One Aquarium Way
Newport, KY 41071
The Finstitute: After School Aquatic Adventures
WAVE Foundation’s WAVE on Wheels education outreach programs are nationally award winning and proven to increase science literacy, understanding and student engagement. A grant from the Dater Foundation supported the launch of the Finstitute programs. The Finstitute was developed to enhance under resourced students’ after school experiences by reinforcing lessons from the classroom while developing social-emotional competencies inspired by live animals. Since the launch of the Finstitute nearly 9,000 students have been impacted through over 130 outreach programs. This after school program has become an incentive for students to come to school and stay after with the possibility to meet a shark, penguin or a stingray. More importantly, many of these students come back week after week allowing and build meaningful relationships with other participants. WAVE staff members foster relationships and trust between students to create positive experiences and engagement in the program content. Throughout the school year students become more invested in the program and therefore more excited to learn and work together. Students have begun to connect the Finstitute lessons to their community outside of school.
Below are a few responses from participants when asked to complete the sentence, “I intend to protect the environment by…”
• “Picking up trash in my community!”
• “Reusing items”
• “Teaching others how to help the world”
Click on any photo to enlarge.
