ChronicleOnline: CRMS students get hands-on experience
CRMS students get hands-on experience with the water cycle
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Cortnie Seymour, a Crystal River Middle School eighth-grader, shares her story about the water cycle with a group of Crystal River Primary School
Crystal River Middle School science students got more than their feet wet while studying the Floridan Aquifer and the water cycle.
Last month, they went on a snorkeling field trip to the Rainbow River, and a smaller group later put their knowledge to work teaching what they had learned to Crystal River Primary School kindergarteners.
The Rainbow River field trip gave eighth-grade students a hands-on view of where water comes from, why it’s important to conserve this resource and a better understanding of the water cycle.
Crystal River Middle School eighth-graders took a snorkeling field trip last month to the Rainbow River to learn more about the water cycle.
They participated in a lab at school in which they put plastic zipper bags over some leaves on trees to collect the water that trees give off, a process called transpiration. They created posters, door hangers and made bookmarks with water conservation messages on them. They watched a video about a group of scientists who went scuba diving in the Floridan Aquifer in Alachua County. They also created a poster listing the reasons that invasive plant species are bad.
During the boat trip, students learned more about the Rainbow River, such as how many gallons of water it produces, the local wildlife they might see, and more information about the springs they would explore. Students also had a chance to search for fossils such as shark teeth, animal bones and ancient artifacts such as arrowheads.
After lunch, they students participated in a community service, pulling hydrilla, an invasive species of plant, out of the Rainbow River. They examined the hydrilla for live animals such as crawfish, fish and shrimp so they could throw them back into the water. Park rangers bagged up the hydrilla to dispose of it properly.
To prepare for their trip to Crystal River Primary School, students spent many days writing and illustrating their children’s stories about the water cycle, seen through the “eyes” of a single drop of water.
Crystal River Primary School kindergarten teacher Tiffany Hengesbach looks on as Crystal River Middle School eighth-grader Kara Martin works with two kindergarten students.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District provided free children’s materials related to water conservation and the water cycle.
During the field trip to Crystal River Primary, 29 Crystal River eighth-graders visited six kindergarten classes. The eighth-graders read their stories and helped the kindergarteners with educational activities about water.
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