Murray students conduct first field investigation at outdoor classroom
Murray students in the e2 program conducted their first field investigation at the Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom in January. It was the first of six field investigations that will be completed between January and June.
The data is part of a phenology study of a section of Como Regional Park. Air temperature, soil temperature, snow depth, snow pH, cloud cover, light intensity and barometric pressure were collected during a snowfall of 1 inch per hour on Jan. 30.
Students were helped by U.S. Forest Service staff member Teri Heyer, former Murray science teacher Art Payne and six former Murray e2 students, Kari Gurney, Lazeah Shields, Xeehlue Vang, William Toney, Desiree Fuentes and Alyssa Brown, all of whom are currently enrolled in Como Park Senior High School’s pre-AP biology course. Last year the students were able to brag about going out on the coldest days of the season; this year, the students can brag about collecting field data during the biggest snowfall of the season.
The Murray e2 students visited Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center Feb. 7-9 to continue learning how to collect field data in ways that can lead to good science experiments. They will return to Wolf Ridge for another weekend in April and two weeks during the summer to complete team inquiry projects that will be entered in the 2015 Twin Cities Regional Science Fair.
The course has received generous support from the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation.
