Summer Academic Enrichment Eligible Programs

Goals

Our teaching philosophy is simple: learning happens best when one experiences it. Lives it. Breathes it. Hands-on activities combined with an unbelievably beautiful campus make our living laboratory the kind of educational experience you can’t get anywhere else.

The Credit Academy: Freshwater Ecology Program was created for those campers with a high interest in developing their knowledge and skills surrounding Minnesota’s’ ecosystems, as well as, their outdoor adventure and recreation skills. The goals and outcomes of the Credit Academy: Freshwater Ecology Program are in alignment with the State of Minnesota Academic Standards and are to; •Allow students to gain scientific skills as they conduct hands-on research with professional scientists and managers in their respective field of study •Participate in hands-on field-based experiences with professionals to learn how scientific investigation is essential to understanding and responding to real life issues •Earn Minnesota high school science credits and/or college credits in accordance to Minnesota state policies and regulations of teaching hours accomplished and content covered. •Strengthening the participant’s interest in science •Understand that natural systems and include a variety of organisms that interact with one another in several ways •Understand the flow of energy and the recycling of matter are essential to a stable ecosystem •Understand that science is a way of knowing about the natural world and is characterized by empirical criteria, logical argument and skeptical review •Understand that scientific inquiry uses multiple interrelated processes to investigate questions and propose explanations about the natural world. Men and women throughout history of all cultures, including Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities, have been involved in engineering design and scientific inquiry •Science and engineering operate in the context of society and both influence and are influenced by th

Activities

The Credit Academy: Freshwater Ecology Program explores the science of ecosystems, plus relationships between people and their freshwater environment. We encourage participants to consider how their values and behaviors can influence and ultimately impact the world around them. Our curriculum and activities provide hands-on, memorable experiences that involve the whole person and address multiple learning styles.

We choose curricular content for the based on the local, natural and cultural history of Minnesota, as well as broader environmental issues. Science-based classes provide opportunities to learn more about our planet and how it works; cultural history classes give a glimpse of the way our predecessors interacted with local ecosystems to create a life for themselves; current event classes help us to understand emerging issues; personal growth and team-building classes develop skills for meeting personal and group challenges; and outdoor skill classes help participants discover ways to keep learning about their environments for a lifetime.

If participants are interested in exploring what it is like to be a field scientist, this is the program. Participants in this program will •Classes and activities focus on freshwater ecology •Conduct fish surveys with the MN Department of Natural Resources •Explore the geology of Lake Superior and the North Shore •Step back in time and discover the cultural history of the area •Study the health of an aquatic ecosystem by performing physical, chemical, and biological tests with teachers and fisheries experts. •Go on a 5 day-4/night Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness trip •Create and present your own scientific research project •Earn high school and/or college credits

Program Dates

July 7 - 27, 2019

This program has changed titles from Summer High School Ecology Credit Camp to the Credit Academy: Freshwater Ecology. All programs are 3-weeks in length.

Can students reside on campus? Yes

Can students commute to campus? No

Can students take online classes?