Students become scientists for a day along the Hudson

Out of the classroom and into the great outdoors.

"You get to see fish, and it’s fun, and you don’t have to do math," said Flora, a 4th grader from the River Run Montessori School.

Flora is one of almost 4,000 students taking part in hands on lessons all along the Hudson River on Thursday as part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program’s 19th Annual "Day in the Life of the Hudson" event.

Students helped gather data for DEC scientists while learning about the fish that call the river home, monitoring water chemicals and learning about how the tides help shape the river’s biologically rich ecosystem,

"The Hudson River is a tidal estuary, and all the way up to the Troy Dam here, the river is influenced by the tides. Many children don’t actually know about that and this is a great way of showing the connection of the Hudson River to the ocean," said Sean Mahar, Chief of Staff for DEC.

Mahar says not only does the annual event help them gather important data, but it also teaches students the importance of helping to preserve the river.

"It really gives them a snapshot at how the DEC experts here look at environmental characteristics and plan our protection efforts overall," said Mahar.

NewsChannel 13 caught up with students from the River Run Montessori School at the Corning Preserve Boat Launch. Students from 1st grade through 4th had the opportunity to be scientists for the day, with the hope that some will become scientists for life.

Students like 1st grader Ruby, who now knows the difference between a bluegill sunfish and a pumpkin seed sunfish.

"I put them in the bucket," said Ruby, "They feel like soft and kind of like slimy and bumpy," said Ruby.