Update on the Triops

As promised, here are some pictures of Triops.

Our trip to the Frog Pond

Today our class went to the frog pond behind Shedd Park.  We saw two Mallard ducks (a male and a female) with two turtles on a rock.  As we moved around the pond, we found lots and lots of snails.  Mrs. McDermott heard a frog and we went to investigate.  We found three frogs, but they were all too fast for us.  We also found a baby turtle, but it dove under the tall grass and we could not catch it.  When it was time for us to go, we saw another turtle and frog, but it was too late.  In the end, we caught one large snail and one baby snail.  We brought them back to the classroom for further observation.  We will return the snails to the pond at the beginning of next week.  We will also return to the frog pond at another time to see if we can find some tadpoles or frogs.

Life Science

Our Triops are growing so fast.  We have three Triops that are about an inch long each and one Fairy Shrimp swimming in the tank.  Today, our class read about three classifications of plants; flowering plants, conifers, and ferns.  We then went outside and used our collection containers to collect samples of each.  We even saw a Garter snake along the way.
On Friday, our class will be visiting the Frog Pond (behind Shedd Park) to observe local animals and collect live specimens to observe in class.  We hope to find tadpoles, snails, and maybe some small frogs.

In Memory of Furball

Sadly, our caterpillar Furball passed away during school vacation.  He is missed in our classroom.

Triops

Our class also has several other pets, they are called Triops.  Triops are descendents of the Trilobites that lived during prehistoric times.  They are crustaceans (like lobsters and crabs).  Our Triops just hatched this morning and they are too small to be seen with our web camera.  Right now they are translucent and only one centimeter long.  We will post pictures as they get larger.

Furball

Our classroom has a new pet.  Her (or his, we are not sure) name is Furball.  Her whole name is Princess Furball Adjustment.  Furball is a "Wooly Bear" caterpillar.  She will become a Tiger Moth.  Students in our classroom have been bringing in fresh green grass for Furball to eat and sticks for her to climb on.