Our students got an exciting opportunity to discover
sea life of all shapes and sizes at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature
Center. Equipped with large nets, the fourth grades waded through seagrass beds.
They dragged the nets along the bottom for 10 seconds and then brought up a plethora
of different sea creatures such as puffer fish, parrot fish, sea urchins,
crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. Our guides helped to identify each creature and
then reserved the finds for later. After thirty minutes of dragging the nets, they
got to learn a little more about what they found. The guides described each
species in detail and passed the sea life around so they could examine
interesting features of each one like the male pike fish carrying eggs, the
decorator crab decorating his shell with the sea sponge, and the tube feet and
spines of the sea urchin. After each species was examined, they were released
gently back to their homes. This rich ecosystem proved to be a rewarding learning
experience for our fourth graders.
