Shore Road fifth-grade students in Jody Leibowitz and Jennifer Lucchetti's classes visited a number of Long Island beaches to compare their scientific findings during a unit on biomes and ecosystems. During a Nassau BOCES Environmental STEM field trip to both Short Beach and Jones Beach, the students explored both the bay and ocean shorelines and the coasts’ plants and animals.

Like scientists, the students used field instruments to gather abiotic data about water conditions by measuring temperature, pH levels, salinity and dissolved oxygen levels. They also observed organisms’ structures and marine adaptations and collected and studied plankton.  

Upon their return to the classroom, the students and their teachers compared the Long Island’s south shore environment to the north shore by comparing their experiences at Short Beach and Jones Beach to Garvies Point where they visited the museum earlier in the year.