What are Discovery Projects?
East Mountain High School embraces the importance of experiential learning as a key to achieving excellence. Students become more engaged in their learning when they have opportunities to apply classroom skills to real world situations. Discovery Projects, two week units of in-depth experiential learning that take place each May once traditional classes are completed, are a cornerstone of this principle. Each freshman, sophomore and junior completes a Discovery Project annually. Teachers develop the projects in an area of expertise, and students sign up to participate in the project they find most interesting.
In previous years, students have worked with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter to rehabilitate a home in the East Mountains, built a peace garden on the EMHS campus, studied human physiology while earning their scuba diving certification, traveled to Spain to immerse themselves in a foreign culture and language, designed their own video games and wrote and illustrated their own children’s books. Recent graduates cite Discovery Projects as among the most valuable, and challenging, components of their EMHS education.