Escambia
County Public Schools
5th Grade Programs
5th Grade Programs At RHEC
5th grade programs offered by the RHEC are aligned to the Florida State Science Standards, and are offered to complement existing classroom curricula. Upon scheduling the fielld trip to RHEC teachers may choose programs in which their students will participate. Please note that some programs may be changed for rainy days.
Cache Your STEM Cares Away! (Geocaching Mystery)
Who doesn’t love treasure hunts?
Geocaching provides an exciting way to engage students in real-world STEM lessons. This program provides a hands-on, inquiry based activity which is aligned to the standards and conducted outside in nature. Students will work in teams to solve a mystery. Each team uses a GPS to help them find “caches.” which contain fun hands-on science activities. Each of these activities must be completed correctly to decode the clue to solve the ultimate mystery. This lesson immerses students into literacy, mapping skills, mathematics, science, and loads of outdoor fun!
Geocaching provides an exciting way to engage students in real-world STEM lessons. This program provides a hands-on, inquiry based activity which is aligned to the standards and conducted outside in nature. Students will work in teams to solve a mystery. Each team uses a GPS to help them find “caches.” which contain fun hands-on science activities. Each of these activities must be completed correctly to decode the clue to solve the ultimate mystery. This lesson immerses students into literacy, mapping skills, mathematics, science, and loads of outdoor fun!
Expedition: Ecology (Investigating Ecosystems Up Close)
Who doesn’t love to explore nature?
Your students will become naturalists, scientists who study nature! Your young naturalists will visit a pond and forest ecosystems to make observations, collect data using scientific equipment, and record their observations and data in their science journals. They will collect data such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and more! Students observe and record animals seen (or heard), types of plants, number of plants, etc. Students understand that plants are producers and make their own food using energy from the sun. They will also learn who eats whom and what eats what in an aquatic ecosystem. Students will use microscopes to explore how energy flows from the sun, through an aquatic habitat. They will discover the ingredients that make up an aquatic food chain, understanding how producers, consumers, and decomposers interact. They will also understand that animals are consumers and get their energy by eating plants or by eating other animals.
Eaten Alive! Plants that Eat Meat! (Carnivorous Plant Program)
These amazing plants eat bugs!
These amazing plants eat bugs! You will be fascinated by our local species of carnivorous plants including bladderworts, pink sundew, thread-leaf sundew, as well as the endangered pitcher plants! We will take a journey to visit these interesting plants in the bog. This field program introduces students to wetlands (bogs, marshes, swamps) and teaches them about the adaptations that living things have according to the environment in which they live. Students will use scientific equipment to explore the difference in the upland pine forest and the seepage bog.
Pollution and the Water Cycle (Human Impact at the Pond)
Water water everywhere!
While participating in the Pollution Solutions program, students will learn how much of the Earth is made up of water, how much is fresh, how much is salty, and how much is drinkable by humans. They will explore the water cycle and discuss how human activity impacts aquatic environments. We will use the Enviroscape to model the ways our water becomes polluted. This program will give students a greater understanding of the ways in which humans can impact the environment.
Microscope Mayhem: Food Chains at Full Magnification
Wouldn’t you like to see a live food chain right in front of you?
Students will use microscopes to see food chains occurring right in front of them all while learning who eats whom and what eats what in an aquatic ecosystem. This program will help students discover the ingredients that make up an aquatic food chain, understanding how producers, consumers, and decomposers interact. They will also understand plants are producers and make their own food using the energy from the sun and that animals are consumers and get their energy by eating plants or by eating other animals.
My How You Have Changed! A Bug's Life! (Complete and Incomplete Metamorphosis)
Would you like to stroll through a beautiful garden with butterflies fluttering all around you?
Students will go buggy while learning about the complete and incomplete life cycle of insects! They will begin by reviewing the characteristics of insects. Next, students will then learn all about the complete life cycle of insects. We will stroll through the butterfly garden using hand lenses to try to observe live butterfly eggs, caterpillars (larva), chrysalis (pupae), and adult butterflies. Students will learn all about the incomplete life cycle by observing live crickets and grasshoppers. Are you ready to go buggy?
Starry Skies Planetarium Show
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF! Students will enter the inflatable planetarium and see the night sky like they have never seen it before. Once inside, they will take off into space studying the solar system, the sun, the planets in our solar system, constellations, and so much more!
Heroes of the Sea: A Turtle’s Lab on Human Impact
You can be a hero too!
Students will be immersed into aquatic habitats while touring the beach classroom and observing organisms living in these different watery habitats. They will learn how human activity impacts aquatic environments, ultimately visiting different stations determining if each station represents a positive or a negative impact on an aquatic habitat. Students will also discuss what sea turtles eat before becoming sea turtles and participating in a fun interactive activity illustrating how humans can impact animals’ food in an aquatic environment.
The Great Trait Hunt: Inherited or Acquired Traits
Get ready to become a genetics detective!
Students will explore the difference between inherited and acquired traits! They will work with classmates to complete a hands-on card sort, then head outside on a scavenger hunt to spot and classify real-life examples of each type of trait. By the end of the lesson, they will be an expert at telling which traits are passed down from parents and which are learned or developed during life!
