On Friday, May 19, Kingsley 8th graders and seniors visited the school's 500-acre wilderness property off of Hammer Road for a hands-on science lesson in a real-life setting!
Kingsley Area School's expansive wilderness property was donated by Huldah and Gladys Hill and is used throughout the year for different field trips and lessons. On Science Day, it offered students the opportunity to see their lessons come to life as they honed in on their powers of observation and discovery while utilizing their practical skills.
8th graders rotated through nine stations across the property that were set up and hosted by senior wilderness students. Activities included water quality testing, studying macroinvertebrate species, fire-building, survival bracelet making, teambuilding, bluebird house observations, shelter building, geocaching, and balloon launching.
This is the sixth annual Science Day, organized by Kingsley Middle School 8th grade science teacher Tiffany Smith and Kingsley High School Wilderness teacher Boone Scharp.
Fire Building Station
At the fire building station, we learned the valuable skill of starting a fire in survival situations. By the end of the day, each kid should understand and know how to build a fire and use a shoelace to start a fire. We learned...
What kind of wood to use for different situations
The difference between dry, dead, and live wood and tricks to find dry wood in wet rainy situations
How to use a bow drill, flint and steel, matches, and a lighter
Survival Bracelet
Students made survival bracelets out of 550 Para cord and put on a whistle buckle. The bracelets are used for many things. In the event there is an emergency, you could unravel your bracelet and use the Para cord to tie up gear, help make a shelter, or you can also use the inner core as fishing line or sutures, and use the inner core strands to mend fabric.
You could also use the Para cord to hang your game animal or hide food from scavengers and use it to start a fire. There is also a whistle attached for signaling help, you should have your survival bracelet with you at all times. This skill COULD save your life!
Geocaching
Students were asked to find the hidden treasures of the Hill Sister Property, and then download the Geocache App to locate treasures all over the world!
Naturalist Training Camp
Middle schoolers learned what projects students have been working on in Environmental Science and Wilderness Survival classes. They learned about invasive species, habitat enhancement, and how to identify birds.
They learned about which benthic Macro Invertebrates (bugs) live in Anderson Creek and what that tells us about the environment.
Team Building
This station started off by talking about the traits of a good leader and transitioned to team-building games to accomplish a group goal. This station focused on the importance of working together and how to communicate to accomplish a goal.
Shelter Building
This station focused on the skills needed to build a shelter in a survival situation. Techniques for different situations were discussed, and students that actually built and slept in winter survival shelters during the Winter Camping trip shared their experiences and skills.
Projectile Physics
Students learned about the physics of projectiles and discussed concepts such as projectile range, launch angle, and launch velocity. Students applied those concepts with a water balloon launcher and attempted to hit targets in the launch field.
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To learn more about these science classes and science day, contact the teachers and organizers of the event below:
Boone Scharp
Kingsley High School
Wilderness Teacher
Tiffany Smith
Kingsley Middle School
8th Grade Science Teacher