Math Science Expedition

The MSE Juvenile Salmon Studies  program centers on middle and senior high school students spending several days rafting down the Salmon and Aniak rivers in the company of several adults who engage students in a variety of math, science, and leadership activities. In recent years science and math activities have focused on conducting standardized surveys of the juvenile fish community at each campsite with the objective of assessing whether changes occur in the species composition as students progressed from subalpine headwaters where the narrow steep sided channel cuts through bedrock, to the mainstream Aniak River with a broad flood plain of braided channels lined with tall spruce and poplar trees and abundant in-channel large woody debris. At the end of the float trip each student leaves with a data set that includes speciated catches from replicate samples at each camp site coupled with paired fish length and weight measurements. Adult mentors follow-up to encourage students to use their data set in developing science fair projects.  The MSE is being presented here as a model that could be adapted at other schools to use citizen science as a means to increase research and monitoring capacity.  Students can earn 0.5 credits in "Introduction to Fish Biology."

When: August 8 - August 20,  2024 (TENTATIVE)

 What: Instruction and assessment

• Science (Fisheries Science / Botany / Safety / Wilderness First Aid)
• Math (Measurement /Rates / Statistics / Graphing)
• Writing (Journaling / Reflection)
• Personal / Social / Service Learning - Leadership, team building,peer mediation, personal & team goal setting, independent living skills)
• Career & Technical Education - Employability Skills, Teamwork Skills
• Credits - 0.5 credits in "Introducton to Fish Biology" or 0.5 credits in "Work Ethic & Team Building" or 0.5 "Advanced Outdoor Leadership"

Who: 35 students / 12 facilitators