January 22, 2024, by Lisa Teas Conaway

Thank you Sealaska for making culturally relevant science education and workforce development programs possible in Sitka.

Sitka Sound Science Center facilitates unique opportunities for secondary students to link traditional knowledge with technical skills creating capacity and identifying pathways for students to find a meaningful place within the scientific community.

A middle school program, Fab Friday Techno, offers early teens an energetic introduction to technologies such as submersible remotely operated vehicles, bike mechanics, and drones. The current session features coding language and computational thinking. In this afterschool setting, students dive into coding, explore logic, and write their own programs through fun interactive games.

At the high school level, SSSC educators work collaboratively with the Traditional Ecological Knowledge science class to weave together ideas about traditional ways of knowing and the use of environmental sensors as ways to “listen” to different environmental factors to observe climate change. Students simultaneously learn about the cultural importance of Xaáy (yellow cedar) while gaining technological experience with rainfall gages, moisture monitors and weather chimes.

These programs are made possible by the generosity of Sealaska.

 

Cover photo shows 2024 High Schoolers practicing with audio recording equipment in the aquarium

Fab Friday’s first day of learning coding langue.

 

 

2023 high school class monitoring Yellow Cedar