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Trout in the Classroom

Written by John Hayes on .

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In a classroom aquarium at McKnight Elementary School in McCandless, beautifully speckled brook trout swim among the aeration bubbles.

What's the right age to start teaching kids about the outdoors? I've camped with friends who brought infants in playpens, and in my family outdoors education begins with the baby on a blanket on the grass.

The state Fish and Boat Commission and Department of Education believe elementary and middle school is a suitable time to get kids involved in the Trout in the Classroom project. 

A "trout blog" posted by teacher Christian Shane at McKnight Elementary School charts his student's participation in the program, and includes aquatic biology information that may be news to their parents. The brook trout videos narrated by the kids are priceless -- worth a click. 

Read Shannon Nass' story about McKnight Elementary's Trout in the Classroom program.

And read my story about the statewide Trout in the Classroom program at the Post-Gazette's Outdoors page.

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