Day Programs in Seattle, Woodinville, and in Renton
We partner with teachers to connect classroom learning to real-world environmental examples in students’ own communities. We offer water-themed day-long programs at King County’s Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Plant in Woodinville and at their South Treatment Plant in Renton.
Our Schoolyard Programs offer science and engineering lessons in schoolyards throughout King and Snohomish Counties, and field studies of neighborhood creeks, streams, and stormwater infrastructure in Seattle.
Our programs connect school science curriculum to watersheds and other built and natural systems in or near the communities where students live. They have been designed in partnership with local school districts to support Next Generation Science Standards and specific science units.
Our School Day Programs:
- Are designed to support schools and teachers
- Reinforce and build upon the student learning that occurs in both formal and informal settings
- Broaden the idea of environment to include urban systems
- Emphasize human impacts on ecosystems
- Strive to be learner-centered, culturally-responsive, and adaptable to participants and the needs of their community
We strive to make sure all students are valued, respected, and included in our programs. Based on our experience as well as on research in the field, we know that incorporating both student experiences and locally-based topics increases student engagement and learning.
To help us meet the needs of all students, we aim to respond to the different issues, interests, and concerns that come up during a program, including by:
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- Shifting course to focus more on a related topic or issue brought up by the students.
- Pausing the program to address comments or behavior that are racist, sexist, ableist or otherwise negatively impact others.
- Allowing alternative ways to fill in a worksheet including drawing or writing in a student’s native language.
- Changing activities to adapt to the energy levels or physical needs of the students.
Learn more about our approach to culturally responsive teaching here.
The health and safety of you and your students, as well as our educators, is of our utmost priority. Our educators are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and will follow any additional safety protocols specific to your school or classroom.
Programs at Brightwater
King County has partnered with Islandwood to bring our four-hour programs to the Brightwater Education Center in Woodinville. Our goal is to bring classroom learning to life, engaging students in experiential and project-based fieldwork that appeals to diverse learning styles. Programs are provided at no cost to schools and free transportation is available for those with 35% or greater FRL.
We ask all schools to provide their own transportation to and from our programs. However, we have limited funding to provide free transportation through King County’s Wheels to Water Program. Wheels to Water can provide buses or reimburse your school for costs to provide your own bus. To qualify, your school must be at a minimum 35% free and reduced lunch rate as per OSPI.
Freshwater Ecosystems Field Study for 3rd–5th Grades
In this field program, students investigate the role of freshwater ecosystems in their communities. They develop an understanding of who and what lives in and around our ponds, how people use, impact, and change them, and how the ponds help us manage stormwater. This program incorporates Next Generation Science Standards.*
As part of their day, students will use science practices to:
- Investigate a pond and the ecosystem around it through exploration and direct observation.
- Investigate the tiny organisms that are an essential part of a pond ecosystem, including collecting samples from the pond and using microscopes and other lab tools to analyze them up close.
- Use models to understand how the ponds were designed to provide habitat and manage stormwater.
- Analyze their data to explain their findings.
- Argue from evidence for changes they would make to help people and/or animals in an ecosystem.
As a result of the program, students will be able to:
- Identify practices that scientists use to understand the world.
- Identify the natural services that ecosystems provide to a community.
- Make connections between the ecosystems at Brightwater and ecosystems in their own communities.
- Understand that humans have both positive and negative effects on ecosystems.
*Next Generation Science Standards is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
Humans and the Water Cycle Program for 5th–6th Grades
What happens when we “borrow” water from the water cycle? What happens to this borrowed water after we use it in our homes, schools and businesses? In this program, students will learn how the choices they make on a daily basis impact the water cycle. Students experience the wastewater treatment plant firsthand and see how engineers have designed a system to clean our water and protect human and environmental health. This program is designed for classes that are studying human impacts on the water cycle, wastewater, water use and urban infrastructure. This program involves a tour of the Treatment Plant and is only for students aged 9 and up. Hard hats and vests will be provided for students. Closed-toe shoes are required for this program.
As part of their day, students will:
- Explore a state-of-the-art waste water treatment facility through the context of the engineering design process.
- Engage in argument about their personal choices as they relate to water.
- Explore different water careers and how they connect to human and environmental health.
- Discuss the different water issues facing communities around the globe.
As a result of the program, students will be able to:
- Explain the role that wastewater treatment plays in protecting human health.
- Explain how their personal choices impact both built and natural water systems.
- Identify how their learning connects to their personal experiences, prior content knowledge, and community.
- Describe the engineering design process and identify how they have used this process in their daily lives.
Stormwater Engineers Field Study for Grades 4th–5th
In this field program, students actively engage in the engineering design process to tackle stormwater engineering problems. Students will use models of the landscape to identify stormwater problems, research the innovative work that engineers did around the treatment plant and then return to their models to test possible solutions. This program is designed for classes that are studying erosion, deposition, stormwater, and environmental engineering.
During the day, students will use an Engineering Design Process to:
- Define a stormwater problem using a model in the lab.
- Investigate the design of Brightwater’s streams, hills, and wetlands to gather data that will help them develop a solution for their stormwater problem.
- Apply their knowledge back in the lab to design solutions, test them in their models, and optimize their designs.
As a result of this program, students will be able to:
- Explain how an Engineering Design Process can help them develop solutions to problems.
- Make connections between a stormwater model and stormwater in the real world.
- Recognize ways that engineers build features to slow down water and reduce erosion.
- Design and defend a solution to an engineering problem using their observations and data.
- Understand the effects of human decisions on the land, both positive and negative.
- Identify the ways they could positively affect stormwater systems in their own communities.
Please note: This program DOES NOT include a treatment plant tour.
*Next Generation Science Standards is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
IslandWood is proud to partner with King County to provide exceptional learning experiences at the Brightwater Education Center, a state-of-the-art facility attached to King County’s newest and most innovative wastewater treatment plant in Woodinville.
For information about renting the Brightwater Center meeting rooms, or to set up a tour of King County’s state-of-the-art treatment plant, please visit the county’s Brightwater Center Webpage.
Programs are provided at no cost to schools and free transportation is available or reimbursable for those with 35% or greater free and reduced lunch rates. They are designed to last for four hours and can accommodate a maximum of 60 students.
If you’d like to get more information please contact KayLani Siplin at [email protected].
For questions about the program please contact KayLani Siplin at [email protected].
Programs in Renton
King County has partnered with Islandwood to bring our four-hour programs to the South Treatment Plant in Renton. Our goal is to bring classroom learning to life, engaging students in experiential and project-based fieldwork that appeals to diverse learning styles.
We ask all schools to provide their own transportation to and from our programs. However, we have limited funding to provide free transportation through King County’s Wheels to Water Program. Wheels to Water can provide buses or reimburse your school for costs to provide your own bus. To qualify, your school must be at a minimum 35% free and reduced lunch rate as per OSPI.
Humans and the Water Cycle Program for 5th–6th Grades
What happens when we “borrow” water from the water cycle? What happens to this borrowed water after we use it in our homes, schools and businesses? In this program, students will learn how the choices they make on a daily basis impact the water cycle. Students experience the wastewater treatment plant firsthand and see how engineers have designed a system to clean our water and protect human and environmental health. This program is designed for classes that are studying human impacts on the water cycle, wastewater, water use and urban infrastructure. This program involves a tour of the Treatment Plant and is only for students aged 9 and up. Hard hats and vests will be provided for students. Closed-toe shoes are required for this program.
As part of their day, students will:
- Explore a state-of-the-art waste water treatment facility through the context of the engineering design process.
- Engage in argument about their personal choices as they relate to water.
- Explore different water careers and how they connect to human and environmental health.
- Discuss the different water issues facing communities around the globe.
As a result of the program, students will be able to:
- Explain the role that wastewater treatment plays in protecting human health.
- Explain how their personal choices impact both built and natural water systems.
- Identify how their learning connects to their personal experiences, prior content knowledge, and community.
- Describe the engineering design process and identify how they have used this process in their daily lives.
Stormwater Engineers Field Study for Grades 4th–5th
In this field program, students actively engage in the engineering design process to tackle stormwater engineering problems. Students will use models of the landscape to identify stormwater problems, research the innovative work that engineers did around the treatment plant and then return to their models to test possible solutions. This program is designed for classes that are studying erosion, deposition, stormwater, and environmental engineering.
During the day, students will use an Engineering Design Process to:
- Define a stormwater problem using a model in the lab.
- Investigate the design of Brightwater’s streams, hills, and wetlands to gather data that will help them develop a solution for their stormwater problem.
- Apply their knowledge back in the lab to design solutions, test them in their models, and optimize their designs.
As a result of this program, students will be able to:
- Explain how an Engineering Design Process can help them develop solutions to problems.
- Make connections between a stormwater model and stormwater in the real world.
- Recognize ways that engineers build features to slow down water and reduce erosion.
- Design and defend a solution to an engineering problem using their observations and data.
- Understand the effects of human decisions on the land, both positive and negative.
- Identify the ways they could positively affect stormwater systems in their own communities.
Please note: This program DOES NOT include a treatment plant tour.
*Next Generation Science Standards is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
IslandWood is proud to partner with King County to provide exceptional learning experiences at the South Treatment Plant in Renton.
South plant treats wastewater from homes and businesses coming from cities located east and south of Lake Washington. Approximately 90 million gallons a day (mgd) of wastewater is treated at this facility during the dry months and up to about 300 mgd flows can be treated during the rain/storm season.
Programs are provided at no cost to schools and free transportation is available or reimbursable for those with 35% or greater free and reduced lunch rates. They are designed to last for four hours and can accommodate a maximum of 60 students.
If you’d like to get more information please contact KayLani Siplin at [email protected].
For questions about the program please contact Katelyn Leeuw at [email protected].
OUR IMPACT
LEARNING THAT LASTS
3 out of 4 teachers saw students making connections to the program months after participation
CONNECTING CLASSROOM TO COMMUNITY
80% of teachers report that students made connections between the program and their home community
CONNECT WITH US
