Spotlight on Park Science

Spotlight on...Science!

March 26th, 2025 by Lisa Conrad

Dear Park Community,

This year, I’m committed to writing a series of letters that focus on the distinctive value of a Park education. In this letter I am going to highlight Park’s science curriculum which aims to give our students a comprehensive understanding of the natural world and a sophisticated, experiential appreciation of the scientific method. From basic concepts in Lower School, like the seasons, plants, and animals, to more complex topics in Upper School, like physics, chemistry, and biology, the science program at Park equips students with the conceptual and physical tools to explore and understand natural phenomena. This foundational knowledge is vital for developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, requiring our students to ask questions, make observations, form hypotheses, conduct experiments, draw conclusions based on evidence and then ask even more defined questions from their experimental results. These skills are transferable to all areas of life and are essential in today’s complex world.

One of the most unique things about science at Park is that students have a lab right outside their classroom doors, that is, a lab that covers 34-acres of possibility. With a pond, stream, waterfall, native trees, a marsh, and nature trails, Park’s campus allows students to engage in experiential learning and scientific experimentation as intended by Park’s founders. Park’s state-of-the-art Knopp-Hailpern Science Center opened in 2019, offering powerful tools, including an autoclave, a machine that uses steam under pressure to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores on items that are placed inside a pressure vessel. All of Knopp-Hailpern’s classrooms open out to the stream, pond, marsh and woodlands thereby seamlessly integrating the natural world and the school’s formal instructional spaces.

This was especially important when the infamous crayfish work on campus began at Park. Upon returning to in-person learning in August of 2020, teachers and students spotted a bright red crayfish in the stream outside of the Knopp Hailpern Center, an unusual sight in Western New York. This bright red color led to concerns that it may be the red swamp crayfish, a species native to the southern United States, but an invasive species to our area. The Advanced Science Explorations (ASE) class, made up of Park seniors and led by Mrs. Adrienne DeGroat, had been studying ecology when these red crayfish began to appear more and more frequently in the Park stream. If they were truly the red swamp crayfish, they could significantly harm the natural environment at Park and endanger ecosystems beyond the school’s campus. In order to identify whether or not they were the invasive red swamp crayfish, the class took several out of the pond and observed their physical features. Using pictures and descriptions from reliable scientific sources, they found that the color, rostrum, claw, areola, thorax, and leg features all matched the red swamp crayfish.

To confirm the species of crayfish, the class invited crayfish expert Dr. Chris Pennuto, Director of WNY PRISM and professor at Buffalo State, to come to campus and observe the crayfish. After confirming that red swamp crayfish were in fact in our ecosystem, Mrs. DeGroat, Park ASE students, and Dr. Pennuto and his team developed a management plan, which started as and has remained focused on crayfish removal. Humane traps were set throughout the stream and pond to capture crayfish at a faster and more consistent rate. The crayfish captured are measured, sexed, and recorded before being taken off site. Formal study continues between Park and Dr. Pennuto and his graduate students, nearly five years later.

The crayfish story is an example of how science at Park is taught and applied to real life. Park students, for example, complete a major cross-curricular project during their freshman year that focuses on environmental justice and injustice in our community. They begin in their Living Environment class by investigating how Buffalonians are affected disproportionately by air pollution, and then move to History with Dr. Anderson and to the library with Mr. Lew to research, reflect and write about particular relevant topics and how they relate in Western New York.

In their Math class with Mr. Fedirko, students use the data that supports their research to make user-friendly components of their projects, through maps, graphs, tables, and other visual displays of quantitative information. In Dr. Thompson’s English class, they take this information to structure and organize their presentations, which they eventually present to the entire ninth grade class and faculty. Through science, students are expected to bring awareness about environmental justice and injustice that is happening right in our very own community using a multitude of multidisciplinary lenses.

When I meet a potential student or family who is interested in Park and we talk about our science program, I love to tell them about the day the snapping turtle walked up the pathway near the stream to find a spot to lay its eggs. It was during the last week of school and it was raining. Mrs. DeGroat sent a text message to the faculty that said, “The snapping turtle is outside of KH ready to nest. Bring your students if you can, this is incredible.” When I arrived, I could see Mrs. DeGroat pounding stakes into the ground, marking the spot where the nest was while one of her students was holding an red umbrella over her head while she worked. Other students and their teachers had arrived too, from Lower, Middle, and Upper School, along with faculty and staff who wanted to catch a glimpse.

That afternoon, we all learned that a female turtle will leave the water and travel a good distance from the pond where she lives. She usually prefers soft ground for building her nest, and will snap around for the right location, seeking out a site that offers warmth and safety from predators. We watched as the mother turtle selected a spot, started digging a hole with her hind legs, and then laid her eggs. When she was done, she covered them with the soil, protecting them from predators and providing insulation to regulate temperature. She then left the nest and returned to the pond. Mrs. DeGroat was marking the spot with the stakes to protect it from our summer campers who would be arriving on campus in a few weeks, since the incubation period can take anywhere from 60 to 90 days.

I tell this story because I think it embodies the moments with science that are unique to Park, illustrating that our science program also generates a respect for the natural world through direct experience. While other schools may have ornate buildings, students at Park have the distinctive privilege of learning and studying and experimenting both within well-equipped classrooms and the majesty of forests, streams, ponds and marshes.

Science plays a crucial role at Park by fostering critical thinking skills and developing an experimental mindset. Students are taught to ask: “I wonder if...” and to follow up with: “Well, let’s see...” Our science teachers across divisions are dedicated to empowering our students to become informed, thoughtful, and creative leaders who use data and controlled experimental methods to determine what is and what is not the case. Park’s historic emphasis on science education not only enhances our students’ understanding of complex global challenges but also equips them with the tools to drive positive change in an ever-evolving world which they richly appreciate and seek, always, to improve.