The following educational events are part of ongoing (monthly) Service efforts to connect children and nature. 

On January 29, Alpena NFWCO Biologists Scott Koproski, Adam Kowalski, and Andrea Ania visited the 2^nd grade class.  Koproski taught the students about a variety of interesting natural resource careers.  Kowalski explained how different animals adapt to northern Michigan winters.  Ania described the three states of matter and the water cycle.  The students were divided into small groups (10 or less) to enhance learning and rotated through each topic.  Games and activities were used to engage the students. 

On February 19, the students learned about molecules, how substances expand and contract, effects of temperature, and how water moves through substrates. Alpena NFWCO biologists Scott Koproski, Andrea Ania, and Anjanette Bowen taught the students about these topics and led them through experiments that reinforced their knowledge and understanding. 

Activities and experiments involved the use of a ground water model to show how pollutants can enter a watershed and impact ground water, how molecules move at different rates in water of different temperatures, and how temperature influences air molecule movement.  Students were very interested in the topics and quickly grasped these potentially difficult concepts.