Education
The Amazon Conservatory for Tropical Studies (ACTS) offers university and secondary school groups an unparalleled opportunity to engage in hands-on inquiry, exploration, and research in the 4,136-acre Napo-Sucusari private biological reserve in the Amazon rainforest.
During a visit to the ACTS Field Station, students have access to one of the world’s largest canopy walkway systems, allowing students to better appreciate the dynamic functioning of this amazingly complex ecosystem. Guided by our on-site staff naturalists, students can explore the Amazon rainforest as field scientists and:
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- Experience the excitement that comes with discovery;
- Elevate their interest and enthusiasm for learning about how the world works;
- Deepen their understanding of key concepts in content areas like ecology, biology, taxonomy, botany, ornithology, and entomology;
- Reflect on their own process of learning in unique, non-traditional settings;
- Actively participate in inquiry activities using the skills and tools of field science;
- Think about themselves as global learners and develop their identity as someone capable of contributing to what we know about our world.
For over 30 years, ACTS has hosted a wide range of student research expeditions, graduate- and undergraduate-level short courses, and multi-year educational initiatives. ACTSPeru was the site of the 1999 Jason Project X’s expedition to the Amazon involving a satellite broadcast that reached thousands of school children in North America and Europe.
Professional Development Opportunities for Educators
If you are a K-12 educational professional seeking a professional development experience like no other, consider joining the annual Educator Academy in the Amazon Rainforest hosted by the Morpho Institute in collaboration with ACTS.
This cross-curricular program uses the ACTS Field Station as one of its primary study sites and is designed to engage educators in hands-on investigations, citizen science research projects, and inquiry-based learning activities designed to deepen understanding of the rainforest ecosystem and its global importance. In addition, participants explore how rainforest concepts relate to 21st-century instructional models with direct applications to classroom instruction.
Facilitated by a team of university methods professors, visiting researchers, and natural history experts, the Educator Academy in the Amazon Rainforest will rekindle your sense of wonder; reinvigorate your passion for inquiry education; and redefine the words professional development.