Education Outreach

The FLI creates, disseminates and coordinates a variety of educational resources and opportunities. The Institute builds on and sustains existing programs at the Colleges as well as other programs in the Finger Lakes region. A primary goal is to develop curricular materials and resources that support and extend existing programs, such as Science on Seneca. The educational pursuits include:

• Developing innovative curricular material, resources and educational opportunities for K-12 students and teachers
• Offering professional development programs for teachers and other educators
• Hosting school groups and participating students involved with Science on Seneca (SOS) and other outreach programs
• Providing educational opportunities for Hobart and William Smith students
• Contributing curriculum to K-12 schools through participation in school advisory boards and committees
  
  

Current FLI Education Outreach Programs

Science on Seneca | My Place in the Finger Lakes
Teacher Training | GIT Ahead
Environmental Science Summer Youth Institute

Science on Seneca (SOS):

Science on Seneca enables local science teachers to use Seneca Lake as an outdoor classroom. To participate, science teachers must take part in one of two yearly training sessions (fall and spring). During the training, teachers take a cruise on Seneca Lake aboard The William Scandling, Hobart and William Smith Colleges' 65 ft. research vessel. During the training, teachers experience the full range of scientific tests and equipment available to them aboard The William Scandling, including plankton tows, sediment samples and water chemistry, to name a few.

Teachers that have taken the training on board The William Scandling can make a return visit with their students to conduct research on Seneca Lake for a nominal fee of $15.00 (per class). Teachers can also access on-line lessons as a follow-up to their activities with students. 

My Place in the Finger Lakes:

The My Place in the Finger Lakes project will utilize the Finger Lakes environment (built, natural, urban, suburban and rural) as part of the learning experience and incorporate inquiry and firsthand experiences into curriculum modules following the New York State Math Science and Technology Standards.

To learn more about this project and teacher training opportunities contact Sheila Myers, Education Outreach Coordinator.

Teacher Training/Professional Development

2009 Rochester STEM Teaching Institutes:
Finger Lakes Watershed Ecology Workshop

This summer the Finger Lakes Institute will offer a Finger Lakes Ecology workshop to area teachers thanks to a $14,500 grant from the Rochester Area Colleges-Center for Excellence in Math and Science (RACCEM). The Finger Lakes Institute (FLI) in collaboration with Dr. Meghan Brown, Assistant professor of Biology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Dr. Bruce Gilman, Professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the Finger Lakes Community College will host 20 middle and high school teachers from school districts in the Finger Lakes region (including the City of Rochester School District) August 3-5 on the Hobart and William Smith Colleges campus.  The focus of the workshop will be on Finger Lakes watershed ecology.

For more information, download the introductory Letter and Application.

The 3rd Annual Finger Lakes Conference
October 3rd, 2009

The conference will be held here at the Finger Lakes Institute on the Hobart and William Smith Colleges campus. This year’s theme is the flora and fauna of the Finger Lakes and opportunities to conduct field science in the region. We have speakers coming from the Finger Lakes Community College, Liverpool High School, Geneseo Middle School, SUNY ESF as well as Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

For more information, download the Brochure.

Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute (ESSYI):

Located in the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region, on beautiful Seneca Lake, the Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges provides exceptional opportunities to explore the scientific, social, and humanistic perspectives of environmental issues.

The Institute offers a two-week, college-level interdisciplinary program for talented high-school students entering their junior and senior years. The program is designed as an introduction to a variety of environmental issues and perspectives on nature and our environment.

Working in the field, in laboratories, in classrooms, and on a four-day camping trip, students explore a range of topics in environmental policy, economics, and ethics, and come to see the natural world through the eyes of artists, historians, philosophers, and scientists.

For more information about FLI Educational Outreach Programs, call (315) 781-4380 or email smyers@hws.edu.