The Curriculum
Through the lens of PCB contamination and clean-up in the Hudson River, the Citizen Science Program tackles urgent, present-day questions related to water contamination and works to place these conversations within the students' daily lives and imagined futures. We will consider in what ways social, historical, and political factors are at work even when we think we are engaged in “objective” science. In 2024-2025 we will explore the properties of water, as well as how these properties influence the contamination (and decontamination) of water. Using laboratory investigations and active classroom discussions, the focus will be on the creation, analysis, and interpretation of scientific evidence. The program consists of a common core of coursework plus students select one of two different lab strands: (1) The Environmental Water Lab, (2) Science Communication for Public Action.
Many Paths to Engaged Science
Each week of the program, Citizen Science students have one 80-minute session of common core coursework and a two-hour "lab" strand session. Students assigned to take the program each semester will register for the class that best fits their schedule and the lab strand that interests them. Each year, the lab strands are reimagined and redesigned to ensure they are up to date and represent the best of the evolving curriculum and faculty. For the 2024-25 academic year there are two types of lab strands.
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