Listed below is a brief description of each high school (Grades 9-12) in-person field triip being offered at the Howard B. Owens Science Center.
ALL YEAR OFFERINGS:
The contents deemed most appropriate for the field trip are given parenthetically at the end of the description. Each high school program teaches the nature of science and/or engineering design process.
HS Rare Earth Metals: Chemistry: : Rare earth elements are not as rare as you might think. They can be found in everyday items like cars, cell phones, and TVs. This field trip models the mining and refining processes undertaken to prepare REEs for use. Students explore the environmental impacts of REE harvesting, and they complete a simple cost-benefit analysis. (chemistry—honors, AP, IB)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HS Rare Earth Metals: Physics: Rare earth elements have a variety of applications. During this field trip, students will explore neodymium magnets and maglev train systems. They will investigate how REEs are used in energy, technology, and optics. (physics—all levels)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HS UV-vis Spectroscopy:Urinalysis: :Students become analytical toxicologists in this urinalysis simulation. They will learn how UV-vis spectroscopy techniques integrate chemistry, physics, and math to determine the amount of a drug in a person's system. (chemistry, forensic science—all levels)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HS Dissection of a Crayfish: Investigate the hierarchical nature of organisms by dissecting a crayfish. In pairs, students will examine and take apart a crayfish in order to compare its anatomy to a variety of familiar animals. This trip is appropriate for biology and A&P classes. It can be tailored for environmental science classes. (biology, A&P, environmental—all levels)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HS The Decimation of Smog: :Students will conduct experiments using multiple model systems in order to investigate how climate change can affect Earth’s spheres. They will analyze at least one data set to draw conclusions about community actions. (BGCS, biology, chemistry, environmental—all levels)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL HIGH SCHOOL FRIDAY PROGRAMS
FIRST SEMESTER FRIDAY OFFERING:
HS Climate Change (Planetarium + Lab): Students will watch “Kira” in an immersive full-dome planetarium environment. They will contemplate how their futures will be shaped by climate change, corporate influence, and AI. Students will participate in a series of meetings with various activities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECOND SEMESTER FRIDAY OFFERINGS:
HS Supermassive Black Holes (Planetarium + Lab): Students will watch a short film on supermassive black holes in an immersive full-dome planetarium environment. They will conduct hands-on investigations of EM radiation, gravity, and optics. (Earth & space, astronomy, physics—all levels)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HS A Place Like No Other (Planetarium + Lab): Students will watch a short film about the Alaskan biosphere in an immersive full-dome planetarium environment. They will conduct hands-on investigations of the biodiversity of the Alaskan landscape and human impacts on the habitats. (environmental, biology, BGCS)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
