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Hudson River Park’s environmental education programs always aim to inspire while teaching about the ecological importance of waterways like our Estuarine Sanctuary. Each season, the Park hosts a wide range of environmental education programs rooted in hands-on science, stewardship and research to make the River accessible as both a classroom and laboratory. The primary goal of these programs is to connect New Yorkers to the Hudson River Estuary — including the 400 acres of Estuarine Sanctuary in HRPK — and motivate them to care about it.

Though we are all spending more time indoors during a season that normally brings scores of science-based school field trips to the Park, learning continues, and opportunities to connect with our environment can feel especially meaningful to sequestered New Yorkers. As parents and teachers adapt to provide online learning opportunities for students, we wanted to share some resources that enable families to connect to our local ecosystems, even while at home.

That’s why we are kicking off the STEM Activity of the Week series, with hands-on activities that are a fun and engaging way to connect with the Hudson River from anywhere. These free online resources for students and families include wildlife-inspired crafts and games using common household items. With a main focus on hands-on activities that can be done without screens, each lesson will feature printable worksheets or provide instructions to an experiment of craft using common household items.

A painting of Bob the Blob, a fish lesson for the STEM Activities

Our first activity is Bob the Blob, a lesson you can download and print, to teach fish anatomy with a craft using common household items. Each week, we’ll continue sharing lessons for students of all ages that focus on themes of ecology, Park research and sustainability. Check back each week for a new activity!

Child painting Bob the Blob as part of HRPK's STEM of the Week activity program

Looking for more resources to bring the Hudson River to your home? Check out HRPK’s Educator Resources page with links to additional environmental activities. Like all of us, we look forward to the moment when we can welcome schools to the Park again!