Firsthand Learning

03/10/2026

Our school journals can be customized. Here’s how the Mass Audubon team and their award-wining school programs support hands-on student engagement of the natural world. 🐦

Our award-winning school programs bring the natural world to students through field trips, classroom explorations and more. Learn more at massaudubon.org/edu...

01/05/2026

Want to Ramp Up Student Engagement ? 👩‍🏫
Hoping to increase Parent Involvement ?

Consider incorporating Firsthand Learning Journals into your classroom or community center to strengthen critical thinking and increase problem solving skills. Learn more at firsthandlearning.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbx85LTRbhk

Want to Ramp Up Student Engagement ?Hoping to increase Parent Involvement ?Consider incorporating Firsthand Learning Journals into your classroom or communit...

08/27/2025

🎓We held our Closing Ceremony for our inaugural 2025 Soil Stewards Cohort at our main office in the Tri-Main Center

Students discussed and demonstrated their Capstone Project with fellow peers. There was a variety of projects discussed: creating vermicomposting bin for public demonstration, developing lesson plan and curriculum for university students, engaging neighborhood residents to learn about local soil health initiatives, and more. This culminates our virtual and in-person learning sessions. We are thrilled to see the cohort engage in their local neighborhoods and communities sharing knowledge about composting, organics recycling, and pollution prevention. Thank you to NYS Pollution Prevention Institute for the funding opportunity and the team including David at Firsthand Learning and co-facilitators Myles BFLO Worm Works and Sashti WeRadiate

Looking forward to creating future courses for soil stewardship across New York State. Rochester Institute of Technology

03/07/2025

🌍 Enroll into free 6-Week Soil Stewards WNY Course

Join this free 6-week e-learning Soil Stewards course with lessons and activities about soil health, pollution prevention, and organic waste management. Topics include: food waste prevention strategies, landfill diversion practices, and community action. The program includes two hands-on in-person sessions on weekends, and four virtual live trainings on weekday evenings. Participants 18 and older from Erie County (NY) & the City of Buffalo are welcome to apply. Applications close March 25, 2025.

Funding provided by the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute through a grant from the Environmental Protection Fund as administered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Any opinions, findings, and/or interpretations of data contained herein are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions, interpretations or policy of Rochester Institute of Technology and/or its NYS Pollution Prevention Institute, or the State.

WeRadiate

08/13/2024

🌱✨ Nature's classroom in session!

Students at Buffalo Public Schools (Lafayette International Community High School #207 - New) delve into hands-on lessons that bring science and gardening to life. Activities fostering curiosity and observations are recorded and shared within our Learning Journals encouraging students to develop nature-based knowledge through experiential learning. 🌟🌿

06/06/2024

"Writing by hand improves memory and recall of words, laying down the foundations of literacy and learning. In adults, taking notes by hand during lecture, instead of typing, can lead to better conceptual understanding of material."

📝 Research by Ramesh Balasubramaniam and Sophia Vinci-Booher, Ph.D. showcases the value of handwritten notes for student development.

From NPR:

Researchers are learning that handwriting engages the brain in ways typing can't match, raising questions about the costs of ditching this age-old practice, especially for kids.

06/06/2024

Our board member Peter is involved in a national effort using museums and open learning systems to support dialogue and democracy. 🏛

We’re in deep gratitude to all who attended our “Museums as Brave Spaces for Democratic Discourse” session last Thursday, the official kickoff of our Museums for Humanity series!

The virtual gathering was an insightful one, bringing professionals from over 15 cultural institutions together to discuss how they can take part in redefining community and co-creating the open learning systems that support dialogue and democracy, including the Institute at Colonial Williamsburg, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, Every Museum a Civic Museum, Firsthand Learning, the Heinz History Center, Intrepid Museum, Kansas City Museum, The Library of Congress, Museum of the American Revolution, National Park Service, National Portrait Gallery, National Women's History Museum, Ohio History Connection, The Henry Ford and the Open System Institute!

Thank you all for your participation and for taking part in forging new collaborative, humanity-centered museum solutions with new friends! Sign up to be notified about our next session happening in May: http://eepurl.com/iE_dQg

04/02/2024

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded citizen science project invites anyone who will be within the path of totality in the U.S. to take photos of the Baily’s Beads effect, which occurs when little points of sunlight pass through the valleys in between the mountains on the edge of the Moon 🌝

Draw and sketch the shape of the sun during the upcoming solar eclipse.

Calling all eclipse admirers! The SunSketcher team is looking for one million volunteers to capture photos on their cell phones during the April 8 total solar eclipse. These images will help scientists learn about the size, shape, and inner structure of the Sun. This NASA-funded citizen science proj...

03/01/2024

Home Beneath Our Feet is an organization using nature-focused curriculum to improve quality of life and seed development of children, youth, and adults. The students in their afterschool program received new Firsthand Learning Themed Journals supporting our hands-on learning approach.

Reach out to learn more about our Journal Donation Program.

Thank you to the Rich Products Foundation!🙂

01/22/2024

Fictional Characters Themed Journal 🦸

Firsthand Learning Themed Journals encourage users to make close observations and drawings to record their questions and ideas. Our Favorite Quote from Disney Themed Literacy Day: “Mom, I need 5 more minutes please - I am exploring.” - 5th Grader

Use this journal for films, movies, or cartoons and have students develop their favorite characters, write their own stories, and describe how they interact with others. We recommend the Fictional Characters journal for 4th - 6th graders.

View more topics on our Catalogue Page. Each Themed Journal is accompanied by a brief guide with helpful suggestions: https://www.firsthandlearning.org/catalog

01/10/2024

“Thank you so very much for our laboratory materials. We completed the Surface Features Laboratory Topic 5 session. The students were so excited and engaged. They worked for the whole period, thank you so much! I know you were very conscientious in making sure we received the supplies on time.”
- Ms. Nieves, Buffalo Public Schools 🦬

Learn why we engage students with real phenomena: https://www.firsthandlearning.org/whyjournals