Teachers looking for an outstanding experience when they take their students to New York City won't want to miss the Liberty Science Center, located in nearby Jersey City, New Jersey.
With a rich assortment of educational experiences inside, students will be talking about their trip for years to come.
From the minute they step inside one of the state-of-the-art laboratories, students will begin a hands-on learning experience led by knowledgeable science educators. Inquiry-based investigations facilitate comprehension of sometimes complex subject matter, with subjects ranging from native wildlife to chemistry to watersheds to the properties of light and many other areas of science.
One option is to take a comprehensive look at an exhibition gallery in great depth with a science educator, reinforcing the exploration through a hands-on lesson related to the exhibition, have the time to ask and have questions answered.
In the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in the world lies an ecological haven known as Liberty State Park. Teachers and students can go out in the field, where they'll learn about the plants, animals, habitats and geology of the Hudson River Estuary, as well as the impact of humans on the river, all with a choice of land-based or on-the river experiences.
In "Live From . . ." the Liberty Science Center brings teachers and students the thrill of real-time interactive videoconferencing with a series of hospital surgical suites, featuring cardiac, neurosurgery, kidney transplant and robotic surgery experiences. Students get to witness firsthand the sights and sounds of surgery and benefit from having a surgical team of doctors, nurses, technicians and physician assistants answer their questions, even while they are doing their jobs.
Students watch the surgery on a large screen in the Liberty Science Center's interactive theater, with staff educators facilitating the experience of learning about surgical procedures, the equipment and devices used, education paths leading to careers in medical professions and healthy lifestyle choices.
In Partners in Science, students at the Liberty Science Center go beyond textbooks and school-based labs by immersing themselves in authentic scientific research conducted by professional scientists. The intensive, eight-week summer experience for high school juniors and seniors pairs students with mentor scientists and challenges them to participate in on-going research and independent projects. Through Partners in Science, students are exposed to current questions driving scientific discovery in real laboratory settings. They also develop a network of advisors and lifelong connections that help them identify and focus their career goals.
People live in them, work in them, and stare at them. They're skyscrapers and they're an integral part of our lives and community. As works of art and expressions of human aspiration, they inspire, drawing us to understanding, making skyscrapers a perfect teaching point.
The Liberty Science Center's 12,800-square-foot Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact exhibit is the most comprehensive single exhibition ever presented on the topic. With multimedia, full-body kinetic experiences and experiment-based lab stations, visitors will learn about the planning, design, engineering and construction plus explore the environments that are created and changed when massive buildings go up.
Several additional displays offer students great opportunities to explore various aspects of science, all in a spirit of learning by touching.
Among the exhibits to look forward to:
Infection Connection: Where students explore interactions between microbes and humans, learn about emerging diseases, and see how science develops tools and technologies to prevent and treat them. They can even conduct microbiology and epidemiology experiments in a laboratory environment.
Communication: How people communicate, not only with advanced multimedia and personal communication devices, but with our bodies, language and symbolism.
Our Hudson Home: A hands-on learning experience that highlights the balance required for commerce, recreation and environmental preservation to co-exist in everyday life.
Eat and Be Eaten: Filled with scores of live animals, visitors understand and explore the complex interaction that has been elegantly called the "circle of life."
Breakthroughs: A fitting exhibition for our fast-changing world; an interactive, multimedia experience featuring exhibits and programs that address current issues and events in science and technology.
Energy Quest: Students take a journey through the five major sources of Earth's energy, learning about the many methods humans have used to explore and harness these energy sources.