Our experiential programs have something to offer from k-12 to career track. We use education scaffolding to provide a program to match every child’s plane of development. Don’t just spend an afternoon with us, spend a lifetime. Engage your students with a day spent both on our majestic schooner and in Discovery World. Contact our education team at 414.765.8640 or email sail@discoveryworld.org to schedule your program.
Dockside Discovery™ | Lakewatch
Expeditions™
Harborwatch Expeditions™ | Coastwatch Expeditions™
Science
Under Sail Expeditions™
Dockside Discovery™
When: June-September
Grades: k-6
Max: 50 Students
Length: 1.5 Hour Dockside Program
Cost: $500
Take your students on a tall ship learning adventure without leaving the dock. Through activities aboard the S/V Denis Sullivan, students gain an understanding of changes in maritime technology, the age of sail and the water around us.
In small group, students try their hands at...
- Testing the clarity, depth and bottom composition of a water sample.
- Tying knots used by sailors.
- Raising a sail aboard a traditional vessel.
- Doing a "Boat Check", a tour of the vessel.
- Navigation; learning about latitude and longitude.
Dockside Discovery programs enhance classroom curriculum for students in grades 1-6.
LakeWatch Expeditions™
When: June-September
Grades: 3-8
Max: 45 passengers
Length: 3 Hours
Cost: $1,425 ($1,350 if booked by December 31, 2007!)
Set sail on a 3-hour voyage of learning and discovery of the Great Lakes and the S/V Denis Sullivan. In small groups, students explore five inquiry-based learning stations. Students collect, record, and analyze data samples to deepen their understanding of the interdependence of living and non-living components of the Great Lakes. Data collected by students is logged on the Virtual Voyage website. In addition to the five learning stations; students are challenged to raise 4,000 feet of sail under the guidance of the professional crew. LakeWatch Expeditions complement classroom curriculum in science, history, math and technology. Exciting Pre and Post program activities will be made available upon request.
Lake Ecology Learning Stations
- Plankton: Students learn about microscopic plants and animals.
- Water Quality: Students test pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen.
- Fish Adaptations: Students examine live fish and explore different adaptations that help fish survive.
- Benthos: Students examine bottom samples and learn about exotic species.
- Density Dynamics: Students experiment with the effects of density on the water column.
Additional Learning Stations
- History of Schooners and Milwaukee: Students learn about maritime history of Milwaukee.
- Arts of a Sailor: Students learn knots and use tools of sailors.
- Underwater Archeology: Students learn about and use tools of underwater archeologists.
- Navigation: Students learn latitude, longitude, and basic navigation used on boats.
- Bottom Topography: Students explore the different features of the ocean floor.
- Waves and Weather: Students learn about the parts of a wave and basic weather.
Same as above but offered during our East Coast transit. This program centers on your local watershed. It is also offered by and in different National Marine Sanctuaries to highlight individual features of each sanctuary. If you live in WI, MI, OH, PA, NY, MA, CT, NJ, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA & FL contact us to find out when our vessel will be in your community.
CoastWatch Expeditions™
This 1-day expedition is designed to capture and harness the energy
and interest of High school students and or teachers
as a professional development course. Students will
be actively involved as we give them the tools to mount
a real field ecology study. Students will learn to
operate the vessel and then research equipment, bringing bio-, geo- and
hydro- samples back into the classroom for analysis. lWhe complete they
will have an incredibly comprehensive understanding of their coast. Data
collected by students is logged on the Virtual
Voyage website.
Program still under development, stay tuned for more information!
Science Under Sail Expeditions™
Ages: 14-19
Max: 20 Passengers
Length: 6-14
Day Voyages
This program services any student or school group in the country. Programs occur on the Great Lakes, June – August and Florida and the Bahamas, November – April. If you live in WI, MI, OH, PA, NY, NH, MA, RI, CT, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA & FL contact us to find out when our vessel will be near your community and set up a vessel orientation tour. Contact our education team at 414.765.8640 or email sail@discoveryworld.org for more information.
Science Under Sail™ (SUS) is an intensive, adventure-based, academic program designed to provide high school students and teachers with a practical, real world experience in the science of being at sea. They will live and work aboard the 137-foot schooner, the sailing vessel S/V Denis Sullivan.
Students will…
- Actively participate in all ship’s operations while investigating the different features of the aquatic/ marine environments of the Great Lakes or S. Florida and the Bahamas.
- Work with the professional crew and education staff to maintain a 24-hour watch system, and are actively involved in all operations of the ship.
- Conduct daily afternoon experiments and investigations and onshore field studies.
- Study history and culture viewed through the maritime lens.
- We employ principles of expeditionary learning to help develop a cooperative community of awareness and learning aboard our vessel.
- Student crew will learn to work side by side with professional crew and scientists as they also develop new life–skills and a strong sense of teamwork
Academic Life Strands
- Introduction to Limnology/Oceanography
- Nautical Science
- Maritime Studies
- Seamanship
Affective Life Strands
- Global Youth Leadership
- Communal synergy
- Personal Reflection
- Life Skills Enhancement
This extraordinary program at sea can be conducted as a group in collaboration with a sponsoring school or organization. However, if you are an individual student contact us about open enrollment opportunities for specific programs.
Distance Learning
Worried about taking just a small group from the school? Although traditionally rigged, the S/V Denis Sullivan is a modern educational sailing vessel connecting learners of all ages to the Great Lakes, oceans and their environment through experiential learning and technology. With help from a $700,000 Technology Opportunity Program grant from the Department of Commerce, we have one of the most advanced Distance Learning programs in expeditionary learning. The S/V Denis Sullivan is technologically equipped to transport daily photos, field reports and water and weather data to our Virtual Voyage website. We are also able to transmit two-way, interactive video conferences to and from the deck of the vessel. The student explorers can take the whole school on the voyage, sharing their explorations right from the deck.
Calendar
May
Showing through May 19th.. CENTENNIAL: STEAMING THROUGH THE AMERICAN CENTURY
A series of 32 photographs of the S.S. St. Mary's Challenger by Milwaukee Photojournalist Christopher Winters.
03
FILM: INLAND SEAS: Understanding and Protecting the Waters of the Great Lakes
Showing every Saturday and Sunday in May. more..
03
SCOUT Program : Webelos Engineer Activity
04
MPTV Film Series: Coming to Milwaukee
Tuesday, April 22 - Wednesday, May 4
06
ADULT Program: Graphic Design Seminar
09
SLEEP-IN Program
Discovery World is yours to explore all night long!
13
ADULT Program: Graphic Design Seminar
15
MEMBERS NIGHT!
Join us for the Ira Flatow lecture, film preview, sneak peak of the Briggs and Stratton Milwaukee Muscle exhibit, and more!
17
FAMILY Program : Build a Backyard Weather Station
20
MPTV Film Series: The Best of Times and the Worst of Times
Tuesday, May 20 - Wednesday, June 8