| SERC Scientists and Their Equipment |
Grades 2-12 |
1-2 Hr |
This program is an introduction, for students, about the research, laboratories, and equipment used by SERC scientists. Students would be given a first hand opportunity to handle some of the equipment used at SERC as an interactive component of the program.
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Participants will learn about the Chesapeake Bay in this hands-on lab, with activities that can be modified to meet the needs of your students. Our educator will bring a box of bay water, soil, a oyster basket, and settling plates into your classroom.
Participants will conduct water sampling and learn about salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrates, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. Then you will have a choice of looking at creatures that live on oyster shells in an artificial reef environment (crabs, clams, worms, etc..), examining and identifying plankton from the bay water, or looking at the organisms living on settling plates from the Bay.
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This program introduces students to the biology and ecology of blue crabs through fun activities and games. We will include their morphology, developmental stages (from zooplankton to adult), and the importance of blue crabs in the Bay as more than just a source of food for humans. Students will also learn about blue crab migration and research being done at SERC in our Fish and Invertebrate Ecology Lab.
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| Bay Invaders: Invasive Species in the Bay |
Grades 4-12 |
1-2 Hr |
Invasive species are quickly becoming problems in the Bay's watershed. Students will learn what makes an invasive species, how they take over, and what Smithsonian researchers are studying here in the Ballast Water Clearinghouse for the nation. We'll play a game that illustrates these critical issues, and why learning about invaders is important.
| Design Your Own Plankton Competition |
Grades 2-12 |
1-2 Hr |
Plankton is a hard concept to teach in the classroom, but in this program it's fun and easy! We'll explore the different types of plant and animal plankton and their importance in the Bay. Then, teams of students will design their own plankton to see if they can make it float, in the 'photic zone,' or middle of a column of water, and compete to test their ideas.
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