Environmental Science Research is a scientific foundations course rooted in inquiry and data acquisition/analysis. This project-based course allows students to utilize a range of equipment and resources to apply concepts of chemistry, physics, and biology within the context of environmental science. This course develops research skills early in the Tatnall Upper School student's career to ensure a solid foundation for future advanced science courses.
Key Developmental Skills & Projects
The ESR course will provide students with a solid foundation in laboratory skills they will use in future science courses and research skills that will translate to all subject areas. The course will implement a project-based approach to make use of our 110-acre campus with opportunities to venture off campus and explore the natural world that surrounds us. Students will work with multiple faculty members and professionals within the environmental science community to carry out actual research in the field. Some of these projects will include ongoing water quality studies on the various streams around campus, and a continuous apiary study where students will maintain a honey bee hive and collect data on their bee population throughout the school year.
The graphic below illustrates a few, but certainly not all, pathways through the upper school science curriculum, and students who develop an appetite for higher levels of science while in the upper school would have opportunities to move into more advanced classes.