The Miami Science Museum is one of only 10 museums nationwide that was selected to participate in the Smithsonian’s National Youth Summit on October 17th.  The focus of this summit was contemporary environmental issues and the legacy (as well as lessons learned) from the Dust Bowl period in the 1930s. During this time, the boom of wheat farming (sometimes called the “great plow-up”) brought on a 10 year drought, showing that human activities can cause large scale environmental effects. Students from around the country participated in the summit via video/web conferencing, and had the opportunity to view clips from Ken Burns’ recently released “The Dust Bowl” documentary. They discussed what they learned from the Dust Bowl and shared ideas on how they can be protectors of their environments.  The overarching theme of the event was to explore how to better understand the complexity of environmental issues and to learn what people can do today to avoid (or lessen) other environmental crises.

Each of the 10 selected museum sites also hosted a local town hall discussion with these themes in mind, but in the context of their own local environmental issues, especially as it relates to how humans can impact their environment and what the youth can do to help.  The Miami Science Museum’s town hall focused on climate and conservation in South Florida environments. Local experts were invited to talk with local students for the event. These included Dawn Shireffs of the National Parks Conservation Association, Dr. Benjamin Kirtman of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Dr. Jayantha Obeysekera of the South Florida Water Management District, and Maria Beotegui of Biscayne National Park. Over 100 students from Centennial Middle School and Riviera Middle School that were present for the event now have some idea of how they can have a positive effect on their own environment.

Students filled the Museum theater for the town hall meeting to talk to local environmental experts

This year in Digital WAVE, students are learning all about climate change and how it is related to south Florida environments – specifically mangroves. During class time they are using the same technology and software that scientists, animators, and designers use to model complex systems or create graphics for movies. And students have been using this technology at a state-of-the-art design lab at Miami Dade College-North Campus in order to design their own mangrove trees, which will be part of a 3D virtual exhibit they are creating.

Even though students have the incredible opportunity to create mangroves in a 3D virtual environment, there is also nothing like seeing mangroves in the 3D real environment. So the Digital WAVE students embarked on a trip to Biscayne National Park to go canoeing among the real mangroves. They learned about mangroves’ importance as marine habitats and as a kind of protection for us against the full force of hurricanes. The experience in this fun “outdoor lab” has inspired even more creativity when the students returned to the fun indoor lab. Some students may have temporarily ended up out of the canoe and in the water – but that’s all part of the fun.