Action Labs 2008

A1.  World of Physics: Energy and Waves/Disney’s Wild by Nature       (full day)

 Experience the magic of interactive learning that only Walt Disney World Resort can provide! Participants travel to Orlando, Florida and receive an overview of two Disney Youth Education Series programs. You begin the day at Magic Kingdom Park which features the “Disney’s World of Physics: Energy and Waves” program. This interactive adventure studies concepts of optics, acoustics, and magnetism in a real world context and showcases how these forces can be manipulated. This course unlocks some mysteries of Disney attractions and reinforces the principles of projection, reflection, ultraviolet light, and other special optical effects. Following the first program overview, participants are transported to part 2 of the Action Lab which takes place at the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.  “Disney’s Wild by Nature” program focuses on how animal research is helping to preserve wildlife. Through animal observations, data collection, utilizing select attractions and hands-on activities students discover how animal’s natural adaptation aids them in their survival. This program also explores how human behavior can aid or strain an ecosystem’s resources. This Action Lab is designed for teachers seeking new educational travel opportunities. It is assumed that your school district supports educational travel if you are a participant in this Action Lab.

Limited to 100 participants
$69; lunch is included

 A2.  Big Cat Rescue (half day)

Big Cat Rescue is a non-profit wild cat sanctuary in its 15th year of operation. It provides a permanent home to more than 140 lions, tigers, leopards, bobcats and other species and offers extensive educational programs, reaching some 25,000+ visitors each year. Attendees will be welcomed to the Lion’s Lair Pavilion for a 90 minute “Keeper Talk” presentation to learn about a working sanctuary, the residents, and the larger issues relating to wildlife in captivity and wilderness conservation.  Participants then take a 90 minute guided walking tour of the 45 acre campus to observe and learn, first hand about some of the 16 different species, and the challenges that brought them here. In many areas the cats are “up close and personal”; as near as 3 – 6 feet away.

Limited to 60 participants
$89; lunch is on your own. 

A3. Pine View School – Public School for the Gifted (full day)

 Attendees have the opportunity to view and interact with a school specifically designed for gifted learners. Pine View School is comprised of learners from grades 2-12 and offers all subject content areas. Teachers are highly trained and gifted endorsed in order to meet the needs of these unique learners. Attendees observe classrooms that demonstrate strategies for high-level cognitive skills such as critical thinking, abstract reasoning, creative problem solving, and scientific inquiry. During lunch attendees have a chance to interact with students and teachers.

Limited to  100 participants
$69; lunch is on your own.

 A4.  Mote Marine Laboratory (full day)

Educators receive an overview of the research and education efforts of Mote Marine Laboratory, spend time touring Mote’s Aquarium and Marine Mammal Hospital, and learn best practices for aquatic specimen collection. The day features modeling best practices for aquatic specimen collection through the use of dip nets, seines, and sediment cores to collect specimens. Please come with a set of water clothes to change into.

Limited to  30 participants
$89; lunch is included.

A5.  Hillsborough County Public School District AVID Sites (full day)

 Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) has implemented Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) across the elementary, middle, and high school levels to reach, inspire, and challenge students with high potential from low-income or minority families. This Action Lab provides participants the opportunity to experience AVID across the spectrum. The day will include visits to AVID classrooms where students participate in enrichment and motivational activities designed to empower them to become academically successful leaders and role models for other students; an overview of Chas's journey into the development of the spectrum of AVID and the connections to gifted education. Following the school visits, a question and answer period with the District’s Director of Advanced Academics and AVID District Director will provide each participant with direction and ideas for beginning their own journey toward AVID.

Grade level: 4-12
Interest area: All subject areas

Limited to30  participants
$69; lunch is included 

A6.  A Look Into Two Tampa Middle Magnet Schools (full day)

 Morning: Williams IB Middle School Magnet

Come experience our International Festival and learn about the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programmed at Williams IB Middle Magnet School! The IB MYP program incorporates best practices from around the world to develop a continuum of high quality education with superior expectations, ideal for gifted students. IB is a comprehensive program that helps to develop a sensitivity and appreciation for all cultures and societies thus encouraging international mindedness.  The International Festival will showcase the IB Programme’s Areas of Interaction. Attendees experience and observe a variety of international activities that incorporate all areas of middle school curriculum as it enhances gifted education.

 Afternoon: Stewart Middle Magnet School of Math, Science, and Technology

 In 2003 Stewart Middle Magnet School of Math, Science, and Technology, was one of 50 schools nationwide selected to become a NASA Explorer School. Participants in the action lab tour Space Station Stewart, a laboratory/classroom complete with a flight simulator and a multitude of other resources for students and teachers in the area of aviation and space exploration; interact with these resources to learn the impact these space technologies have had on life on planet Earth. Action lab participants visit the 6th grade gifted/advanced classrooms that are exploring the study of geography through science, an initiative emanating from the STAR Partners grant with NASA in which students investigate these naturally overlapping academic disciplines. Participants see how Renzulli Learning System is being used to differentiate instruction and engage middle school students in personally relevant learning experiences.

Limited to 30 participants
$69; lunch is on your own.

A7. Nature’s Classroom Environmental Studies Center (full day)

Participants experience the Hillsborough River Watershed, its habitats, wildlife, human use and importance. On small boats, an exploration of the Hillsborough River will be conducted to study the flora and fauna found in this ecosystem. This river trip is followed by an upland/wetland hike through the property to focus on other habitats of the watershed. After lunch, participants focus on adaptations of Florida wildlife with observation in our Animal Compound and the Interpretive Center. The day ends with a team-building event of either orienteering or archery skills.

Grade level: K-12
Interest area: Science and Environmental Studies

Limited to 40 participants
$69; lunch is on your own

A8. Cahoon Elementary Magnet School of Animal Science and Gifted and Talent

Development (full day)

Cahoon’s faculty and staff have built the capacity to increase student achievement by collectively working as a team to maintain a Professional Learning Community. During the 2006-2007 school year, Cahoon emerged as a first year magnet program school hosting an Animal Sciences theme as well as a gifted and talent development academy. Action Lab participants observe student engagement across subject areas through integrated thematic instruction focused on global “biomes” or habitats within each grade level. Participants receive student-made passports and brochures detailing the highlights of their excursion. The topics of study come alive as each participant enters the habitats that each grade level researches throughout the year.

Limited to 60 participants
$69; lunch is on your own 

A9.  Macfarlane Park International Baccalaureate Elementary Magnet School for International Studies (half day)

 Participants experience an environment where students, faculty, administration, and staff understand and appreciate that each and every shareholder is a member of “the world’s best world school”. A tour by Macfarlane Park’s Curriculum Intervention Resource Specialist provides participants with a clear understanding of the Primary Years Programme, the Co-teach Gifted Model of Delivery, Math Academy, SEMR (School Wide Enrichment Model for Reading), Spectrum Science Lab, and the Spanish Language program. Following the tour, the participants actively engage in the inquiry method of teaching. Choose from among inquiry based lessons in mathematics, science, language arts, or social studies, where teaching teams form for the chosen lesson and develop inquiry based questions for the lesson.

Limited to 30 participants
$59; lunch is on your own

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