Homeschoolers – Day 4

Today was the last day of the homeschoolers program for this season.  We had 31 students from Kindergarten to Grade 9 participate in the program this morning and receive their certificates of participation. 

The Grade 6+ students were the first in the lab.  They did an experiment that showed how the temperature of water creates currents in the ocean.  The analysis question that created the most discussion was, “Is it easier for a human to swim in warm or cold water?”.  The students had lots of great ideas.

Next in the lab was the Kindergarten to Grade 2 students.  The topic of the lab was skates so each student got an empty skate egg case to observe and feel.  Then the students gathered around the mini-touch pool to see the egg case with the baby skate and its yolk still inside and to touch the juvenile skate.  We talked about the different parts of the anatomy while everyone gently touched the back of the skate.  To finish up the students made a skate egg case craft.

The final lab of the morning was with the Grade 3-5 students and we discussed seaweed.  As part of the activity the students went ‘shopping’ and then checked the ingredient label of their products to see if any contained carrageenan, alginate, or agar (aka seaweed).  Altogether the students found about thirteen products containing seaweed, including bagel chip crackers, ice cream, toothpaste, hot cocoa mix, and yogurt.  I think we concluded that everyone had eaten some seaweed recently without even knowing it.  To finish off the lab the students got to sample some Grand Manan dulse.  A number of the students even had seconds!

When not in the lab today the students watched the movie Blue Planet – Tidal Seas and completed some worksheets around the aquarium about skates, invertebrates, and the Bay of Fundy.   

We would like to thank Susan, our wonderful volunteer, Andrea for kick starting the program, and all of the students and parents that participated in the program.  We look forward to seeing you all again!       

Making sure the water is the proper temperature for the experiment.

Cold (blue) water flowing on the bottom and hot (red) water flowing on the top.

Working on the skate craft.

The finished craft with a real skate egg case beside it.

Checking the labels for seaweed derived ingredients.

Loving the dulse!