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YouthX
Science kids aboard the Robert Brownlee research vessel on San
Francisco Bay.
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At the museum students use maps, exhibits and specimens to learn about places they will visit. |
This site was created to share our adventures and discoveries online and to invite teachers, parents and kids to explore northern California’s marine communities. To get the most from this site, Click on the "Adventures" buttons to:
Explore our field sites and discoveries—photos and journal entries.
Learn cool marine science facts.
Let’s Go!—directions and site information for teachers and parents.
What
is Youth X
Youth Science Explorations (Youth X for short) is a dynamic science program
designed to introduce talented middle school students to the study of
natural sciences in Northern California. Using the Museum’s exhibits
and hands-on teaching collections, students learn about the places they
will visit and develop observation and questioning skills (including biological
illustration and the recording of scientific field notes). Armed with
newly learned scientific skills and a deep appreciation for California’s
land and sea environments, students engage in field studies with scientists
and educators in natural settings all over Northern California. They discover
the diversity of California’s environment and make connections between
the living and physical worlds of California.
This year, Youth X participants took part in seven field trips around Northern California, five workshops at the Oakland Museum, and volunteered in special family festivals at the museum. On some of our trips, Youth X participants explored tide pool life at Half Moon Bay, observed elephant seals at Ano Nuevo State Reserve, and studied San Francisco Bay aquatic life on board the Marine Science Institute research vessel. The highlights of Youth X 2001 were overnight trips to Monterey, where students visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and kayaked along Cannery Row, and a trip to Lake Shasta, where students learned caving skills and explored Samwel Cave and Lake Shasta Caverns.
Youth Science Explorations is one of the most exciting programs at the Oakland Museum of California. It was designed for outstanding middle school students in the East Bay who have had little opportunity to develop their interests in natural science. Are you a middle school student in the East Bay? Have you ever thought about becoming a marine biologist or a geologist? Then click here for application information to Youth Science Explorations.
