On October 23 and 24, more than 400 Coronado students in grades 4-6 were able to experience the renowned Wyland Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience, a 1,000 square-foot science lab on wheels. The mobile center features a 40-person movie theater and computer model simulations centered on the importance of water conservation, quality, and availability.
“I learned that you should be more respectful about treating the planet, especially trying not to dump anything that will end up draining down to the ocean. I really liked all of it,” said Emma Bey, a fourth grader in Kathy Shady’s Village Elementary class.
The mobile learning experience was parked on the playground at Village Elementary for two days as classes from Village and Silver Strand elementary schools and Christ Church Day School (CCDS) made their way through the experiential learning course. Silver Strand Elementary fifth grade teacher Sarah Yakutis shared that the experience motivated her class to do more research into some of the things they learned. “The content was relevant to the science standards for fifth grade, and I was thrilled that it promoted responsible citizenship and stewardship of the ocean,” she said.
“This has been a wonderful hands-on experience to get our students learning about water and how to help with water issues in our world. We really appreciate the gracious invitation for our classes to be part of this experience,” said CCDS sixth grade teacher Katie Cowan.
The mobile science lab features standards-based education modules on water quality, resources, and conservation. The total experience takes approximately 45 minutes and includes six interactive stations that are facilitated by volunteer docents. The 12 docents over two days were students from Coronado High School and community members.
Coronado High School senior Cate Gregory served as a docent. “I really like working with the Wyland foundation, it’s been a lot of fun. The kids have all been really excited and a lot of them have some prior knowledge so it was fun getting to teach them about things like estuaries and more about pollution and fertilizer runoff,” she shared.
CHS senior Wyatt Riebe, also a docent, agreed with Gregory. “It’s a great experience being a docent and a great opportunity for the fourth and fifth graders to be able to see and do all of the lessons in the Wyland Mobile Learning Center.”
The event was made possible through sponsorship from the Coronado Schools Foundation, Eagle Newspapers, and Emerald Keepers.
“We are grateful to the three generous sponsors and the Wyland Foundation for making this happen for our students. Engaging experiences like this are incredibly important and highly impactful,” said CUSD Superintendent Karl Mueller.
The Wyland Foundation is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world’s ocean, waterways, and marine life. The foundation encourages environmental awareness through education programs, public arts projects, and community events.
Wyland educators Kenneth Laskan and Tony Larkin supervised the event. “We are proud to bring our mobile exhibit to Coronado island to educate and bring people together for clean water, and healthy oceans,” said Larkin.
“The Coronado students were maybe the best we have ever seen. They have an incredible foundation of knowledge that we were able to supplement. And they are polite, curious, and engaged,” said Laskan.
Jennifer Rogale’s Village Elementary fourth grade class collaborated on a quote that summed up their visit:
“We loved learning at the Wyland Experience! We realized if even ONE animal goes extinct, it affects the entire ecosystem. We also learned that any time there is water, this flows eventually to the ocean. A water source can be rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, and even storm drains. We cannot leave trash anywhere if we want clean oceans for plants and animals.”
Source: Coronado Unified School District
