Honeywell Sponsors Week-Long Science and Technology Journey at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology (MOST)
This week, four science teachers are leading more than 25 students from four Syracuse middle schools through the2006 Honeywell Summer Science Week at the MOST. Over the course of a week, students will learn about local waterways from the Tully Valley to Onondaga Lake; collect and analyze water samples; and visit various environmental sites within the community. Honeywell engineers will show the students how they collect data from Onondaga Lake as part of the lake cleanup. Students will compile and analyze the data collected and present their findings at Honeywell’s Discovery Day at the MOST on September 23.
The Summer Science Week is funded by a grant from Honeywell. Honeywell has a long-standing commitment to science and math education, and is dedicated to inspiring students to pursue careers in science, math, engineering and technology.
“Honeywell is proud to partner with the MOST to inspire students to pursue science and technology related careers,” said Honeywell Syracuse Program Director John McAuliffe. “Honeywell is committed to providing students and teachers with programs and experiences that bring science to life in memorable, life-changing ways. This program will inspire these students to be engineers and researchers who will play a key role in protecting and restoring our precious resources.”
Today, students traveled to the Heiberg Memorial Forest and ESF Field Station to learn about surface hydrology in the forest environment. While there, they gathered water samples at various locations in the Tully Valley, including the mud boils and sulfur springs. Students were also briefed on the geologic history of Onondaga County.
On Tuesday, activities will include traveling to Onondaga Creek and Syracuse’s Inner Harbor to collect water samples, and visiting the Syracuse University Center for Environmental Systems Engineering to learn how laboratories analyze water and air quality in the environment.
On Wednesday, students will tour the Bristol-Myers Squibb Plant and the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro).
On Thursday, students will go to Onondaga Parkway for a Tram Tour and visit the Salt Museum. While at Onondaga Lake, students will encounter zebra mussels and learn about “life in the mud.”
On Friday, Honeywell will take the students on a tour of the Willis Semet shoreline and the Willis Avenue Groundwater Treatment Plant to demonstrate progress on cleaning up former Allied Chemical sites and Onondaga Lake. Students will view various samples from Onondaga Lake and Settling Basins 1-8, and learn how dredging and capping lake sediments will improve the lake’s ecosystem.
“We know from countless studies that the future of our community, both environmentally and economically, will in large part be determined by the children of today who become well educated in the sciences and technology,” said Larry Leatherman, president of the MOST. “That’s a driving reason why the MOST is dedicated to turning kids on to careers in these fields. To that end, we regularly reach out to our young people–especially those in the Syracuse city middle schools–because we have a terrific opportunity to have an impact. And, of course, we can’t do it alone. We know we need partners. That’s why it’s so great to be working with Honeywell to present the 2006 Honeywell Summer Science Week at the MOST, and we hope it’s just the beginning of a long and productive relationship!”
Teachers and students participating in the week are from Clary, Danforth, Grant, and Huntington Middle Schools in Syracuse. Faculty and graduate students from Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are contributing to the Honeywell Summer Science Week as well.
For more information about the Onondaga Lake cleanup, please visit www.onondaga-lake-initiatives.com.