Launching a Revised and Improved Website, Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) www.outdoorbiology.com

We are excited to announce the launch of the improved website for the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS). OBIS activities, developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s at the Lawrence Hall of Science, provide hands-on outdoor experiences that engage students in the local environment. OBIS can be used to extend FOSS modules and courses. For example, if you are teaching the FOSS Structures of Life or Environments Modules, consider teaching the OBIS Food Chain Game or Population Game to simulate animal behaviors and population dynamics students are studying in class. If you are using the Insects and Plants Module, try Litter Critters.

The new OBIS website includes thumbnails of the front page of each activity. You can search for activities by ecological concept, type of study site, and type of activity. The website will highlight various activities and share stories from the field about how teachers use activities with students, and offer a Leadership Guide suggesting strategies for taking your students outdoors. You will find a calendar of OBIS workshops being offered around the country.

The OBIS Program is designed to engage students outdoors in ecological study. The outdoors becomes a laboratory where the OBIS activities provide the experiences that help children develop an understanding of basic ecological concepts through exploration and simulations. Many activities can be done in the schoolyard, as well as various other outdoor locations.

Stay connected to FOSSweb for FOSS module links to outdoor investigations and OBIS. As school begins this year and FOSS investigations are stimulating your student’s science fascination, keep their environmental attention as well by going outdoors and doing OBIS!