Common phrases heard by teachers include "when will I ever see this again" or "how does this affect me" or "why is this important". We feel phrases such as these hold a great deal of value because they are commonly perceived negatively. If this is the case it will create a vital disconnection between facts and relevance, which can continue into adulthood where individuals are responsible for making decisions that not only affect themselves but, can affect neighbors, communities, regions, and/or nations.

This is important to HRI because at our institute, research is conducted in an interdisciplinary manner. Like teachers, we want to show how a pertinent topic spans across multiple discipline in order to target many different stakeholders who have the capacity to influence many different global issues. It all comes down to promoting humanity's common goal of preserving a future for our children, our children's children, and so on.

At HRI it is our goal to create and support interdisciplinary, relevant activities. This means that we want to assist the amazing efforts of teachers and educators in demonstrating to students how lessons learned in the classroom can be applied out of the classroom as well. All activities include a teacher's guide, a video demonstrating the activity, and corresponding student worksheets. We only ask that individuals fill out a two question survey before going to the Activities Page. This is so we can monitor how activities are being used. All information will be kept secure and private.

The activities page also contains links to educational, governmental, and non-governmental agencies that have partnered with HRI under the outreach project called Headwaters to Tidewaters. These partners provide amazing curriculum and instructional assistance. We highly recommend you check them out!!

Lastly, we are continuously trying to come up with new ideas and improve old ones therefore, all constructive criticism is welcome. Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your questions and/or comments.