Students will encounter a real-world environmental dilemma at Big Falls County Park, observe ecosystem interactions, and develop focused, investigable research questions with predictions to guide their upcoming investigation about the proposed data center.

Students will design a clear, step-by-step investigation plan to answer their ecosystem research question about how a data center near the river might affect plants, animals, or water in Big Falls County Park. They will choose an approach that matches their question, identify variables or materials, create a data collection plan, and revise their method after peer feedback before beginning data collection in Phase 3.

Students will systematically collect and document investigation data about water quality and habitat changes related to a proposed data center near Big Falls County Park. They will record conditions, observations, and anomalies in their River Research Notebooks, check their methods for accuracy, and prepare organized raw data for later analysis.

Students will interpret their water filtration and habitat investigation data, create visual representations to reveal patterns, discuss multiple interpretations with peers, and develop preliminary findings that connect evidence to their research question about how a data center could affect the Big Falls ecosystem.

Students will draw evidence-based conclusions about how a data center could affect the ecosystem at Big Falls County Park, clearly explain their methodology and findings, acknowledge limitations, generate new questions, and present their investigation to an authentic audience at the River Guardians Fair.