Interest driven learning has the potential to enhance the inquiry based learning process by contextualizing curriculum as students investigate scientific questions, collecting and analyzing data, and construct reasonable conclusions relative to their interests. This paper presents a project and its findings that involved preservice elementary…

The Pelican's Nest, located near Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico, is a science center supported by a local educational foundation. Programs are geared toward marine wildlife and the coastal habitat with an emphasis on hands-on learning for students in grades K-6. The director of the science center conducts daily classroom labs and discovery trips…