Science in the Schools

For the past fifteen years, Sitka WhaleFest’s “Scientists in the Schools” program has brought marine mammal scientists from around North America into classrooms in the Sitka School District and, more recently, Mt. Edgecumbe High School.

The content of the in-class lectures, and hands-on activities changes annually. Researchers have presented a range of scientific programs from necropsies on marine mammals to fluke identification on humpback whales.

The success of Sitka WhaleFest’s educational program depends on a carefully crafted integration of contemporary scientific research with the school’s existing science curriculum. In order to make the guest lectures relevant, our education facilitator and curriculum coordinator prepares students with lessons about basic marine conservation, ecology and research methods. The scientists then lecture on their research and finally have the students do a hands-on project so they can experience the scientific process, and better understand the scientific questions that are being asked.