Our state-of-the-art science laboratory supports our commitment to hands-on learning and allows us to accommodate robust science programming. Students are exposed to increasingly sophisticated scientific concepts they are able to uncover through student-designed experiments and projects. In 6th and 7th grades, students use the Amplify curriculum. 6th graders study Harnessing Human Energy, Populations and Resources, Matter and Energy in Ecosystems, Weather Patterns, and Earth’s Changing Climate. The 7th grade program focuses on Earth/Space Science, Physical Science (Chemical Reactions) and Life Science (Biology). Finally, in 8th grade, students take a Living Environment course and may take the Living Environment Regents exam. This 9th grade level course includes units on the Origin of Life/Ecology, Organization in Life, Body Systems–Homeostasis/Immunity, Reproduction, Genetics, Evolution, Humans and the Environment. The Scientific Method and critical thinking are emphasized in the exploratory activities throughout all years.
The inquiry process is at the heart of the middle school science curriculum. We believe that science is not an “object” or a noun, but a process that requires students to be active. During middle school science class, students engage in hands-on investigations, collaborate to pose and solve scientific questions, and learn the literacy skills necessary to engage in science at the secondary level.
All students meet for science five or more times per week, allowing for deeper investigations and full experiments. In 8th grade, as part of the Living Environment course, one of those weekly meetings is a 90-minute block period. Students learn the research skills of scientists, are expected to read regularly (nonfiction texts, literature, and journal/magazine articles) for their science courses, and write lab reports and other informational texts. During each unit, our students have the opportunity to connect what they are learning in the classroom to the real world by conducting field work in Brooklyn Bridge Park, exploring the conservatories at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, interacting with exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History, and much more.
Science at Bridges/MS 915 extends beyond the classroom and the laboratory. Bridges is part of the Urban Advantage Middle School Science initiative, a standards based science program that promotes scientific inquiry through the use of local science institutions. It provides our teachers and administrators with high-quality professional development as well as classroom materials and equipment that promote scientific inquiry and authentic investigations. Our students and families get vouchers for free access to science institutions such as Staten Island Zoo, New York Hall of Science, Bronx Zoo, American Museum of Natural History, New York Botanic Gardens and the Queens Botanic Gardens.
Our partnership with the Urban Advantage program supports our annual Celebrate Science event in spring, at which students have the opportunity to present how they solved a problem through experimentation, designed an invention, or illustrated a scientific concept, or to create a science experience. This annual Science Expo both showcases the amazing work that students have done and is an opportunity for students to celebrate their science learning — and for families and friends to celebrate with them and participate in fun, hands-on science activities. Urban Advantage provides additional support to both teachers and middle school students as they design and conduct their experiments. It also hosts events to encourage students and their families to explore local science institutions and organizes the impressive Urban Advantage Science Expo in June each year, at which some Bridges/MS 915 students are invited to present their work.