WINS I: The First Phase
"WINS is a great program where you can communicate with other teen gage girls that are in the same position as you are. We all stick together. We're like a big family."
Sabine Sylvain WINS student, 96'-97'
WINS I is a year-long summer and after-school enrichment program. The WINS students participate in classroom lessons, science experiments, behind-the-scenes museum tours, and daylong, weekend and weeklong field trips —all of which are designed to help students explore the intricate relationships between plants, animals and our biological and physical environments. The Academy, with its extensive scientific collections and research initiatives, public museum and world-renowned scientists, make it the ideal location from which to expose these students to real-life science.
Summer: "Science in the City"
During the summer, WINS students explore Philadelphia’s urban ecology. Through classes that meet three times each week, field trips and focused projects, students learn that ecology and environmental issues are as relevant in the city as they are in rural areas. A camping trip to the Poconos caps off the session and gives students a chance to compare the rural experience to their urban lives.
Autumn: "Terrestrial Ecology"
As the weather chills, WINS students retire inside of the Academy after school once each week and focus on the earth’s biomes and the unique habitats and adaptations of land flora and fauna.
Spring: "Aquatic Ecology"
WINS students return outdoors and investigate bodies of water and aquatic organisms —focusing on local waterways and shorelines. The session, which culminates in a seashore camping trip, has a structure similar to the autumn session.
