First Day Recap

Today was the first day of Water Worlds! In the morning, we played a shell classification game to become familiar with identifying natural objects. They learned about dichotomous keys, a method of classifying natural objects often used in field guides. The students grouped the shells together according to texture, shape and color and created their own dichotomous key by making questions to narrow down the shells into unique groups.


Next, students pretended to be water molecules in a game called "The Incredible Journey." Students visited 9 different stations representing all of the places on earth where water can be found. At each station, students placed a colored bead onto a pipe cleaner so that later, they could remember the order of each station visited. Students had to roll a dice to determine their next destination. The student water-molecules often got "stuck" at the ocean station, but this taught students how hard it is for a single-water molecule to evaporate and leave the ocean.

Much to our surprise, we were stuck inside the Finger Lakes Institute because of two black bears on the HWS campus. The colleges provided us with a van so we wouldn't have to walk across campus for lunch. Read more about today's bear sightings: http://www.hws.edu/news/update/showrelease.asp?id=27281



After lunch, HWS Professor Megan Brown taught the students about phytoplankton and zooplankton. We walked to the Bozzuto Boathouse on the Seneca Lake Shore and conducted plankton tows. The students used the same equipment as Professor Brown in her plankton research. Students also recorded the temperature of the lake: 38 degree Celcius in the sun and 25 degrees Celcius in the shade.



















Most of the students wanted to jump in the water because it was so hot outside, but instead we went back to the plankton lab at the Finger Lakes Institute to look at the plankton they caught. Professor Brown described the different types of plankton to the students. She brought in her own samples of plankton collected from the middle of Seneca Lake late at night to show the student types of plankton they wouldnt see off the shore of the lake. Students enjoyed seeing the microscopic critters under the microscopes.
















Students are keeping nature journals in which to document the things they learn about water. Students shared their entries and pictures with each other. I hope to post some of their entries on the blog, so stay tuned!