Getting your students out on the lake, or into its tributaries, opens the window to a wide range of educational opportunities. What may surprise you, however, is how easy it is for your class to pursue investigations concurrently in more than one core curriculum area.

Certainly, the Science, Technology and Math (STEM) elements of the NYS curriculum standards are our primary educational focus, as we encourage our participants to utilize the scientific method to development hypotheses, design protocols for testing those theories, learn to use scientific instruments and tools, collect and record data and re-evaluate their theories. The development of hypotheses concerning Cayuga Lake and its waters, however, naturally leads to an exploration of the relationship of people with the watershed. What features led to settling of the region by Native Americans and European pioneers? How did these features, in turn, shape those peoples and the communities they built? How have ensuing events, in turn, altered the character of our
regional waterways?

We believe that the best way to stimulate interest in environmental science studies is to help students explore their relationship with the world around them; to gain a sense of place. As Floating Classroom instructors work with students to collect and evaluate information, they will encourage students to think about the personal and human basis for their questions and ideas, in terms of local history and current events.