Raptor Lab Integrating Online and Outdoor Learning Environments

Increasingly many youth are disconnected from the outdoors and the natural world and many of these same youth, nearly 50% in Minnesota, are also not proficient in science. Yet such experiences and knowledge are necessary components for this next generation to understand and participate in solving the complex environmental challenges facing our world. The University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center is using this appropriation to develop and implement an online learning environment for 7th and 8th grade students that links outdoor experiential learning with classroom curriculum by engaging students in the design and execution of student-based research projects that utilize real-world data from raptors admitted to the Raptor Center in conjunction with students' outdoor exploration of their local environment. Initially the program will be tested with a minimum of 900 students at five schools in different regions of the state with varying demographics and then made available to schools statewide.