Students from Eastport Elementary School thank the funders and partners for the Museum’s innovative “MUDDY FEET” education program. Adults in the background, from left: Charlotte Rich, AMM Director of Education; Debbie Gosselin, President of Watermark Cruises; Ross Cohen, President of Annapolis Bus Company; Josh Cohen, Mayor of the City of Annapolis; Dr. Jana Davis, Associate Executive Director and Chief Scientist of the Chesapeake Bay Trust; Dr. Kevin Maxwell, Superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools; Jeff Holland, AMM Executive Director; Reverend Patricia Johnson, Pastor of Mt. Zion U.M. Church; Congressman John Sarbanes; Peyton Robertson, Director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office; Frank Dawson, Assistant Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Hank Libby, President of the Carol M. Jacobsohn Foundation; Senator Ben Cardin; and Eric M. Rubin, AMM Chairman. Photo by John Bildahl.
MUDDY FEET Update
The Annapolis Maritime Museum has been
awarded a major grant of $247,471 over the next
three years for its innovative education program
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Peyton Robertson,
Director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office,
announced the award at a press conference on
October 24, 2011, at the Museum. Read more on our Winter 2011 newsletter.
With education as its key mission, the Museum is
dedicated to the success of its innovative program,“MUDDY FEET,” which stands for “Maritime
Unbounded Damp & Dirty Yucky Fun
Environmental Education & Training.” The programs described here make up the MUDDY FEET experience, the goal of which is to ensure that all Annapolis area
students have at least three meaningful watershed
educational experiences by graduation.
The program is consistent with the Maryland Literacy Plan in the Governor’s Children in Nature Partnership and the No Child Left Inside initiative. Read more.
See the Capital's story and slide show about our education program, History Detectives
Annapolis Maritime Museum Education Program Overview 2010-2012
The Museum offers four free programs for students from pre-school to 8th grade in the Anne Arundel County Public schools, a fee based program to private schools, and a community outreach program. All of the Museum’s education programs serve to connect students with this area’s rich maritime heritage as well as the environmental issues challenging the Chesapeake Bay.
All of the Annapolis Maritime Museum education programs include topics related to Anne Arundel Country Public School standards and curricula: language arts, social studies, science and math concepts through recording findings in journals, observations, and newly acquired vocabulary.
The Museum, in partnership with the Maryland Association of Environmental Outdoor Education (MAEOE) is working to support schools within the City of Annapolis in the Green School certification process. The Annapolis Maritime Museum is certified as a Green Center.
AMM Education Program Descriptions
- Pre-K Outreach program
- Chesapeake Champions, after school program for 2nd and 3rd grade
- Bay Icons, 4th grade program
- Chesapeake Trades, 8th grade program
- Bay Bound: Community Outreach Programs
- Maritime Explorations program, private schools and groups
- Education Internships
- Family Day
Pre-K Outreach - During this outreach program Museum staff visit the Pre-k classrooms and offer a one-hour hands-on lesson, a read-aloud book and a song introducing the students to the Chesapeake Bay oyster and the life that exists on an oyster reefs. Through the use of their senses the students experience the texture of the oyster shells, the smell of the brackish water, and the small critters that call the oyster reef home. The lesson is completed with a craft which the students can take home and share what they learned about life on an oyster reef with their families.
Chesapeake Champions is an extended day program offered to 2nd and 3rd graders from the elementary schools in the City of Annapolis that occurs twice a week for 4 1/2 weeks. The first session is held at AMM while the second takes place at the school with AMM staff providing follow-up activities.
Students are assessed on the level of their knowledge about maritime heritage and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay through pre- and post-tests. The after school staff and students receive evaluations to provide the Museum with feedback of their program experiences. The Museum supports the idea of environmental literacy and at the end of the program each student receives a theme-based book of his or her own that they can take home to share with family.
The Bay Icons, 4th grade program Description - The Bay Icons program is offered to the 4th grade classes of the elementary schools in the City of Annapolis. This program consists of one day of pre-programming where Museum staff introduce and share the Lighthouse Library Project with the class and special guests, such as historians of early colonial Annapolis and Lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay to musicians and artists covering topics of maritime heritage while visiting the classroom and working with the students.
Then the 4th graders spend one day at the Museum working in small groups to explore the importance of Maryland’s maritime heritage and the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay through a boat ride and hands-on experiences at the museum.
Students are assessed on the level of their knowledge about maritime heritage and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay through pre- and post-tests. The 4th grade teachers are provided with a program binder that contains curriculum to support pre- and post-teaching in the classrooms. The teachers and students receive evaluations to provide the Museum with feedback of their program experiences. The Museum supports the idea of environmental literacy and at the end of the program each 4th grade student receives a theme-based book of his or her own that can be taken home to share with family.
The Chesapeake Trades -
Chesapeake Trades includes one day of pre-programming in the school where Museum staff lead the students through NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Build A Buoy (BAB) Activity using the scientific method. Then the 8th graders spend a full day outside the school on a field trip during which they visit the Annapolis Maritime Museum to learn about Maryland’s oyster industry and business through hands-on activities at the McNasby Oyster Company, visit with a waterman and participate in an oyster dissection. The students also tour Port Annapolis Marina (a Green Business and Green Marina) to meet professionals whose careers are directly influenced by the Chesapeake Bay, take a one-hour boat ride and participate in a stormwater run-off model demonstration and an environmentally focused community service project at the Back Creek Nature Park.
The 8th grade students are assessed on the level of their knowledge about maritime heritage and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay through pre- and post-tests. The 8th grade teachers are provided with curriculum to support pre- and post-teaching in the classrooms. The teachers and students receive evaluations to assess their experience with the program.
Bay Bound, an Annapolis Community Outreach program -
The Museum offers a one-to-two hour outreach educational opportunity to community groups from the Annapolis area. Groups visit the Museum, take a guided tour of the exhibit “Oyster On The Half Shell,” and participate in land-based activities focused on the maritime heritage and ecology of the Bay. The Museum staff are also available to visit schools and community groups to provide one-to-two hours of programming.
Maritime Explorations -
The Maritime Explorations program is offered as a 1 1/2-hour, 2 1/2 hour, and a four-hour experience for a fee. In all of the Maritime Explorations programs private schools participate in activities focused on the maritime heritage and ecology of the Bay. During the 2 1/2 hour program, students also visit with a local waterman, who brings his workboat to the docks of the Museum. The four-hour course offers land-based activities, a boat ride on a Watermark Cruise vessel, and a visit with the waterman. Schools are provided with pre-programming materials and a pre- and post-test assessment.
Education Internship -
The Museum offers seasonal internships for Middle and High School as well as College students and internships for High School and College students during the school year and summer. Interns assist with education programs, curriculum development, monitoring ecological habitats of oysters, terrapins, and an 850-gallon aquarium, as well as administrative duties. Each students also develops and completes his or her own research project that is relevant to experiences at the Museum. This project is supported and reviewed by Museum staff and arrangements can be made for students to present their projects to staff and peers at their schools.
Family Day - Family Day is a pilot program due to begin in January 2011. This theme-based program will occur on the last Saturday of the month and is open to the public for a minimal fee. Family Day will host special guests at the Museum such as children’s book authors, musicians and experts in Chesapeake Bay ecology and maritime heritage who will engage the families with stories, songs and educational topics. Guests will also be able to participate in guided educational stations as well as drop-in activities and crafts that focus on topics of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Charlotte Rich
AMM
Director of Education
410-295-0104
edu@amaritime.org
July 27, 2010
Overview of Annapolis' Maritime History
Annapolis Maritime Museum | 723 Second Street | PO Box 3088 | Annapolis, MD 21403
410 295-0104
office@amaritime.org