Investigating the Smallest Size Rock: Clay!

2nd graders are finishing up their unit on Pebbles, Sand and Silt by investigating the smallest size rock...clay.  It is so small, that you can't isolate one grain.  We described how it felt, looked and even smelled. 

We then made two balls of clay and put the larger ball into a paper cup and the smaller ball into a vial filled with water.  We made predications about what the clay would look like the next science class.

It was not a surprise to most of the 2nd graders, that the following week, the clay in the paper cup was hard. Hard as a rock! They were surprised that even though the clay was hard, it still could break!  We put a little water into the cup to see what would happen....the clay softened up again.

The clay in the water broke apart and settled in the bottom of the vial.  The water changed from milky looking to clear!

It's always fun to play with clay no matter how gooey it is!

Citizen Scientists in Action!

As of last week all six 2nd grade classes have gone to Pier 5 at Brooklyn Bridge Park to check on our oyster research station (ORS).  We not only measured the oysters, but we gathered data on the water and air temperature, the salinity level of the water, noted the tide and the water conditions! The data we collected will be submitted to the Billion Oyster Project next week!  Nice work 2nd graders!

Low tide.

High tide and wet weather!

High tide.

 

Hauling up the ORS.

The ORS doesn't touch the bottom.

How many are alive?

We counted 58 live oysters.

A black fish was in our ORS.  Don't worry, we were able to
throw it back in the water.

The little jelly like dot on the shell is a sea anemone.

A little amphipod. 

 

Measuring the salinity level.

Back into the water they go.

See you in the spring!

Billion Oyster Project!

Second grade is excited to become citizen scientists.  We are joining the Billion Oyster Project (BOP)!  BOP is coordinated by the New York Harbor School whose goal is to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor by 2035. 

I went to two training sessions at BOP on Governors Island to learn how to care for the oysters that will be in our oyster research station (OPS).

Leaving Manhattan.

15 minutes later, Governors Island.

The oyster nursery at the Harbor School.

Oysters filtering the water.

We went out on pier 101 to learn the protocol for measuring the oysters in the ORS.

Lots of life on this ORS!

We found a crab living amongst the oysters.

We have to count the oysters that are living
and then measure the length of those oysters.

Our oyster research station (ORS) will be located at Brooklyn Bridge Park where we will observe, measure and record data and then share it with BOP.

Our ORS is at the "cut out" near Pier 5!

A week before our first field trip to Brooklyn
Bridge Park, I met with the BOP team who
brought the oysters.

We put 4 bags of oysters in the ORS. The oyster on the bottom
has a blood worm on it.

The ORS is secure.

Into the East River they go. Do your thing oysters!

A shrimp and some oyster drills (not so good for our oysters) were left behind. I put them back in
the water.

Two more trips to Governors Island and back to get oysters for a tank in our classroom and learn how to care for them!  

Let the learning begin!