2023 – 24 Education Impact Report: Building Integrated Learning Experiences

At GMRI, our education team uses an integrated approach to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning in the classroom, the lab, the field, and beyond. Our programs build on and complement each other to strengthen fundamental STEM skills – including critical thinking, data literacy, problem solving, and science communication – across a variety of learning environments. Whether examining plankton under a microscope, collecting data on invasive species in their local forests, or sharing their findings through writing and peer-review, our students learn that there are many ways to be a scientist.

In the 2023 – 24 school year, we developed and deepened connections between students, educators, and their local ecosystems to advance lifelong learning and science driven action. We invite you to learn more about our programs, celebrate our recent accomplishments, and support our efforts to build integrated learning experiences across the Gulf of Maine.

LabVenture

LabVenture – our cornerstone education program – provides Maine’s 5th – 6th grade students with accessible, immersive STEM education that sparks their interest in science and equips them with the confidence, competence, and curiosity needed to engage in scientific discovery. LabVenture brings students to our Cohen Center for Interactive Learning, where they participate in a series of activities exploring real data and real questions, including: How is the Gulf of Maine changing? How are species responding? What do these changes mean for our region’s ecosystems, economies, and communities?

We are proud to have reached 68% of Maine’s 5th – 6th grade cohort through LabVenture in the 2023 – 24 school year, including students from all 16 counties. As part of our commitment to upholding equitable access to STEM education, we also reached every eligible student from Lewiston Public Schools and Portland Public Schools — both of which have significant New Mainer or immigrant populations — as well as every eligible student in the Wabanaki school system. We are striving to enhance the diversity demonstrated in LabVenture so that the experience feels relevant to every student who steps foot in the Cohen Center. In this effort, we recently developed a video where four Mainers from diverse backgrounds share their climate observations. By showing this video at the end of each LabVenture visit, we hope to challenge preconceived notions of the scientific field and demonstrate that everyone can advance meaningful scientific investigations and solutions.

Community Science: Investigating Local Ecosystems

In order for science learning to have meaningful, lasting impacts, we must help students relate science to the world around them. Our community science program achieves this by leading students through immersive investigations of vernal pools, intertidal zones, forests, and other local ecosystems in their communities. Through our community science curriculum, students not only collect data but also contribute their findings to real, ongoing research projects led by expert scientists via our Ecosystem Investigation Network. Students also develop and deepen connections to their immediate surroundings and the broader community of scientists, educators, and climate leaders working to understand and steward the Gulf of Maine.

In the 2023 – 24 school year, we introduced new community science curriculum focused on coastal flooding and sea level rise, worked with the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik to develop an ash inventory and monitoring project, and engaged Lewiston Public School’s entire 7th grade class (~300 students) through our vernal pool community science project. In total, we collected over 1,470 data points that will be used to advance our understanding of ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine’s watershed.

Findings from the Field

Finding from the Field (“Findings”) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal featuring environmental investigations conducted and written by middle and high school students. Launched in 2017 in collaboration with a community of student scientists and teachers across Maine and New Hampshire, Findings gives students the opportunity to engage in and communicate about real scientific questions. Through an immersive scientific writing experience, an authentic peer-review process, and an in-person research symposium, Findings encourages students to build connections with their peers, the scientific community, and ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine.

In the 2023 – 24 school year, we engaged 1,261 students in Findings across the writing, review, and publication process. We published Findings: Volume 7 featuring 25 student publications from 23 schools across Maine and New Hampshire, including many schools that participate in Findings year after year. We also hosted the first in-person Findings research symposium in March 2024, which brought together scientists, educators, and over 50 students to share their scientific observations and discoveries.

Supporting Educators to Support Students

We provide professional development, networking opportunities, and other resources across our programs to help educators create hands-on science experiences for students. In addition to the programs detailed above, we support the growth of science education in and beyond Maine through Connected Learning Ecosystems (CLEs), which are peer communities of formal and informal educators working together to support STEM learning and build climate literacy. We also offer free, high-quality science curriculum through our Learning Resource Hub, including modules on local seafood in Maine schools, maple sugaring in a changing climate, and hemlock woolly adelgid infestations. Whether educators participate in a single program or take advantage of all the resources we have to offer, we work to ensure that they feel supported, connected to their peers, and empowered to bring authentic science into their classrooms, libraries, and other learning spaces.

Our Impact

By engaging students in integrated science learning experiences across our educational programs, we aim to strengthen their STEM skills, spark a lifelong interest in science, and empower them to become the marine scientists, environmental stewards, and climate leaders of the future. We’re deeply appreciative of the partners who make this work possible, including classroom teachers, informal educators, community organizations, and of course, our donors and supporters.