Experiential Education programs offered at your school by Walt:
Astronomy – An energetic and fascinating indoor presentation (45 to 60 min.) on:
- solar system (students role play) includes scale modeling,
- Planet exploration – Mars, Pluto & others
- Asteroids,
- Milky Way, & other Galaxies
- Universe, Space and Time,
- Comets & shooting stars,
- Eclipses – Solar & Lunar,
- Sunspots, Auroras,
- Hubble space telescope,
- Canadian Space Program & our astronauts,
- Good web sites,
- Hand sky measurements
- The presentation concludes with a night sky tour with telescope and laser pointer, 30 min. (or more) in your school yard or nearby park or field.
Team Building/Co-operative Games -This fun and exciting unit promotes team building through group problem solving, communication and leadership development. Through participation in initiative tests, group challenges and crazy games, the students move toward dismantling the barriers between them and functioning better as a group. Trust activities can be included if the group warrants. Equipment provided. 1 to 3 hours.
First Nations -The objective of this unit is to give students a better understanding of the history and culture of our First Nations and their experience. However, I strongly recommend that you acquire the services of a local first nations elder, who can give you this information first hand. The unit includes cultural features, values, European arrival, wars, treaties, residential schools, land claims as well as First Nations’ games. The students will learn what the games teach, and sing a song accompanied by a drum. They will also learn about restorative justice, see artifacts, hear legends and see how they reflect cultural values. If time permits, they will observe wilderness skills (bow drill and flint fire starting). 3 to 4 hours.
Pioneers -This unit is full tilt participation! The students will engage in hands-on pioneer activities and develop a better understanding of the challenging life of our early settlers. It includes readings from diaries. In groups, students will:
- Safely use woodworking hand tools, (goggles provided)
- Make butter
- Make Bannock bread
- Safely make candles, using the ‘wick dip’ method, to live music
- Learn to square dance. (includes positions, basic moves and a called dance)
- Additional assistance and period dress would be useful. (parents, grandparents) 4 to 5 hours.
Properties of Air & Flight -This exciting unit features: activities to teach that air has mass and weight; a balloon rocket; a mini-parachute; Bernoulli’s principle; factors affecting flight; and an elastic powered model demo. Students will make and fly paper aeroplanes and see the world record design. The unit concludes with the class helping to launch a model rocket with parachute recovery in the school yard or a nearby park or large field. 3 to 4 hours.
Geology Rocks! Rocks, Minerals & Fossils -There are several demos, simulations and hands on samples in this unit. It includes a geologic history of the earth and plate tectonics. Students will role play the formation of the 3 rock types, learn about minerals in our lives, see many mineral and fossil samples and make clay imprints of fossils. 2 to 3 hours.
Intro to Winter/Wilderness Survival -This unit emphasizes preparation, safety and winter/outdoor fun. It includes; preparation for winter excursions, clothing, backpack kit, tragedies of the unprepared and their avoidance, equipment display with survival scenario, and, if conditions permit, the building of snow shelters (quinzees), shovels provided. The quinzee activity requires proper attire, i.e. insulated footwear, good mitts, layered clothing, outside layer of nylon or similar. Quinzees are made before lunch and hollowed out after lunch. 4 to 6 hours.
Cross Country Skiing – Skis, boots and poles provided; 60 to 90 minutes. Warm clothing required.
Snowshoeing – approx.1 hour to 90 min. Warm clothing required. Snowshoes provided.
Renewable Energy – After discussing energy sources and their pro’s and con’s, students will do hands on solar energy research by helping conduct an experiment with solar thermal ‘boxes’ , managing the boxes and recording the temperature to determine which colour collector will achieve the highest temperature, red, green, brown or black. Also the students will see demonstrations of a solar water heater and hot dog cooker (parabolic reflector), (and taste the results!) and a solar powered fan.
Square Dancing Get your students moving with this fun activity. In an hour, they will learn positions and basic moves like honour, circle, dosido, swing, promenade and apply them in a called dance. With more time, they can do more advanced moves like ladies chains, right hand stars, over/unders and the challenging allemeande left grand right and left. Performing for or with parents/grandparents at an evening ‘hoedown’ is a wonderful conclusion for this activity. Yeehaa!!!