Worcester-Area High Schoolers Invited To EcoTarium Naturalist Program

WORCESTER, MA — The EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature in Worcester is seeking local high school students interested in becoming junior naturalists. The museum is offering an after-school naturalist program exploring the ecosystems of North America.

Here's more from an EcoTarium news release:

Do you know how to identify a tree? Make mushroom paper? Tell the difference between a muskrat and a beaver?

For many, the answer is no. But don’t be embarrassed! The EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature is here to help with programming, special exhibitions and animal ambassadors.

One program receiving attention right now is the EcoTarium’s after-school Naturalist Program for Worcester high school students. Students take part in fun, immersive and instructive activities led by museum educators. Enrollment for the Naturalist Program is now open and the richly experiential program is free of charge.

“I love everything about it,” says student Brook Flores, who is attending for the second year. “I’ve really enjoyed water testing. We recently learned how to identify trees and last year we went on a trip to the Boston Aquarium. I loved that. Jake and the EcoTarium are always teaching us something new and it’s amazing. I learn so much I can’t even list all of it.”

High school students who enroll in the program quickly get busy with a wide range of hands-on activities at the EcoTarium. They come for two hours twice a week and work with EcoTarium coordinator Jake Dziejma and staff both inside and outside the museum. Their science and nature projects often benefit local conservation efforts. And, yes, they identify trees and bird calls, make mushroom paper and figure out whether that’s a beaver or a muskrat they’ve spotted at the water’s edge.

The program is currently enrolling high school students for the rest of this school year. This lively program is filled with quality science-based experiences that support students’ STEM interests. It gives students real-life STEM projects that can genuinely inspire and support their career interests in science and nature. The students develop their critical thinking skills while figuring out the difference between a muskrat and a beaver, for example, at the same time they are growing into passionate environmental stewards. The program is sponsored by a generous grant from the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation.

“Many of the kids in high school are very busy and even over scheduled,” says Dziejma. “Having an hour to dig in the garden, or be outside in a low-stress natural environment is very important.”

The garden, it so happens, fascinates the students. Gardening happily delivers many learning experiences for the receptive kids, says Dziejma. “There are many skills and lots of details you need to learn to maintain a garden. In gardening, the kids get to see the effect they’re having. For example, they grow and use herbs as what are called scent enhancements for the animals here.”

Introducing scents to animals enriches their lives and is part of the EcoTarium’s zoology practice. “It’s really important for teens to see that their actions have a good impact,” says Dziejma. “It’s a very sensory-rich experience for the kids, as well, to grow things and then witness how their efforts improve the experiences of the animals we have here.”

Not every young person has developed a comfort level with nature, according to Dziejma. The Naturalist Program is a safe, supportive way to bring students gently into new nature-oriented experiences like walking along a pond at the EcoTarium, gathering water samples and then viewing the water droplets under a microscope to get an astonishing look at a new and awesome world. Or maybe the kids take a walk in the woods after a few heavy rains and seek fungi from which they make spore prints and paper. “We really put our blenders to work,” says Dziejma, “when we made mushroom paper last year. This year, the kids insist on gathering up the paper and using it to write on. They are proud of what they’ve done and have formed an attachment to the paper!”

For more information, those interested may contact Jake Dziejma at jdziejma@ecotarium.org.