WALLOPS ISLAND SCIENCE CLUB

Saint Luke School is the first grade school in the Erie area for their 7th and 8th grade students to be given the chance to go to Wallops Island, Virginia. As much fun as the trip is, the trip is not the only function of the club. Students participate in other activities all year long, learning about our environment and how we can live more sustainable lives. The trip is merely a reflection on what they have been learning all year. Wallops Island, Virginia, has been in the media mainly due to NASA and for being home to some of the first space shuttle launches. However, we are interested in Wallops Island for another reason- and that reason is environmental science. While in Wallops Island, our students study and learn at The Marine Science Consortium.

The following information has been taken from The Marine Science Consortium website (http://www.msconsortium.org/)

"The Pre-College Program is designed to give secondary, middle and elementary school students hands-on opportunities to investigate coastal/maritime environments during the spring and fall. The 3-day Coastal Ecology program includes the following half day field trips: oceanography research cruise, intertidal beaches, sand dunes, salt marshes, and maritime forest. Evening programs consist of an oceanographic equipment lecture and micro and macro-organism laboratories. One evening is left free for individualized group activities."

We love to give our students the opportunity to learn in such an incredible atmosphere, and have been making the trip to Wallops Island for almost ten years.