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2026 Mississippi River Institute featuring Waters to the Sea™
2026 Mississippi River Institute featuring Waters to the Sea™
Free for Educators!
July 21-23 | Minneapolis and St Paul, MN
Join us for the Mississippi River Institute (MRI)—a free professional development program located in Minneapolis and St Paul, MN, designed to inspire, educate, and engage educators through experiential, inquiry-based science and engineering investigations around the Mississippi River. We are happy to announce our continued focus on the urban water cycle and the natural water cycle! This includes stormwater and wastewater education.
Activities
Activities
Explore the Mississippi River by land at Crosby Farm Regional Park, Waburn Picnic Area, and Hidden Falls Regional Park.
Explore the Mississippi River by water aboard the Magnolia Blossom Paddle Boat.
Explore the ‘built’ water cycle by touring the MetCouncil’s Water Resource Recovery Facility.
Hear from expert presenters about the Mississippi River.
Conduct inquiry-based science investigations of river habitats.
Design solutions to engineering challenges based on water issues such as stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water.
Make scientific observations in the field and learn strategies to use science notebooks in the classroom.
Share strategies to help students "think like a scientist and design like an engineer."
Engage with rich multimedia learning tools such as Waters to the Sea™
Integrate community science to clean our waterways using the Adopt-a-Drain Program.
Each Rivers Institute Participant will receive:
Each Rivers Institute Participant will receive:
3 full days of instruction
18 Continuing Education Credits
Lunch each day
Exposure to the Waters to the Sea™ multimedia tools, Adopt-a-Drain Program, and other online resources for the classroom
Wastewater lesson plans and a new Children's Book about the 100 year clean-up of the Mississippi River
The option to purchase two graduate-level credits at the reduced rate of $200/credit from Hamline University
Teachers also have the option to receive:
An Adopt-a-Drain Classroom Kit (worth $500) to use with their classroom. Kits will be mailed to classrooms in the fall.
Eligibility
Eligibility
All K-12 formal and informal educators are welcome to apply!
Funding
Funding
The 2026 Mississippi River Institute is funded through the generous financial assistance of our donors. With their ongoing support we enable hundreds of teachers to improve the way they understand and teach science, and help thousands of students connect with the natural world.
Contact
Contact
Sara Robertson
Program Administrator
srobertson01@hamline.edu
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