughout a local watershed;

• Help youth use technology to record perceptions of a watershed;

…Role of Guides

• Facilitate observation skills;

• Encourage teens to take on leadership in interpreting their perceptions and observations for others.

• Connect with young people who share your interests.

Important Next Steps

Recruiting participants

•Area teens for field teams

•Adult volunteer guides/specialists

How to get involved (now & later)

• Return postcard

• Complete application forms right now

• Invite staff to visit your group/organization

Interested? Contact us!

Becky EwingNMC Water Studies Institute231.995.1793bewing@nmc.edu

Mary MannerGreat Lakes Children’s Museum231.932.4526mumanner@glcm.org

Carl Ferguson, Chris KitzmanJoe VanderMeulen, Land Information Access Association231.929.3696info@listeningtotheriver.orgwww.listeningtotheriver.org

Peter PayetteInterlochen Public Radio231.276.4446PayettePC@interlochen.org