“Discovery!” The call echoed through the wood, repeated and answered by a chorus of tiny voices: “Discovery!” “Discovery!” 

A preschooler gestured excitedly to an upturned log on the side of the walking trail. At first, the discovery was not easily visible, but as the teacher and rest of the class approached (and then crouched, as needed, to the perfect three-foot-high vantage point that four-year-olds hold effortlessly), it came into view—two June bugs. A hush came over the group as they watched. Then, a river of questions began to flow. “Are they burying themselves?” “Are they making a home in the log?” “Why are they called June bugs?” 

Each of the questions, and the well of curiosity they represent, provides a bridge for teacher Kendra Johnson to connect what students are experiencing to curriculum topics and skills. Because of that, announcing “discoveries”—like the June bugs—is an integral part of Nature Adventure, the class for four-year-olds that Johnson teaches at Minnetonka Preschool. 

“When I find something, I announce that I have a discovery, and students come over to see what it is. I also encourage the students to share when they have a discovery,” said Johnson. “Some of the best things we’ve found have been from preschoolers—a family of mice living in a log, mushrooms, ants and eggs, a baby bunny, and so much more!”

Now entering its third year, the class takes place three afternoons each week in the Minnetonka Community Education Outdoor Learning Center (OLC). Weather permitting, students stay outside for the entire three-hour class period, moving between the OLC, the playground and the nature trails that wind through the Deephaven woods along the shore of Lake Minnetonka. 

“The materials in these areas are different from what would be used in a traditional classroom, but children are still learning the same essential skills,” Johnson explained. This encompasses authentic literacy and math skills to fine motor skills to how to interact with their peers and solve problems. “Instead of reading about life cycles in a book first, we might find ants and eggs and discover this naturally. We can then read books to expand this knowledge in a way in which students are leading their learning and inquiring about the things they find.”

This type of experiential learning is not limited to one class, one age level or one subject area. Across the school district, Minnetonka students engage with their learning in hands-on ways, guided and supported by expert educators skilled in helping them to draw the connections between their experiences and the curricular goals they represent. 

“When we say something is ‘experiential learning,’ we mean that it is where the lesson meets real life,” said Minnetonka Schools Superintendent David Law. “Students connect what they learn in the classroom with real-world contexts, whether that is through a research project, a field trip, a visit with an industry professional, or working collaboratively with community leaders to address a challenge related to an academic subject area. It is a key component of how our District provides an engaging and personalized educational journey for each student.” 

This shows up in many forms and is offered both as specific programs, such as Minnetonka High School’s VANTAGE Advanced Professional Studies program and MOMENTUM Design and Skilled Trades program, and as an integrated extension of core curriculum. “By doing first, students acquire knowledge through the act itself—not out of my head to yours, but out of your doing,” said Diane Rundquist, director of advanced learning for Minnetonka Schools. “This is such an important role for teachers. They guide the ‘making meaning’ process and the reflection so that students have their ‘aha!’ moment.” 

Rundquist noted that facilitating experiential learning can feel like a risk, because there is always an element of the unknown as to where students’ curiosity may lead. “This is messy learning, and it takes time,” said Rundquist. Within the unknowns, experiential learning in Minnetonka Schools has essential curricular learning goals and state standards at its heart according to Steve Urbanski, director of curriculum.

“When students can make that connection and truly understand how a concept like civics or physics fits into and impacts their lives—when they can see how knowledge is a key that opens a door, or propels an idea—that’s when the magic happens,” Superintendent Law said. “We see excitement build and engagement bloom.” 

For 2024-25, registration for the Nature Adventure preschool class filled up in minutes. Across the District, the Language Immersion program is growing, and at the High School, the VANTAGE, MOMENTUM and Minnetonka Research programs continually expand their offerings to engage an ever-widening array of both student interests and industry needs, so that graduates will be prepared to make an impact in the dynamic world they will enter. 

Project THINK Offers STEM-based Problem-Solving Challenges for Elementary Students
Project Think is an experiential learning enrichment program in Minnetonka’s elementary schools that serves students in grades 3-5. The program was launched in 2014 to serve students with aptitude for tangible STEM-based problem-solving who may or may not be participating in other enrichment programs.

As part of the opportunity, students experiment, innovate and collaborate using the engineering design process to solve challenges. Small groups meet with a facilitator weekly for five to six weeks. More than 900 students participate annually. 

“Units include parachutes, roller coasters, prosthetics, bridges, skyscrapers, wind energy, boats, human-centered design, tree houses, and more. There are areas in science that connect back to and extend content areas, such as learning about energy and forces in our roller coaster, parachute, and boat units,” said Heather Baker, one of the founding Project Think facilitators. “Our prosthetics and human-centered design units help students to use empathy while creating prosthetics to build a fish tail, bird beak, elephant leg or prototype of a portable shelter for refugees. We challenge students to view problems from different perspectives and identify needs before jumping into a solution.”

Using the engineering design process, students talk about the challenges, brainstorm ideas, select solutions and then move forward with building, testing and improving their design. “Testing is eye-opening for many students who thought their initial design was the best solution,” said Baker. “They discover where their design is solid and where it needs improvement. They are often surprised and proud of how well their design ended up working with help from their teammates, improvements they made or new ideas that were sparked.” 

In addition to experiential science learning opportunities, Project Think helps students with teamwork, leadership and interpersonal collaboration skills. 

Podcast Project Elevates Middle School Student Voices 
Eighth grade students in District’s middle school Advanced Learning Seminar classes shared their voices during a unit called “Podcast Challenge: Let Your Voice Be Heard.” Working in small groups, students focused on discovering ways to connect their passions to the wider world. 

“Our goal was to keep students focused on our essential learning: ‘Contribute responsibly to the local or global community,’” shared Laura Frisbie, advanced learning teacher at Minnetonka Middle School West. “From sports to the history of the Space Race to ‘Gen Z slang, students selected a wide range of topics,” said MME advanced learning teacher Gina Nelson. “Some chose to do their podcast on their middle school’s annual fundraising event, the Water Walk for Haiti.”

Students dove into the unit head-first by researching and listening to podcasts while noting the aspects of different stories that resonated with them. “As far as the format went, once students identified a topic idea, they came up with a driving question that was meant to be their compass as they worked on the script for their podcast,” said Frisbie. Students were encouraged to consider multiple perspectives as they wrote their scripts to ensure their story acknowledged different viewpoints, and part of that process was thinking about different voices they could include. 

“The last phase was to work on the editing and sound mixing. Students used GarageBand for all of their sound and editing, and all music and sound had to be student-created,” said Frisbie. “At the end of the unit, all podcasts were published to our Schoology Discussion Board page, and students spent time reflecting and providing feedback to each other. They had the opportunity to listen to and analyze their own podcast, as well as to receive feedback from me and from their classmates.” 

Many students told Frisbie that the unit was the most meaningful project they had completed in middle school, and nearly two dozen went on to submit their final projects to the National Public Radio Student Podcast Challenge.

High School Students Log First Flight Hours in MOMENTUM Aviation
For Minnetonka High School students, the sky isn’t the limit—it’s just the beginning. In the 2023-24 school year, nearly 200 students participated in aviation courses as part of the transportation strand of the MOMENTUM Design and Skilled Program. This new program is designed to ignite a passion for aviation in students of all backgrounds. 

Students took to the skies this year, participating in “discovery flights” with local company Aloft Aviation at the Airlake Airport in Lakeville. This was thanks, in part, to MHS alumnus Carl Bergquist ‘77, co-owner of Aloft, who helped to provide the opportunity at a discounted rate for students. During the discovery flights, pairs of students flew with a certified flight instructor to get their first logged flight lesson.

“To see the incredible growth in student interest in MOMENTUM in just a few years’ time has been so exciting,” said Mark Ambrosen, MOMENTUM advisory board member, retired air traffic controller and former Minnetonka School Board member. “The new aviation track aligns with the program’s goal of preparing our students for future career opportunities in the trades. This is definitely opening doors for students to consider various aspects of aviation as a viable career option.”

The field experience also included rotational groups where students learned about aircraft operations, maintenance, commercial aviation, military aviation and more. Students could also take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and learn from Delta employees.

Students in the aviation program have the opportunity to earn a ground pilot/drone license by the time they graduate and work toward a private pilot’s license. Next school year, aviation classes will take place in the new VANTAGE/MOMENTUM Building. Three state-of-the-art flight simulators will provide unparalleled experiences for student learning, and a new course, “Flight Instruction Through Time: Navigating Aviation and World History,” will offer an interdisciplinary path for students to complete core academic credits while exploring careers in aviation.

Post-High School Students Build Skills through S.A.I.L. Business Project
Students in the Students Achieving Independent Life (S.A.I.L.) transition program have a new business venture. S.A.I.L. is a post-high school special education program available to students ages 18-22. 

Using crayons donated from elementary schools and sawdust recycled from MHS construction and wood shop classes, S.A.I.L. students create, market and sell fire starters. The business project gives students the opportunity to gain experience running a business model independently, while also raising funds to support S.A.I.L. student activities. S.A.I.L. students also bake and sell dog treats.

“I started thinking that we needed new products to sell. Teachers in the District gave us crayons to use for a different project, and we had a lot left over, so I thought, ‘What could we do with all these crayons? We decided to start selling fire starters,” said S.A.I.L. teacher Sarah Koopman, who helped to lead this year’s project. To make the fire starters, students melted the crayons together with sawdust they had received from the High School’s construction and wood shop classes. 

“Every student in the program has a job and contributes in some way to the business,” said Koopman. “We have students who manage inventory, purchasing and banking, students who create the products and students who do spin art to make our labels. I also have students who fill out the spreadsheet and keep track of our orders. It’s really fun to see students move between those levels of projects.”

Students are looking forward to testing out the products themselves, Koopman shared. “I’m going to bring in my fire pit, and we’re going to roast marshmallows in the backyard. I think for any of the projects that we do where there’s a product at the end, students look at it and say, ‘I made this. I’m really proud of it.’”