Book Your Spring 2023 School Trip Now!

**Booking requests are now open for Spring 2023 Science Floats** Our spring 2023 school science float dates are tentatively set from early April to mid-June. Spring Float Booking requests are only accepted through the link below.

 

To request a spring school science float for your class, please fill out our form HERE. To ensure the best possible experience, we request that you request at least two time periods you would like to float. Please know that a request does not confirm that your float has been booked. After you fill out this form, you will receive an email in mid-February with the opportunity to confirm your final dates. Pricing details will be shared at that time (although there are no changes from the previous year.)  Thank you to our School Science Float lead sponsors who make this educational experience possible: the City of Calgary and EPCOR! *PLEASE NOTE: Float dates are subject to change due to river conditions, weather and other factors.

Booking Update – Feb 1st, 2023: We are experiencing an extremely high number of school float requests for the spring season. RiverWatch will grant school requests until the program is full. Priority is given to bookings based on a first come – first served basis and those classes that were re-scheduled from the fall due to float cancellations. RiverWatch will make every possible effort to meet all spring school float requests. However, due to the high volume, we may be unable to fulfill every request.

Our Waitlist Policy: Once the program is full, the remaining school requests are added to a waitlist based on when the request was received, and the teachers will be notified via email. All waitlisted classes/teachers will be notified by mid-February. RiverWatch does have cancellations from schools. Once a spot opens up, you will be notified via email and given the opportunity to book that date. If you do not accept that date, staff will contact the next school on the waitlist until the date is filled.

Thank you for choosing RiverWatch for your class’s science float experience. We are committed to providing a safe, memorable and educational experience for your students and look forward to welcoming you aboard.

Improvements to our class booking experience: This year at RiverWatch, we have emphasized improved communications and ease of booking for all teachers this season. Consistent and reliable communications are fundamental to building strong relationships with our education partners. To this end, we are implementing several changes to make your experience with RiverWatch as seamless as possible, including:

• A centralized booking system for all schools, including a dedicated and responsive staff member to handle all school bookings.
• A new online school booking platform (similar to Eventbrite, but better!) where you can manage your class reservations, make changes, view weather updates, and download any necessary materials or documents in advance via a desktop or mobile app!

Our 2023 operations plan is currently being set, and final spring float schedules are being established and aligned with our staffing needs. Once again, you will be notified of your float date and given the opportunity to confirm by mid-February.

Welcome to RiverWatch Science Floats – Your Classroom On The River!

The best way to study a river is by taking your science classes on a float trip aboard our large inflated rafts fully-equipped as floating laboratories! Our award-winning education programs align DIRECTLY with the curriculum and have been a go-to resource for Alberta secondary science classes since 1995. Check out our junior high, and high school course and unit curriculum links HERE. With an amazing focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), students explore their local river ecosystem aboard rafts equipped as mobile water quality laboratories. A day of rafting takes the student classroom into the real world to experience an interesting mix of ecology, wildlife, history, geology, engineering, technology, industry, water quality monitoring and data collection. Our programs showcase science in ways students have never seen before, creating an experience they’ll never forget! Safety and participant comfort is the priority in all our programs. Check out all our safety protocols HERE. Over the years, more than 150,000 students have adventured out with us to become young scientists for the day. 

Thank you to our school science float sponsors EPCOR, The City of Calgary, Nova, and our other partners listed below for making these experiences possible for students and local schools!