5th Grade Programs At RHEC

Geocaching provides an exciting way to engage students in real-world STEM lessons. This program will provide a hands-on, inquiry based activity, aligned to the standards, which is conducted outside in nature. Students will be given a mystery to solve. They will work in teams using GPS devices to find “caches” which contain fun hands-on science activities. These activities must be completed to receive the clue which will help them solve the ultimate mystery. This lesson immerses students into literacy, mapping skills, mathematics, science and loads of fun!

Your class will become scientists! They will use scientific equipment and make scientific observations while they investigate and measure both living and non-living components within TWO different ecosystems: the pond and the forest. Using both observation and precise measurements students will collect, record, analyze and compare and contrast the data.

These amazing plants eat bugs! You will be fascinated by our local species of carnivorous plants, including bladderworts, pink sundew, thread-leaf sundew as well as the endangered pitcher plants; the white-topped pitcher plant, the purple pitcher plant, and the parrot pitcher plant. We will take a journey to visit these interesting plants in the bog. This field program introduces students to wetlands (bogs, marshes, swamps), teaches them about the adaptations that living things make according to the environment in which they live, and discusses plant parts and functions.

Students will discuss the difference in the five vertebrate groups while meeting some of our friendly reptiles face-to-face, including a snake! These ambassadors to the reptile world help students discover and learn the characteristics that make them unique, while comparing these characteristics to those of other vertebrate groups.. They will also learn how all of these interesting creatures are adapted to live in specific environments

Did you know that raptors are birds of prey such as eagles, hawks, osprey, and owls? Students will learn all about predators and prey as well as various bird adaptations. They will understand that raptors are top predators and therefore are considered an indicator as to the health of an ecosystem. Finally students will have the opportunity to meet one of our resident Eastern Screech Owls!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF! Students will enter the inflatable planetarium and see the night sky like they have never seen it before. Once inside they will take off into space studying the solar system, the sun, the planets in our solar system, the moon and its phases, constellations, and so much more!

While participating in the Aquatic Habitat Exploration program, students will tour the aquatic exhibits in the beach classroom observing the organisms living in the different aquatic habitats.  Students will understand that abiotic factors affect aquatic ecosystems. Students will use scientific equipment, to determine from which habitat a sample of water originated.  They will also learn who eats whom and what eats what in an aquatic ecosystem.  Students will use microscopes to explore how energy flows from the sun, through an aquatic habitat.  They will discover the ingredients that make up an aquatic food chain, understanding how producers, consumers, and decomposers interact.  This program will give students a greater understanding of the aquatic habitats found in our area of the world.

Students will stroll through the pollinator garden and the butterfly house while discovering the differences in the complete and incomplete metamorphosis of insects.  

Students will enter the undersea world studying the incredible journey of the sea turtle and the impacts that humans have upon these amazing creatures.