Suzanne Guldimann is the editor of the Topanga New Times, and also TNT’s resident naturalist. She was recently asked to give a talk on being…
Generous donations made by the Santa Maria Trails Trust and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are supporting specialists from local non-profit environmental groups as they provide a variety of earth and life science lessons for 5th graders from two Los Angeles Unified School District programs.
Faculty and parents from both Topanga Elementary Charter School and Hart Street Elementary, are collaborating to bring their 5th graders together on the Topanga Elementary campus for Science Day! Science Day will be a shared experience between both schools, giving them all hands-on learning opportunities about Biology, Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Botany and Zoology.
WHAT HAPPENS ON SCIENCE DAY?
Sister schools Topanga Elementary Charter School is located in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains. Hart Street Elementary is in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. Faculty and parents at both schools are collaborating to bring students together on the Topanga Elementary campus. Science Day is a shared experience between Hart Street and Topanga 5th graders, giving them all hands-on learning opportunities
Hart Street students and staff will travel to Topanga Elementary and spend the day on the Topanga campus in the chaparral of the Santa Monica Mountains. Students will be placed in groups and attend rotating workshops and sessions throughout the day. The Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains is supplying field guides and experts who will lead students on hikes in the oaks woodlands area near Topanga Elementary. They will lead another group on a salmonid dissection. The Santa Monica Mountains Fund is bringing a team to lead seed bomb making and support our hikes and teach native plant identification. School parent, Dr. Ben LaBrot, will lead a lesson on gross morphology, and Raptor Events is coming to do a spectacular show-and-tell with the raptors they care for. You and your outlet are invited to come join a hike, dissection, or one of the presentations with the students. Topanga Elementary welcomes the opportunity to share with the community the enhancements made to outdoor education for students in Los Angeles Unified!
