Science Stars

Welcome to Science Stars!

**Now Girls and Boys**

Science Stars is a week-long introduction to science for Stamford Public School students in grades 2- 5 during spring school vacation week. Our young scientists will explore Long Island Sound through hands-on STEM activities, collaborative team building, and other camp fun. Meeting live animals and conducting experiments will cultivate their curiosity and creativity and help them begin to understand the impact of a rapidly changing climate on our local environment. Students will meet and work daily with professional men & women in STEM careers, learning about the skills and opportunities that await them in science as a course of study or career.

Science Stars: All Science. All Fun. All Week.

Science Stars is made possible in part by support from PwC, the Smith Richardson Foundation and the M&T Bank Foundation.

Girls – Science Stars
April 3-7, 2023

9am-4pm

Grades 2-5

Price: $550 (snacks & lunch included)

Location: Coastal Education Center, Cove Island

(Max: 80 girls)

Boys – Science Stars
April 3-7, 2023

9am-4pm

Grades 2-5

Price: $550 (snacks & lunch included)

Location: Cohen SoundWaters Harbor Center, Boccuzzi Park

(Max: 40 boys)

Science Stars is open to 2^nd – 5^th grade students in Stamford Public Schools.

If you have any questions, please email alauria@soundwaters.org or kboback@soundwaters.org.

Scholarships are available for all families. Please see the scholarship page for additional details.

Scholarship Page

Activities

Each day students will perform experiments, conduct research, and collect data as they explore the local environment.

Possible Activities

Research -Water Analysis
Maintaining healthy water conditions in the Long Island Sound is critical to a thriving ecosystem – how does our local water measure up? Students will use advanced testing equipment to explore the unseen but essential factors in Long Island Sound. Is there enough oxygen in the water for creatures to breathe? Are there invisible pollutants threatening our food chain from the bottom up? How is climate change affecting our local environment? Are waste products traveling across the land, only to end up in the water? And what can we do to help?

Soil filtration
At SoundWaters, we learn all about the Long Island Sound. So why should we investigate the land? Find out why! The land surrounding the Sound has a critical role to play in maintaining the health of the entire ecosystem. Collect soil samples, test and examine your findings, and use the soil itself to clean (yes, clean!) a sample of “polluted” water. How much pollution can you remove? What does that mean about our watershed? And why is this so important for our own use of water?

Bio-Engineering lab
Through a bio-engineering experiment students will conduct an in-depth examination of the horseshoe crab’s anatomy. They will observe the adaptations the horseshoe crab has made that has allowed this species to survive for so long.

Team Building
At SoundWaters, we work best as a team! Have fun learning how to work together with your peers to be the first to complete a task. Students will work through a series of team building activities designed to increase communication, reasoning and listening skills.

Each day, the Science Stars hear from an adult professional in a STEM-related field. The guest speaker will talk about opportunities in science for women and men and bring a project that challenges students to observe, analyze and experiment.

2022 Guest Speakers

Mary Money, Food Product Development at Newman’s Own
Suzy Bradford, Engineer at Race Coastal Engineering
Molly Roberts, Postdoctoral Research Associate at NOAA
Karina Popovich, Head of Impact at Makers for Change
Eve Vitale, CEO, Society of Plastics Engineers

NGSS Alignment

Science Stars is:

Investigative and project oriented: focusing on observation, data collection and analyzing samples from the local watershed system;
Aligned with NGSS Components: supporting and amplifying specific grade content and directly fits in the classroom instructional sequence.
- Practice 1 Asking Questions and Defining Problems,
- Practice 2 Developing and Using Models,
- Practice 3 Planning and Carrying Out Investigations,
- Practice 4 Analyzing and Interpreting Data,
- Practice 5 Using Mathematics and Computations,
- Practice 6 Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions,
- Practice 8 Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information
- Math: MP1, MP2, MP5, MP6, Science: SP1, SP3, SP4, SP6, SP2, SP5, SP8, ELA: EP1, EP3, EP4.