Chesapeake Bay Ecology Programs
Who Killed Rocky Rockfish Full Day Program, Grades 3-6
In this day-long, interactive environmental mystery for grades 3-6, students role play and conduct experiments to examine the possible roles of Solute Sally, Hot Water Harry, Danielle Debris, Oscar Osprey, and Brittany Ballast in the death of a local fish, Rocky. This day includes microscope use and experimentation in our chemical lab. Culmination of the experience includes a discussion on how students themselves can prevent almost all of these negative impacts upon our Bay.
Watershed and Runoff Models
Hands-on 3D models allow students to explore watershed issues such as run-off from rural and urban landscapes, storm drains, how the watershed affects the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and what students can do to improve their impact on the Bay.
Watershed Modeling
Students make homemade batches of playdough from salt, flour, and water, and then create a 3 dimensional model of Maryland’s topography to take home. This hands-on introduction to the mountains, plateau, and coastal plains of Maryland is then used to model how pollution on the land follows the path of water down into the Chesapeake Bay.
Water Quality
Students first hypothesize and then experiment with wet chemistry, hand held instruments, and field colorimeters (older students only) to determine important water quality parameters such as salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc. If timing allows, students can also make saltwater themselves in this station to better understand salinity. Water quality is taught as a determination of health and sustainability of the Chesapeake Bay.
Water Olympics
Students carry out a number of experiments to determine the unique properties of water. Comparison with another liquid, such as rubbing alcohol, enables the students to investigate cohesion, adhesion, water tension, and the molecular structure of water.
Marine Organism Dissections
Choice of: oysters, fish, crabs, and squid: Students use dissection kits to explore external and internal anatomy. Discussions include the physiological form and function, adaptations, economic impact, and ecological history that make each organism unique.
Interactive Eutrophication
Students learn the complicated process of eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay while playing the role of various components in the process: underwater grass producers, planktonic algae, bacterial decomposers, and consumer fish as they compete for resources of light, nutrients, and oxygen. The outcome of the game is altered when extra nutrients are added or the seasons change.
Population Dynamics/Adaptations
Students participate in a relay race, where they must collect food that is laying/floating in various substrates. In each round, the surviving food multiplies. Teams notice patterns of change as the population of their food source and the process of adaptation are revealed. Students are then asked to create their own super-organisms that is adapted to a particular environment, assigned by the instructor.
Native Gardening
Students learn the importance of native versus non-native species in Maryland, are introduced to the environmental impact of local versus global food sources, and learn the role of plants in preventing runoff and absorbing extra nutrients that may harm the Chesapeake Bay. Depending upon the time of year, students will either plant in our MCEEC gardens or sow seeds to take home.