After a very cold and wet spring we have had a string of sunny warm days. The water is starting to warm up and that means more explorations at the beach.
The other day a request came in to take our tank over to the beach so we could set up a tide pool for some up close observations... great idea!
They collected some sea weed that was attached to little rocks.
Found some crabs and other ocean dwellers.
Placed them all in the tank with some sand and water... then watched.
It took a bit of time for the water to settle and for everone to get comfortable but they got to see the crabs back down into the sand, the periwinkes slide across the sea weed, clams filter feed (they named the one above Black Beard), along with many other tiny creatures they had never noticed in the water before.
I am sure we will be doing this throughout the summer and I imagine the microscope will be coming across the street with us too!
- If you don't have a tank a glass pitcher would do the trick or even a one gallon mason jar. Just make sure you are allowed to bring glass on your beach.
- If using a smaller container change the water out often throughout the observation period to keep it cool... the water in the jar will warm up quickly.
- We use our tank for lots of different kinds of observations... from beach to pond to forest. If you would like one of your own you could try scanning web sites like freecycle or craigslist to see you you can find a free or inexpensive tank.
- Be sure to return all the creatures you observed to the locations where you found them.
- If you are not near a beach you could also do this at a creek or pond. It is amazing the creatures you can find living in pond mud!
Happy observations!
~Dawn