Our planet is facing unprecedented environmental challenges. To meet those challenges, young people must develop an understanding of and a love for the environment. ISW offers students the opportunity to study our planet using the Shenandoah Valley and our beautiful mountains as their lab. Our science teachers use an inquiry-based science curriculum (developed by the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian) that encourages students to examine open-ended questions and to explore the natural world.
ISW also promotes the enjoyment of the natural world for its own sake. We often hold classes outdoors, and we use school field trips extensively to get us out of our chairs and into the larger world.
Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.
John Dewey
