Fostering Local Students to Become Scientifically Educated Stewards

Contributed by Jenny Roberts, UW Friday Harbor Labs K-12 Program Director

In the late fall of 2001, the University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories initiated a Science Outreach Program  with the purpose of bringing exciting, inquiry-based environmental science education into local K-12 classrooms.  The goal of the Friday Harbor Labs Science Outreach Program (FHLSOP) is to provide hands-on lab and field experiences that foster students to become scientifically educated stewards of our local marine and freshwater environments. Through activities, experiments and studies (projects), in the field and lab, students have the experience of participating in science – observing, predicting, asking questions, collecting data, analyzing data and making conclusions while addressing scientific or environmental concerns. 
The program is structured as a partnership between the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, San Juan Island School District, Spring Street International School, San Juan Nature Institute’s Partners in Science, and San  Juan Islands Conservation District. The Friday Harbor Labs Science Outreach Program works with over 800 local students from the San Juan Island School District, Spring Street International School and Lopez School District.  FHLSOP does not focus on one specific project but rather an integrated set of projects designed to create “effective advocates and defenders of Puget Sound” through education and hands-on experiences over the entire career of involved elementary, middle and high school students.   Please visit our website for a detailed program description at http://depts.washington.edu/fhlk12/index.html  or search for FHL science outreach program.