For Teachers
Save the Date! Science in the Field Seminar: June 6th Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency Hear from Gateway scientists on how superstorm Sandy impacted the wildlife and habitats at Gateway. Check back soon for more information, or contact Ranger Dan Meharg at e-mail us ! 
An open tent, waiting for a group to call it home! Group Camping in New York City. Have a youth group? Thinking about camping in New York City this summer? Ecology Village: Camping in Brooklyn for school age children and their teachers Be part of a thirty-year tradition of camping under the pines, conducting water testing and seining for fish, and being part of the recycling and composting challenge. Curriculum-based camping offered for grades 4 thru 12. For teachers who have attended the New Leader Training Course, school camping is available in May 1, 2013 to June 20, 2013 and September - October 2013 for a $50 fee. Dates are available Monday - Thursday. New to camping at Ecology Village? New teachers must first attend the FREE New Leader Training Course to be held on September 20-22, 2013. Call Ranger Geri Kobryn-Blatter 718-338-3338 ext. 274 to register for New Leader Training or the Camping Refresher. 
Teacher workshop at Jamaica Bay on invasive plants and crabs. NPS Photo: Federica Corinto, intern A Park for Every Classroom A Park for Every Classroom unites teachers with the National Park Service and Gateway by facilitating a dialogue between educators, scientists and the National Park Service. Through ranger-guided and self-guided programs, teacher workshops, blogs and Facebook, educators learn to utilize the park's resources to engage students in place based learning. Students gain an attachment to National Parks by doing real scientific work in the natural environment which also meets state curriculum standards. 
These students just hit their target using an air-powered cannon in the program "Sentinels of Our Shores." NPS PHOTO Bring Your Class to Gateway! Teachers and students can explore most park sites by participating in a variety of ranger-guided programs and self-guided field trips. Grab a crab and learn about invasive species with "Marine Invaders" at the Jamaica Bay Unit, host of several exciting nature-based programs. Combine history and science as you defend New York Harbor with air powered cannons in the program "Sentinels of Our Shores" at Fort Wadsworth. Nature based programs are also available in the Staten Island Unit. Sandy Hook Unit has many educational opportunities in both natural and cultural history offered by partner organizations. Other programs for children and families, such as the Junior Ranger Program and Web Rangers, are described on our For Kids page. |
Teacher Ranger Teacher Nanette Melero counting horseshoe crab eggs. NPS PHOTO The Teacher/Ranger/Teacher program at Gateway: Connecting urban students and teachers to their park. Gateway, the National Park situated along the edge of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey, provides a challenge for urban students to explore. Students familiar with the streets and buildings of the city are often clueless about the natural areas of forests and dunes just a short mile or two away. To help urban students learn about these natural resources, the Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Program set up by National Park Service selects educators to serve as park rangers for a summer. During the school year which follows, these teachers share their experiences, with their students, relating stories of climbing lighthouses, exploring gun battery tunnels, and slogging through marshes in search of rare frogs. Participants in the program, and their classes often become regular users of the park. Each teacher ranger produces park-focused lesson plans which can be used at Gateway, and in other classroom presentations. During National Park Week in April the teacher/ rangers don their park ranger uniforms, and relate their experiences at Gateway with and the National Park Service to students in their whole school to help them connect with these special areas of natural history at their doorstep. |
 |
Did You Know?
Did you know that Fort Hancock, unlike most Army posts during World War II, had a racially integrated unit? The 1225th Army Service Unit had African-American soldiers and in 1943 received a group from the Women's Army Corps. More...