Hands on Science

Dr. Montessori passed a deep love for the world of nature on to thousands of students through a program of outdoor education, indoor and outdoor nature exploration experiences. We see this as the foundation of a lifelong interest in the sciences.

We want our students to be fascinated by the universe and to honestly enjoy the process of discovering its secrets and interrelationships. We want them to observe, analyze, measure, classify, experiment and predict – and to do so with a sense of eager curiosity and wonder.

Science is an integral element of our curriculum. Among other things, it represents a way of life: a clear thinking approach to gathering information and problem solving.

Our program is designed to cultivate our students’ curiosity and determination to discover the truth for themselves. We teach them how scientists go about their work. They learn how to observe patiently, analyze, and work at each problem. They eagerly engage in field trips and experiments, and enjoy the precision of measurement, gathering data, classification and prediction.

With encouragement and a solid foundation, even very young children are ready and anxious to investigate their world, to wonder at the interdependence of living things, and to explore the ways in which the physical universe works, and to project how it all may have come to be.

The scope of our Elementary science curriculum includes a sound botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy.

Our campus is a short walk from natural wildlife habitats – an ideal laboratory for first-hand nature study.

In winter, the children collect food for the birds and the wildlife of the forest. They study animal tracks and learn how to identify trees without their leaf mantles. As spring approaches, they go out every day to see who will discover the first bud or crocus poking up out of the dormant earth.

In the spring and fall, students hike through the woods looking for wild flowers. They collect tadpoles and see how many different kinds of birds they can spot. Closer to the school building, children tend their gardens. And, there is a special thrill when our groundhogs emerge from the dens with their little babies waddling behind them.

Some of our finest classes are taught out of doors in the fields and forests.