This past Tuesday, our first-grade students had an incredible visit to the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City. There, they captured plankton from the Bay by dragging a small container through the brackish water. Looking at the Bay water under an electronic microscope, the students learned about different types of plankton. Observing the image projected on a large screen, students searched for phytoplankton and zooplankton. First graders will be studying plankton and many other aspects of ocean life with Ms. Terri in mid-winter. Our students also sifted through mud they captured from the brackish water of the Bay to investigate what it contained.

In addition, the children touched different types of fish that are found in our San Francisco Bay water and learned to identify them. Some adjectives students used to describe the fish were slimy, flat, leathery, wavy like potato chips, beautiful, slippery, and fast! The day ended with children saving fish captured in a net and carrying them to a container filled with Bay water so that they could swim freely. The children discovered that it is not easy to transport a wiggling fish in their cupped hands! 

Our students loved being scientists for a few hours. Through their experience at the Marine Science Institute, they learned that to be a scientist, we sometimes have to get a little dirty to find clues about what is going on underneath the surface of the water.

Jeanne Bates First-Grade Language Arts Teacher