Participants in the 2011 symposium in Ashland, Wis. embark on a canoe trip on Lake Superior. Michigan Tech Photo.
For four days in May, the Lake Superior Youth Symposium will bring students, teachers and scientists together to promote better stewardship of the Great Lakes.
The symposium starts May 16 in Houghton, Mich. at Michigan Technological University’s Great Lakes Research Center.
The goal of the symposium, now in its 10th year, is to work with middle and high school students and their teachers to improve their understanding of environmental science and encourage the conservation of the Great Lakes.
Attendees participate in hands-on workshops, challenge courses and art and music programs that highlight careers aimed at protecting the Great Lakes. Participants visit streams, lakes and forests. They kayak, hike, rock climb and tour mines.
The symposium is for grades 8-12 students and teachers in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario. Participants live in Michigan Tech’s residence halls. Registration closes April 30.
The first symposium was held in 1995 in Ashland, Wis., and has been held every other year since. This year marks the second time the symposium has come to Houghton, with the first being in 2001.
The symposium is funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth Force, the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, the Michigan Space Grant Consortium and the Superior Watershed Partnership. It is coordinated by the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative and the Western UP Center for Science, Math & Environmental Education.