No Parking Lot Science!

While on a school camping trip recently, my friend Sam remarked to me that a lesson taught to our students by one of the naturalists was “90% parking lot science.” 

“What do you mean?” I asked Sam, who had been a naturalist for several years earlier in his career.  “Well,” he explained, “if you are outdoors in nature and the same lesson could be taught in an empty parking lot, that’s Parking Lot Science.”

As we talked more, Sam expanded on the idea of parking lot science.   The naturalist had been reviewing the concept of the methods of science with our class and had stuck pretty close to mentioning each phase and perhaps an example.  “That lesson could just as easily been taught in the classroom or an empty parking lot.  Nothing in that lesson required or used our setting out here in the woods.” 

Kevin Beals

“When we’re out here,” he continued, “let’s focus on whatever we see around us in nature.  Let the kids find what interests them and observe it and get to know it.  You only really need three questions for a whole lesson or a whole day of being in the woods:  ‘I wonder …’; ‘I notice …’; and ‘This reminds me of …’.”  Sam mentioned that he got these ideas from Kevin Beals, who is a friend of his.   Kevin co-directs the naturalist education program Beetles at the Lawrence Hall of Science.

As we talked more, I reflected on how right he was.  During this trip and with this opportunity, why not just spend the time letting our students explore and ask questions.  Let them notice what interests them and share what they wonder about.

Blue-eyed Grass?

Pacific Gopher Snake

Though I am getting over it, I sometimes worry that I “should” be able to identify every rock, bird, and tree in our local ecosystem, as well as give a brief précis of its origins, taxonomy, and life cycle.  But, of course, my job is to help guide inquiry, not provide all the answers.  So our talk reminded me of my long-standing resolution to relax, to listen to their questions, and to explore nature with them.  From time to time, we all stop, sit, and write down our questions, and draw pictures of what we see and want to know more about. Back in the classroom, we can spend time looking up more about what we found in nature.  As our knowledge deepens and we return to the woods, we’ll see even more next time.