Our students in grades 3 to 5 at Jefferson Elementary Schools recently visited SeaQuest. Seaquest in Trumbull offers over 20,000 square feet of adventure where our young students were invited to touch, feed & interact with animals from five continents, and experience one of the most interactive aquariums in Connecticut!
SeaQuest brings the majestic wonders of our planet, ranging from rainforests and deserts to exotic marine life. These exhibits created an exciting quest for our students as they made their way through an Icelandic Fishing Village, the Great Wall of China, to the Amazon River & beyond. Carver kids connected with animals and learned about their ecosystems through various hands-on activities which included hand-feeding sharks, stingrays, birds & tropical animals.
They experienced walk-in aviaries, coming face-to-face with crocodilians by feeding the caiman. They saw the premier 36,000-gallon exhibit filled with reef sharks, stingrays & hundreds of tropical fish.
Also, our before- and after-school students in kindergarten to 2nd grade at Jefferson Elementary School visited Earthplace in Westport. Earthplace maintains a 62-acre wildlife sanctuary, the largest open space area in Westport, with a variety of habitats including fields, forests, ponds, and a stream. The sanctuary is crisscrossed by about two miles of trails and features Nature’s Playground. Our students received lessons in science, conservation, and education into pathways for learning about nature and the environment.
Thanks to the Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative, Carver is able to offer these programs. The 21st CCLC initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to supporting local afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs. The program serves nearly 2 million youth, nationwide through grants awarded by state education agencies. This funding awarded to Carver by the Connecticut State Department of Education through a very competitive grant process provides for academic enrichment activities that help students meet state and local achievement standards. Carver is also able to offer a broad array of additional enrichment services designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program, such as STEM programs, and physical activity and nutrition education programs. Carver also offers literacy and related educational development services to the families of children we serve.
