Seventh Grade

Time: 50 minutes 
The students work through the EnviroScape watershed model to see first-hand how water pollution occurs and brainstorm ways that it can be prevented. The students will use topography and contour mapping skills as they map their school’s watershed. 

• Topics Covered: Watersheds, Watershed Mapping, Pollution, Biotic and Abiotic Factors, Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources 
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1, 7.EC.5 
• Live Animals: No 
• Cost: Free

Time: 50 minutes 
In this program from PWET, students will be epidemiologists as they learn about waterborne illnesses and disease transmission.  Students will discover how unicellular organisms can cause disease and their effect on major organs and body systems. 

• Topics Covered: Organisms, Cells, Pathogens, Epidemiology, and Water 
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1, 7.L.3 
• Live Animals: No 
• Cost: Free

Time: 50 minutes 
In this activity from Healthy Water Healthy People, students simulate the creation of acids and bases; manipulate acidic and basic solutions and discuss how acid rain is formed.  Students explore runoff pollution and how pH of water can affect weathering of the Earth’s surface and stream health. 

• Topics Covered: Acids, Bases, pH, Indicators, Acid Rain, and Water Quality 
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1 and 7.P.2
• Live Animals: No 
• Cost: Free

Time: 50 minutes 
 Through playing a fun interactive game, we use water ecosystems to reveal how organisms interact with and respond to the biotic and abiotic factors of their environment. What issues can lead to shifts in its diversity and abundance of populations? Let’s examine ways that we can protect our water ecology. 

• Topics Covered: Organisms, Habitats, Populations, Communities, Ecosystems, Biomes, Niches, Food Webs, Energy Pyramids. 
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1, 7.EC.5 
• Live Animals: Yes 
• Cost: Free

Time: 50 minutes 

Students work together to analyze and interpret data to describe and classify matter as elements, compounds, or mixtures. They use the periodic table to identify the basic organization of elements and groups of elements. 

• Topics Covered: Elements, Compounds and Mixtures, Chemical Symbols, Chemical Formulas 
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1, 7.P.2 
• Live Animals: No 
• Cost: Free

Time: 50 minutes 
The students will be simulating the creation of a cleaning product to learn about the chemistry that goes into its design.  This activity will help students to understand that a soap product is the result of combining particular ingredients in a certain amounts to create a product that works in a specific way.  Great activity to inspire careers in STEM fields.

• Topics Covered: Chemistry of cleaning products, STEM field careers
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1, 7.S.1A.3 
• Live Animals: No 
• Cost: Free

Time: 50 minutes 
Through using the live animals and artifacts from the WEC center, students acquire an understanding of how each animal interacts with and responds to the biotic and abiotic elements in their environment. 

• Topics Covered: Ecosystems, Organizational Levels, Natural Hazards, Limiting Factors, Symbiotic Relationships, Food Chains 
• Science/Social Science Standards: 7.S.1, 7.EC.5 
• Live Animals: Yes 
• Cost: $1/Student