New York Hall of Science (NYHSci) The New York Hall of Science is New York’s premier hands-on science and technology museum in Queens. Our students and staff have access to the Hall’s resources and technical equipment, including: BioTech Lab, MicroTech Lab, StarLab, and Trips to the Hall. M. S. 217 teachers participate in the Hall’s up-to-date training in science and technology. Students and their families visit the Hall, and some students choose to apply for internships at the Hall.www.nyhallsci.org/
Queens Museum of Art (QMA)
The Queens Museum of Art (QMA) introduces our students to contemporary art and the city’s built environment. Our in-class residencies and programs at the museum introduce our students to the language of art and the vocabulary of aesthetics. Our school’s focus on educating for sustainability, the nexus of the natural environment and the built environmental, is advanced through the museum’s major exhibit on the NYC watershed and the Panorama of the City of New York, the world’s largest scale model of a city. This past year, students in the Arts & Technology academy participated in a sixteen week in-class residency which culminated with an exhibit of the students’ prints and digital stories at the Queens Museum of Art. www.queensmuseum.org
Queens Botanical Garden (QB) Our partnership with the Queens Botanical Garden advances our goal to connect our students and staff to their natural ecosystem. Students and staff visit the garden for hands-on learning about biomes, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. This past year our partnership has resulted in the establishment of a pollinators’ garden at our school. Looking forward, students and staff will be working with the Queens Botanical Garden to establish an organic vegetable garden and school farm stand. http://www.queensbotanical.org
Urban Advantage. The partnership between our Math & Science Academy and Urban Advantage has benefitted all of our students and their families. Our partnership with Urban Advantage has provided access to professional development, supplies, in-class programs, and parent involvement programs with the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo, the New York Acquarium, YouthCan, and iEarn. http://www.urban-advantage.com/
In addition to the above-mentioned in-depth partnerships, our students attend trips all around New York City, including trips to Alley Pond Park Environmental Center, Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island, the Palisades, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dance recitals, Broadway plays, and architectural trips to public artworks and the newest buildings in green architecture.