In light of the recent National Park closures, students explored how people use parks to connect to themselves, each other, and to nature. Students used the design thinking process to create a product that preserved and enhanced a local, state, or national park. They visited various parks to do field work for their products as well as experienced “peak moments” that often occur when immersed in nature.
Essential Questions:
- How do people use nature to connect to themselves, each other, and the environment?
- How have people used the night sky to make important decisions in the past and how can we use it in future?
- Are public parks a luxury or a necessity in communities?
- As citizens, what is our role in maintaining, enhancing, and preserving parks on the local, state, and national level?
- How do we provide equal access to the outdoors for all?
Key Academic Skills and Content:
- In science: Earth/Sun/Moon relationship, the scale of the universe, gravity, Newton’s Laws of motion, light and the electromagnetic spectrum.
- In math: exponential expressions, scientific notation, and doing scaled drawings/designs.
- In humanities: politics behind National, State, and Regional Parks, and how we, as citizens, can use our writing to engage in the political process and advocate for these sacred parks. Students are writing letters to Congress to encourage funding to programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Students also immersed themselves in Nature while reading literature about immersive nature experiences.
Project Duration: 6-8 weeks
Created with the support of the California Department of Education California Career Pathways Trust