Science

Science in Lower School is experiential and hands-on. As both a topic and an approach to learning, science is integrated throughout the school day and the curriculum. In addition to classroom-based science, once a week small groups of students go to the science room to experiment, build, plan, and play around a particular science theme, led by a science teacher.

Lower School science courses cover a wide range of topics and include physics, chemistry, biology, and environmental science activities. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes use play time and children’s natural curiosity and wonder to build and expand on science discoveries. The program follows a seasonal framework, and the students spend a lot of time outdoors.

Science units for 1st through 4th grades dovetail with the curriculum and themes being studied in the classroom. Students work collaboratively as they build, test, and reason through puzzles and challenges. Studies may focus on themes (such as rocks and minerals, the solar system, the human body, coral reef communities) that are part of the science curriculum or on “one-time wonders,” which are special projects or experiments to pique students’ curiosity. Students leave the Lower School loving science as a subject and feeling confident in their ability to do it.