#Welcome On this page you will find programming, activities, and resources related to formal and informal education. From here, you can: Join the conversation Learn how to integrate community science practices into your classroom Browse community science lesson plans from the Public Lab team Find activities for your classroom from the community Ask a question, answer a question, or follow future questions on education ## What Does Community Science Look Like in Your Classroom? Public Lab defines community science as community-led scientific exploration and investigation to address community-defined questions, allowing for engagement in the entirety of the scientific process. Unlike traditional citizen science, Public Lab’s approach emphasizes local and traditional knowledge, community ownership of research, and working together in scalable networks to encourage collaborative learning and civic engagement. [![Screen_Shot_2021-04-15_at_6.34.42_PM.png](/i/43663)](/i/43663?s=o) Classroom community science projects are youth-led with an approach that emphasizes participant and community ownership of research, from question identification through analysis, and working together to encourage collaborative learning and civic engagement. After identifying their interests, students conduct research as they join the efforts of people and organizations already working on these issues and take the lead in aspects of study design, data collection, and analysis. The data collected from these student-designed projects supports community action and civic engagement. [Read more about integrating community science methodologies into your classroom here](https://publiclab.org/notes/mimiss/04-16-2021/community-science-in-the-classroom). **** ## How Can You Get Involved? We're looking to build a strong community of practice where educators of all experiences can share resources, knowledge, and lend a hand. Here are some ways that you can help build Public Lab's educational community ### Join the Conversation Get notified about new #education posts by subscribing to related tags. Click the button below, and subscribe to tags like "education", "classroom", "lesson", as well as other topics that you're interested in. Subscribe ### Try These Lessons in Your Classroom and Share Your Experience After using one of these activities in person, let us know how it goes in the comments. We appreciate your feedback and encourage you to share how you modify the lesson to better fit your classroom. - [Classroom Community Science](https://publiclab.org/wiki/student-led-community-science-in-the-classroom-a-curriculum): An adaptable curricula for bringing student-led environmental projects into your classroom. - [Messages from the Mississippi](https://publiclab.org/wiki/messages-from-the-mississippi-lesson-plans): A 6-part series investigating microplastics in local bodies of water culminating in student artwork and advocacy. - [Wetlands Remote Sensing & Management](https://publiclab.org/wiki/wetlands-lesson-plans): Hands on lesson plans to introduce students in grades 8-12 to oil spill cleanup, monitoring wetlands, and managing natural resources. - [Air Quality Class](https://publiclab.org/wiki/air-quality-class): An 8-week program in which students work with air quality sensors to monitor indoor air pollutants. Participants catalog and analyze the environmental air pollutant hazards that affect neighborhood homes and will share their findings with other community members ________________ ## Activities Here are some different activities particularly suited for use in the classroom: [activities:education] **** ## Questions [questions:education] **** ## Resources To learn more about the methods, successes, and challenges in developing these programs, check out our reports and evaluations from these funded projects: 2021 National Academy of Sciences Project Evaluation: Community Science in the Classroom 2022 EPA Impact Report: Messages from the Mississippi 2022 EPA Environmental Education Evaluation: Messages from the Mississippi **For more information on funding resources for educators, [click here](http://publiclab.org/wiki/funding-sources-for-science-teachers) ** [![PartsNCraftsSpectralTurntable.jpg](/i/47464)](/i/47464?s=o)...
Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
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Andrew2005 | "Andrew Smith 2nd Block Environmental Engineering 3/18/2022 I've learned plenty of information about microplastics from the video. 99% percent of th..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
amcreecy | "Lesson #2 reflection prompt Collecting microplastics along the Mississippi river was very eye opening. There was a lot of plastic pollution in and ..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
amcreecy | " According to the video on why 99% of ocean plastics pollution is missing, the reason is because the 99 percent of plastics are under the waters su..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
chall0105 | "Caleb Hall- 3/17/2022- The Relationship Between the term Microplastics, Biodegradability, and Sublimation. Microplastics are termed as bits of p..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
adison1cooper | "Microplastic Pollution is found in our water. In its micro state it has infiltrated our oceans, water supplies, and even our bodies. The water cycl..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
EdMallon | "The ones from Fisher Scientific and Thermo have notably better quality seals than no-name brand tubes. So if you are putting them somewhere swampy ..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
bhamster | "Thanks for this update, @EdMallon! I read the full post you linked and laughed at "Pro-Minillennium Falcons." :smiley: The Falcon tube housing is n..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
EdMallon | "This latest update was motivated by several factors but the most important ones were: (1) Our own project has grown to the point that every fieldwo..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
liz | "What kind of net is used to sample for plankton? Is it more finely woven than the nylon "babylegs" tights or different in any way? If so, can we sw..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
liz | "What a fantastic update! It's great to hear from you @EdMallon. An underwater logger running for a year on a single coin cell battery?? COOL. Taggi..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
Andrew2005 | "The video that I watched in class informed me about what led up to the creation of Public Labs. The oil spill that occurred in 2010 caused the comm..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
queenj303 | "The video I watched in class gave some insight on how Public Labs started. After the 2010 oil spill people in the community came together to learn ..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
chall0105 | "Caleb Hall- 3/15/2022 The video " The DIY Community Microscope Kit" goes over a few topics dealing with the public organization, their aspirations,..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
EdMallon | " It’s been a long time since I posted, and you’d be forgiven for thinking the Cave Pearl Project was yet another victim of COVID. While the attend..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
AnJah | "Approaching the cite of where we were going to be collecting microplastics, I noticed there was a lot of trash and unexpected debris. There were ma..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
Ag8n | "I need to give further explanation. I'm recovering from cancer, now. Without the polymer based medical devices giving the nasty chemicals, that w..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
Ag8n | "How will the general public be convinced? Right now, there are many plastic plants in the US employing thousands of people. That is before We menti..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
queenj303 | "Jedah Tanner- 3/11/22 Collecting microplastics was more interesting than I expected. I mostly saw plastic bottles, food wrappers, foam cups, wood, ..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
Andrew2005 | "The Mississippi River is important to me in various ways. The river is a vital source of hydroelectric energy, provides drinking water for millions..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
adison1cooper | "Adison Cooper 3/11/22 The most common items we found in the Mississippi River were bottle caps, bottles, and plastic bags. These materials will tak..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
Andrew2005 | "My field trip experience was intriguing. The environment of the location was the complete opposite of what I thought it would be. Plastics can take..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
chall0105 | "Caleb Hall-3/11/2-2022 The Mississippi river is important to me and other around me for many reasons. Firstly, it is our main source of water for ..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
J_aidaM | "Jaida Manson 3/11/21 - I had fun using the water trawl to collect microplastics. It wasn't how I thought it was going to be. I mostly saw candy wra..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago | |||
madison125c | "The items that I saw the most often was water bottles, plastic grocery bags, and soda cans. I think that it will take 20 to 500 years for those ite..." | Read more » | over 2 years ago |