Session 1: Choose Your Path and the Good Red Road - Eagle Ridge Singers and Friends, Jimmy Lakota, Jo Lakota

(45 minutes) What are your choices?  Whatever you choose, travel the Native American Way of conscious living on the earth.  Learn through Native American song, dance, and stories of this thoughtful way of living and gain a new perspective on your impact, your conscious choices. CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS ESS3,SSG2

Session 2: The History of Science as told by Mark Twain - Warren Brown

(45 minutes) Mark Twain said "Inventors are the creators of the world—after God." This presentation is a first-person Chautauqua-style program by Warren Brown as Mark Twain. You will journey on water, land, and air, sharing insights from the Diaries of Adam and Eve to friendships with inventors and thoughts about Galileo and Newton. CCSS: ELA SL

Session 3:  River Stories - Brian FOX Ellis 

((45 minutes) Join storyteller and author Brian “Fox” Ellis. Travel the river that connects us all through stories, songs and poetry, with riverboat captains & French voyageurs, we will travel the Illinois River Road. CCSS: ELA SL, ILS: NGSS ESS2-4 / SS.G.2

Session 4 : Creating River Music, Songwriting with a purpose - Barry Cloyd

(45 minutes) Create a brand new song focusing on the beauty of our watershed and absolute necessity of clean water for our very survival. CCSS: ELA SL, W / ILS: NGSS ESS2 / SS.G.2 / FA-MU:Cr1-2-3

Session 5: Lichens! - Zan Tomko- Minnesota Lichen Map Project

(45 minutes) With over 20,000 lichen species and 8% of the Earth’s surface, you would think lichens would have a larger presence in our awareness, but they don’t. If they are everywhere, why don’t we know them? They are not always easy to see; then when we see them, they can look like mold, algae, or even dried paint. Once you start looking for lichens you will see what a curious world they inhabit even as they remain in the same space indefinitely.Learn what a lichen is. What makes them so different? What is an extremophile? CCSS: ELA SL / ILS:NGSS LS4

Session 6: Zoo Conservation, Making a Splash! – Peoria Zoo

(45 minutes) Meet several zoo animals while learning about ways we can save water and habitat. CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS LS2

Session 7: Backyard Habitats - Wildlife Prairie Park

(30–40 minutes) Backyard Habitats: Here is your opportunity to meet 5 different animal ambassadors (a mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, etc). Get an overview of each of these animals and then talk about what each requires in order to thrive in their habitats. Learn how the public can get their own backyards certified as wildlife habitats!  CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS LS2

Session 8: Water Cycle Adventures - Susie Grana Ingram, Forest Park Nature Center

(45 minutes) Water covers most of the earth and is always moving. Discover the role water plays in every stage of its cycle. You will also meet a native animal that depends on clean water for survival! CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS ESS2 / SS.G.2

Session 9: Clean Water It’s for the Birds - Dr. Travis Wilcoxen

(30 minutes) It’s easy to see how polluted water has an impact on animals that live in the water, like fish and frogs. The truth is, clean water is extremely important for animals that spend much of their time in the air, like birds. In this session, students will learn about how pollutants in water such as lead, mercury, and pesticides can cause problems for many kinds of birds, from ducks to eagles. CCSS: ELA SL / ILS NGSS LS2 / PD&H 22 C

Session 10: Amphibians as Indicator Species - Douglas Holmes, resident herpetologist Peoria Zoo

(45 minutes) FInd out what amphibians can tell us about the health of our environment while learning about the effects of chemicals on amphibians, the importance of amphibians, what you can do to protect them and how you can get involved by your actions. CCSS: ELA SL / ILS NGSS ESS2, LS2, SSG2 • http://www.peoriazoo.org

Session 11: Native Plants - Make and Take a Seed Ball - Rachel Mitchell   

(20 minutes) Discover the many benefits that native plants can bring to your community, your yard, and beyond. The students will make a seed ball using air dry clay, soil, and native wildflower seeds. CSS: ELA SL / ILS NGSS LS1, LS2 https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1035133.pdf

Session 12: The Diversity of Life in Illinois Waters - John Marino, Aquatic Ecologist

(30 minutes) Explore the variety of living things in our freshwater systems and how we interact with them.  Learn about how biodiversity is important for supporting the benefits provided to people by rivers, lakes and wetlands.Learn how monitoring diversity is valuable for tracking how people are affecting these systems. Learn how research like that in Bradley University’s lab is useful to improve understanding of diversity. Examine a variety of organisms, including aquatic snails, insects, tadpoles, and others! CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS LS4 •https://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/bio/faculty/profile.dot?id=93db09d7-00d0-4d12-9b9b-903a615a2b1d

Session 13: Nicolina’s Turtle Co - Youth Action in Conservation

30 minutes) for Grades 3 and 4 - Nicolina’s Turtle Co. was started in 2019 by Nicolina Pappas, then 8 years old, as a way to encourage people to use less single-use plastic. By sewing straw pouches and selling them with metal straws, NTC has raised over $15k for conservation efforts, including funding classroom outreach through local partners, starting a camp scholarship fund, and adopting animal ambassadors  Learn why Nicolina’s Turtle Co. was founded and how their activities have grown within their community and schools over the past 5 years and reached other surrounding communities with their Skip the Plastic Campaign.  CCSS: ELA SL/ NGSS ESS3 / https://nicolinasturtleco.com/skip-the-plastic

Session 14:  Getting Active Outside: Why is Connecting with Nature and Disconnecting from Screens Important??? - Shae Birkey (60 minutes) There are so many positive ways to connect to the outdoors. Whether it is through active or passive recreation, the end result is fostering a love for the outdoors. Through experiencing the outdoors, especially at a young age, advocacy for its many wise uses can be established resulting in the betterment of society and the long term sustainability of our long-standing American outdoors heritage. CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: SS G.2 / PD&H 22 •https://www.naem.org/our-community/profiles/shae-birkey

Session 15: Clean Water is the Goal!  - Tim Magner, Nature’s Farm Camp

(45 minutes)    Let’s learn how to keep it clean using both plants, and incentives!  We’ll explore different plants in Illinois over time, their needs and their impact on water.  Finally, we explore different options to keep water clean, including writing a sample letter to an elected official. CCSS: ELA SL / W, ILS: SS.G.2,3 / NGSS LS2  http://naturesfarmcamp.org

Session 16: Storm Science- Extreme Weather

(75 minutes) With a unique mix of visuals, demos, lecture and storytelling Storm Science will drive home the knowledge necessary to stay safe during severe weather while also understanding some of the "why's" behind severe weather and the role our actions play.  Be amazed by their stories from the field, Thunderstorm simulation and 12 foot Tornado Chamber. 12:15-1:30 CCSS:ELA SL/NGSS ESS2D, ESS3 https://stormscience.org/

Session 17: Diggin' Archaeology! - Dr. Dale F Simpson, Senior Scientific Specialist – Illinois State Archaeological Survey

Instructor – College of DuPage – Department of Anthropology  

(30 minutes) Dr. Simpson will have your students work through four stations: Introduction, Field Gear, Raw Materials, and Lithics (stone tools) to talk about 13,000 years of Illinois Archaeology and solve archaeological puzzles.  CCSS: ELA SL / NGSS: ESS1 ESS3 / SSH5 ARCHAEOLOGICAL OUTREACH IN ACTION!

Session 18: Students Taking Action: P2D2 and more! - Pontiac Township High School Environmental Science (40 minutes) Hey! If you have a passion for the environment and clean water, come check us out P2D2! The International Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal Program (P2D2) was started as a way to prevent misuse and abuse of prescription drugs while keeping them out of our water supply. But that's not all...learn about the other action projects we have taken on. Come check us out!  CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS LS2 https://p2d2program.wordpress.com/

Session 19: Three R Gardening: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to Grow a Garden - Oak Grove Elementary (45 minutes) "Three R Gardening" is a hands-on presentation focused on showing how to reuse and recycle everyday materials to start a garden, reducing the waste sent to landfills. Encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and a deeper understanding, participants will learn how simple actions can contribute to a healthier planet. CCSS: ELA SL/ ILS: NGSS ESS3

Session 20: Drinking Water - From Source to Tap - Trip Barton , Illinois American Water                  

(30 minutes) A high level overview of how drinking water gets to your tap. The session will include discussion of the sources of water, water treatment processes, and how the water gets to your house.  CCSS: ELA SL/ ILS: NGSS ESS2 / PDH 22C https://amwater.com/ilaw/water-information/water-learning-center

Session 21: Tips to Ensure Safe Drinking Water from a Private Well - Cindy Brookes, Great Lakes Community Action Partnership/RCAP

(30 minutes) A display of a Submersible Well Pump, Suction Well Pump, Pressure Tank, Pressure Gauge, Switch, Proper Wellhead Construction Model, and GroundWater Model will be used to demonstrate and share with attendees tips and tricks to protecting their well water. Additional information about testing annually, 5-year testing and setbacks will be shared. CCSS: ELA SL/ ILS: NGSS ESS2-4 / LS2 / ETSI1-1/ PDH 22C https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/groundwater-wells

Session 22: It’s NOT Magic, It’s Science!!! - Dr. Dean Campbell & Bradley University Chemistry Club Demo Crew

(45 minutes) The event will feature a series of chemistry-related demonstrations that are science (not magic) in focus. Emphasis will be placed on physical and chemical properties of water and the environment.  CCSS: ELA SL/ ILS: NGSS PS1  https://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/chm/faculty/profile.dot?id=169366

Session 23: Healthy Soil makes Healthy Water and Healthy People - Valerie Wolfe, Diverse Metamorphosis

(30 minutes) Connecting the dots between the health of our soil to the health of our water, and our health as humans! Everything is connected! Diving deep into the invisible world of microorganisms, we see the integral jobs they do to keep every ecosystem healthy and in balance. CCSS: ELA SL / ILS: NGSS LS2-1 / PDH 22 & 23