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Prairie Waters Education and Research Center

People paddling in canoe Clausen Springs
Prairie Waters Education and Research Center

Prairie Waters hosts students, professionals, and other community groups to educate about water resources and the organisms found in water ecosystems.

This camp is designed for kids entering 5th and 6th grades. Activities include:

  • Wading in streams
  • Find out what lives in our waters with a water hunt
  • Learn about stream health and do water testing
  • Other fun outdoor activities

There will be a $95.00 registration fee that includes transportation –油 the bus leaves 91心頭利 at 8:00 a.m. and returns at 5:00 p.m., lunch, snacks, and a t-shirt.

This camp is designed for kids entering 7th and 8th grades. Activities include:

  • Exploring fish habitats
  • Canoeing the Sheyenne River
  • Boat fishing
  • Catching fish without fishing rods
  • Other fun outdoor activities

There will be a $95.00 registration fee that includes transportation –油 the bus leaves 91心頭利 at 8:00 a.m. and returns at 5:00 p.m., lunch, snacks, and a t-shirt.

This camp is designed for students who have completed grades 9 – 12.

Activities include:

  • Measuring water quality
  • Capturing aquatic invertebrates
  • Processing invertebrate samples
  • Capturing fish and studying populations

Camp sessions will vary daily, students can sign up for one, two or all three days. 91心頭利 offers up to $75 in mileage reimbursement available to each participant.

Registration is open April 21st – May 31st.

June 9th -Water Quality: Sample water from local waterbodies and bring it to 91心頭利 Chemistry Lab to test water quality parameters.

June 10th – Macroinvertebrates: Sample invertebrates and mussels in a local stream and learn about what they tell us about water quality.

June 11th – Fish: Sample fish in a local stream and learn about how scientists age fish and what they can learn from sampling.

Education

Prairie Waters is proud to provide fun, engaging educational opportunities for students, teachers, and community members. Outlined below are the educational goals we strive to meet and opportunities provided to student groups we host.

If there are topics not on our lists that you would like us to cover, we can design a specific program to meet your needs.

Animal Migration油 students play a game to model migration and learn about the importance of wetlands to migrating birds. (migration PowerPoint), Migration game.

  • ND Science Standards 3-LS4-3, 3-LS2-1
  • DCI- LS4.C, LS2.D

Creepy, Crawly Macros油 students learn about the bugs found in streams and lakes, adaptations, and how they are impacted by water quality.油油 Macro PowerPoint, specimens, Macro Mayhem game.

  • ND Science Standards K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-3, K-2-ET1-1, 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3
  • DCI- LS1.C, ESS3.A, ESS3.C, ET1.A, LS1.A, LS1.D, LS1.B, LS4.D, LS4.B, LS4.C

Mussels of North Dakota油 students learn about the different kinds of mussels found in ND, examine mussel shells, and learn how mussels improve water quality.油 Mussel PowerPoint, shell game, (paper plate mussel).

  • ND Science Standards K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS4-3

DCI- LS1.A, LS1.B, LS1.C, LS1.D, LS4.C, LS4.D, ESS3.A, ESS3.C

Needs to Live 油students learn about the basic needs of all organisms and play a game simulating competition for resources.

  • ND Science Standards- K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 2-LS2-1
  • DCI- LS1.C, LS2.A, ESS3.A

Rain and Thunderstorms油 students learn about rain and thunderstorms, make rain sticks, and create their own class thunderstorm. Rain PowerPoint, classroom thunderstorm with clapping, snapping, etc., Rainsticks craft.

  • ND Science Standards K-ESS2-1, K-ESS3-2, 3-ESS2-1, 3-ESS3-1
  • DCI- ESS2.D, ESS3.B, ET1.A, ESS2.D, ESS3.B

Something Fishy油 students learn about fish parts and how fish are different than humans and build a fish of their own to take home.油 Fish PowerPoint, fish tank tour, fish kite, Fashion-a-Fish.

  • ND Science Standards K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3
  • DCI- LS1.A, LS1.B, LS1.C, LS1.D, LS2.D, LS4.B, LS4.C, LS4.D, ESS3.A, ESS3.C

Water Animals of North Dakota油 students learn about animals that live in and near water in ND by looking at and touching various furs, skulls, etc. Animal PowerPoint, Wild Box, Let the Cattail out of the Bag.

  • ND Science Standards K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3, 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3
  • DCI- LS1.C, ESS3.A, LS1.A, LS1.D, LS1.B

Water Cycle油 students learn about the water cycle through demonstrations, activities, and games. Water Cycle PowerPoint, Incredible Journey game with bracelets, build a terrarium.

  • ND Science Standards K-PS3-1, K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 2-PS1-4, 2-LS2-1, 2-ESS2-2, 2-ESS2-3
  • DCI- PS3.B, LS1.C, ESS3.A, PS1.B, LS2.A, ESS2.B, ESS2.C

Animal Migration油 students play a game to model migration and learn about the importance of wetlands and migrating birds. (migration PowerPoint), Migration game. (4th油and 5th油grade)

  • ND Science Standards MS-LS1-4, MS-LS2-4
  • DCI- LS4.C, LS2.D, LS2.A, LS2.C, ESS3.C

Creepy, Crawly Macros油 students learn about the bugs found in streams and lakes, adaptations, their role in ecosystems and how they are impacted by nonpoint source pollution. 油Macro PowerPoint, specimens, Macro Mayhem game. (4th油 6th油grade)

  • ND Science Standards 4-LS1-1, MS-LS1-4, MS-LS2-4
  • DCI- LS1.C, ESS3.A, ESS3.C, ET1.A, LS1.A, LS1.D, LS1.B, LS4.D, LS4.B, LS4.C, LS2.A, LS2.C

Something Fishy油 students learn about fish parts and how fish are different than humans and build a fish of their own to take home.油 Fish PowerPoint, fish tank tour, Fashion-a-Fish, Fish ID Dichotomous Key.

  • ND Science Standards 4-LS1-1, MS-LS1-4, MS-LS2-4
  • DCI LS1.B, LS2.A, LS2.B, LS2.C

Geocaching油 students use GPS units to find various caches and use the cache information to answer worksheet questions about wetlands. Geocaching activity.

  • ND Science Standards- MS-LS1-5, ND Social StudiesG.6_12.4
  • DCI LS2.C

Invasive Speciesstudents learn about what aquatic invasive species are and their effect on aquatic ecosystems.

  • ND Science Standards- MSL2-1, MS
  • DCILS2.A, LS2.C

H2Olympicsstudents compete in Water Olympics to investigate adhesion, cohesion, and surface tension of water.

  • ND Science Standards- 5-LS1-1
  • DCI- N/A

Macroinvertebrate Collection油 students wear waders and use nets to collect macroinvertebrates found in streams.

  • 油ND Science Standards- 4-LS1-1, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS- LS2-4, MS-LS2-5
  • DCI- LS1.A, LS2.A, LS2.C, ET1.A, MS-ET1-4

Mussels of North Dakota油 students learn about the different kinds of mussels found in ND, examine mussel shells and learn how mussels improve water quality.油 Mussel PowerPoint, shell game.

  • 油ND Science Standards 4-LS1-1, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS1-5, MS-LS2-4
  • DCI LS1.B, LS2.A, LS2.B, LS2.C

Watersheds油 students learn about watersheds, point and nonpoint source pollution, and build watershed models.油 Watershed PowerPoint, branching out activity-watershed model, Seeing Watersheds activity, Color Me A Watershed activity.

  • 油ND Science Standards 4-ESS2-2, 5-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4
  • DCI- ESS2.A, ESS2.B, ESS2.C, ESS3.C

Water Animals of North Dakota油 students learn about animals that live in and near water in ND by looking at and touching various furs, skulls, etc. Animal PowerPoint, Wild Box, Let the Cattail out of the Bag.

  • ND Science Standards 4-LS1-1, MS-LS1-4, MS-LS2-4
  • DCI- LS1.A, LS1.C, LS1.D, LS1.B, ESS3.C, ESS3.A

Water Flow 油students play a game to learn about cubic feet per second (CFS) and flow.油 CFS/Flow PowerPoint, CFS ASAP activity

  • ND Science Standards 4-ESS2-1, 5-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS3-3
  • DCI- ESS2.A, ESS2.C, ESS2.C, ESS3.C

Water Quality with Chemistry油 students learn about nonpoint source pollution and test water samples for various chemical parameters that affect the quality of the water. (chemistry PowerPoint), Green Kits

  • ND Science Standards 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3, MS-LS2-4油
  • DCI- PS1.A, ESS3.C, LS2.A, LS2.C

Water Quality with Macros 油Students learn how non-point source pollution impacts aquatic macroinvertebrates and determine the health of the water in their stream by identifying the types of macroinvertebrates present. Macro Pollution tolerance activity

  • ND Science Standards 4-LS1-1, 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5
  • DCI- LS1.A, LS2.A, LS2.C, LS4.D, ESS3.C

安艶岳鉛温稼糸壊students learn about wetlands, how they function to filter nonpoint source pollutants, and build wetland models.

  • ND Science Standards 5-ESS2-1, 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4, MS-LS2-3, MS-LS2-5
  • DCI ESS2.A, ESS2.E, ESS2.C, ESS3.C, LS2.A, LS4.D

Fish ID- Students油learn about fish of ND and use a dichotomous key to identify various species.

  • ND Science Standards-
  • DCI-

Fish Seining油 students learn about the different fish in North Dakota and catch fish in a stream using a seine net.

  • ND Science Standards-
  • DCI- LS2.A, LS2.C, LS4.C

Geocaching油 students use GPS units to find various caches and use the cache information to answer worksheet questions about wetlands.油 Geocaching activity.

  • ND Science Standards- LS2.C, MS-LS1-5, ND Social StudiesG.6_12.4
  • DCI LS2.C

Macroinvertebrate Collection油 students wear waders and use nets to collect macroinvertebrates found in streams. (Macro PowerPoint), Collection.

  • ND Science Standards HS-LS2-6
  • DCI- LS2.A, LS2.C

Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment油Students learn how nonpoint source pollution impacts aquatic macroinvertebrates and how some aquatic macroinvertebrates are more tolerant to pollution and water quality conditions than others, then use a magnifying scope to identify the macroinvertebrates in a mock stream to determine the water quality.

  • ND Science Standards HS-LS2-1, HS-LS2-2, HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-8
  • DCILS2.A, LS2.C, LS2.D

Mussels of North Dakota油 students learn about the different kinds of mussels found in ND, examine mussel shells, and learn how mussels improve water quality.油 Mussel PowerPoint, shell game.

  • ND Science Standards
  • DCI LS1.B, LS2.A, LS2.B, LS2.C

Stream Habitat Assessment油 students walk along the stream and look at physical features to determine the general physical condition of the stream system and identify the location of a variety of common environmental problems within the streams corridor.

  • ND Science Standards HS-LS2-6, HS-ESS2-2, HS-ESS2-5
  • DCI- LS2.A, LS2.C, ESS2.A, ESS2.C

Water Animals of North Dakota油 students learn about animals that live in and near water in ND by looking at and touching various furs, skulls, etc. Animal PowerPoint, Wild Box.

  • ND Science Standards
  • DCI- LS1.A, LS1.C, LS1.D, LS1.B, ESS3.C, ESS3.A

Water Quality with Chemistry油 students learn about nonpoint source pollution and test water samples for various parameters that affect the quality of the water.油 There are three options for this activity:油 A basic version using LaMotte Low-Cost monitoring kits with test-tabs, a more complex version using LaMotte Water Monitoring kits with titrations, or a technology version using more advanced equipment used by our ND River Watch program. (Water Chem PowerPoint), Green Kits, LaMotte Titration Kits, Sonde/Turbidimeter)

  • ND Science Standards- HS-LS2-7, HS-ESS3-4
  • DCI- LS2.C
  • Snowflakes and Ice Crystals油 examine the science of snow and ice.
  • Snow and Tell油 Investigate snow pack and snow water equivalency. Describe the factors that affect snowpack runoff.
  • Surviving Winter油 learn about plant and animal adaptations that help them survive winter.
  • Groovy Glaciers油 Participate in an activity that demonstrates how glaciers formed North Dakotas landscape during the last ice age.

Meet our Staff

Ellen Fehr

Ellen Fehr

Director for Prairie Waters
Department

Science

Office Location
  • Rhoades Science Center, 104c