GESC Pre and Post-Activities: The Center

As a premier informal science destination space, GESC’s mission is to deliver hands on environmental science and STEM instruction. Through targeted standards-based enrichment programs, GESC’s highly trained staff encourage students to explore the urban habitats around them and become stewards for the environment. GESC engages students and teachers in experiences that challenge them to think critically about real-world contexts and issues from which STEM concepts and skills can be learned. GESC programs are age and grade appropriate, aligned to the NYC Science Scope and Sequence and the Common Core Learning Standards.

GESC has two unique learning labs dedicated specifically for plant (flora) and animal (fauna) investigations and research. Flora has four grow labs that provide GESC with a steady supply of plants to study. Flora also serves as a learning lab for our Hydroponics, Pondaponics and Aquaculture classes. The greenhouse is an active lab for botany instruction including numerous Hydroponic and Aquaponic systems. Fauna is home to over 100 Bess Beetles, Hermit Crabs and Fire-belly Toads. Students and their teachers can participate in a variety of classes that include observation and interaction with these animals and many more mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, insects and marine life. GESC’s biotechnology lab provides students and their teachers the opportunity to work with professional, high-grade equipment. Our labs include DNA extraction, running gel electrophoresis, DNA fingerprinting and barcoding. Each lab is outfitted with a class set of microscopes and triple-beam balances.