K - 5 Life Lab Science
Our outdoor classroom (garden, greenhouse, and outdoor kitchen) is an ideal setting for scientific investigation, fostering children’s natural curiosity about the world around them.
Science Curriculum
Gateway’s Life Lab program is an innovative approach to science education, where hands-on, inquiry-based investigations take place in a beautiful ¼ acre garden, and all students can feel successful in science. Life, earth, and physical science are integrated, as the children apply scientific method to real-life situations in nature. Using lab instruments, they read and record temperatures, collect data on insects, measure and weigh materials, view microorganisms, perform soil chemistry experiments, monitor weather station data, and more. In addition, Life Lab gives students the opportunity to learn global ecology and environmental stewardship through a focus on waste reduction and recycling, and the use of ecological farming practices.
Life Cycles and Traditions
Each autumn, Gateway kindergarteners sit in a towering sunflower house as they learn about pollination. After harvesting a sunflower, they estimate, count, eat and save the seeds, so in the spring they can plant a sunflower house to welcome the next kindergarten class. Each spring, first graders plant marigold seeds while keeping journals on the marigold life cycle. As second graders the next autumn, they harvest their marigolds for their Spanish celebration of Dia de los Muertos. After saving marigold seeds and making botanical drawings on seed packets, they host a springtime celebration to pass on marigold stories and seeds to the first graders. Traditions like these emphasize cycles in the natural world, and Gateway students look forward to each year’s special curriculum.
Awards and Grants
Gateway’s Life Lab science program was awarded a Sustainable Quality Award in 1995 in recognition of its commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and overall excellence. In addition, the program has been the recipient of grants from the Life Lab Project at UC Santa Cruz, THANKS National Gardening Association, Newman’s Own Organics, and the Chez Panisse Foundation. Nationally, the Life Lab science program is an award-winning program affiliated with UC Santa Cruz and is recognized by the National Science Teachers Association, the California School Boards Association, and the National Academy of Sciences. It has been funded by private foundation and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education and the National Sciences Foundation.
