About the Program

The I Think Green Program engages youth in investigating how living things interact with each other and with their environment. This program includes four tracks: 1) worms, 2) butterflies, 3) insects and 4) Nature Detectives. All four tracks are aligned to Illinois State Goals and follow a sequence of four 40-60 minute investigations in which youth practice observation skills, conduct hands-on investigations with living things, explore different life cycles, identify how living things function/adapt/change, and compare how living things interact with each other and with their environment.

Target audience: 3^rd-5^th grade students

The objectives of the program include:

• Develop youth skills in scientific observation
• Increase youth knowledge of concepts that explain how living things function, adapt, change and interact within the environment
• Increase youth awareness of the important role that "small things" play in the web of life
• Increase youth knowledge of the "small things" they can personally do to help protect the environment