High school students band together at Crowley Museum and Nature Center to support wildlife

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
Members of the Fab Lab’s Student Community Innovation Program have partnered with the Crowley Museum and Nature Center to raise awareness about wildlife conservation.
Members of the Fab Lab’s Student Community Innovation Program have partnered with the Crowley Museum and Nature Center to raise awareness about wildlife conservation.

Twenty high school students from the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab’s Student Community Innovation Program have partnered with the Crowley Museum and Nature Center to raise awareness about wildlife conservation initiatives.

The Crowley Museum and Nature Center, a 191-acre farmstead established in 1878, includes original habitat, pioneer buildings, and heritage farm animals. To modernize the farmstead, students will leverage their youthful perspective and access to the Fab Lab’s technology to build wildlife habitats on the property.

Fab Lab Community Innovation Program student Hailie Palmer offers a shoulder for Bubbles, a special pigeon that will be getting a new home at the Crowley Museum and Nature Center.
Fab Lab Community Innovation Program student Hailie Palmer offers a shoulder for Bubbles, a special pigeon that will be getting a new home at the Crowley Museum and Nature Center.

The students will also implement an educational component through a custom website that will host a permanent live stream and provide information about the variety of animals living at the nature center.

“The Crowley Museum and Nature Center is excited to partner with the Suncoast Science Center’s SCIP to create new and innovative housing for permanent residents and soft release wildlife habitats," said Dixie Resnick, president and CEO of Crowley Museum & Nature Center. "This immersive educational partnership will benefit CMNC and our visitors, SSC students and wildlife alike.”

The three habitats to be revamped on Crowley’s property at 6405 Myakka Road, Sarasota, include a permanent aviary and two soft release habitats for small mammals. The newly remodeled habitats will provide the animals with water, food, shelter and enrichment. On-site signs will be designed and created at the Fab Lab to inform Crowley visitors of the habitats and animals.

“We’ve been working really hard so far this summer to research and begin developing the 3D plans for the habitats," said SCIP student Hailie Palmer, a sophomore at Riverview High School.

The project aims to connect the community with local wildlife and emphasize the importance of conservation. Now in its third year, SCIP provides local students with an opportunity to give back to their community through a real-world learning experience. Throughout the summer, students build technical skills as well as critical leadership and life skills like collaboration, project management and problem-solving that will help prepare them for success in college and future careers.

“I can’t wait to welcome the community to come see the results of our project,” said SCIP student Olivia Lee, a freshman at Venice High School.

The Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab was founded with a mission to inspire tomorrow’s innovators through experiential learning in science, technology, engineering, art and math. For more information or to support the Fab Lab and Crowley Museum and Nature Center with a cash or in-kind donation, visit suncoastscience.org or contact info@suncoastscience.org.

Submitted by Jenn Sams Scott

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Students unite at Crowley Museum and Nature Center to support wildlife