Science classrooms are overflowing with student investment at DCG Middle School.
“Hands-on projects are always awesome,” shares Emma Snow. “Experiments, that’s my favorite part of science.”
“When you see movies about people doing science, it looks so cool, “says Nolan Soyer. “Now you actually get to dig in.”
Fifth graders are digging into a brine shrimp enrichment project, bringing the ecosystem of Mono Lake in California, to a classroom in Dallas Center, Iowa.
“These shrimps, they are tiny little creatures, also known as a sea monkey,” adds Soyer. “They live in salt waters, and we are just trying to see what type of salinity levels they can live in.”
“I thought they needed to live in salty water, but it actually doesn’t have to live in that salty, adds Eli Foulk.
The brine shrimp project ties in perfectly to the science curriculum at DCG Middle School. Students are learning about ecosystem restoration and Earth systems.
“They get to see the eggs, they get to plan the experiment, they get to decide the salt level,” says Chris Grant, DCG Middle School Teacher. “Throughout the week, they made observations to see if any of the brine shrimp eggs hatched.”
Trial and error is part of every science experiment. At DCG Middle School, students are at a 50 percent hatch rate.
“I’m just hoping we can hatch them,” says Snow. “I’ve seen other groups hatch them and I’m kind of jealous.”
Even if the eggs don’t hatch, this unit is a success.
“It’s just so much learning, it’s fun,” adds Foulk.