Biosphere

From Dawn Sherwood, Highland Springs HS, VA A teacher in Pennsylvania actually came up with this activity as part of his mercury presentation. It was such an incredible idea that I thought of using it with APES. I did NOT create this idea at all. Another teacher said that they use skittles to do the same thing.
 * Silver paper clips represent Mercury (or any other chemical) Green paper clip represents algae Blue (or some other color) represents something that eats algae - larvae or zooplankton Purple (or some other color) eats the Blue organism - bigger organism Red (or another color) eats the Purple - like a bass or an osprey
 * So...you roll a dice - this tells you how much mercury your single algae eats.
 * Ex. roll a 2 (green algae will have 2 silver paperclips on it)
 * Roll dice, this is how many ALGAE your zooplankton eat Ex. roll a 3 ( students will have to make 2 MORE algae paperclips with 2 silver mercury reps on EACH one)
 * Roll dice, this is how many ZOOPLANKTON your little fish (PURPLE) eat Ex. roll a 3 (students have to make 2 MORE zooplankton (BLUE) which each have the green and silver)
 * Roll dice, this is how many LITTLE FISH, your BASS (Red) eats Ex. roll a 5 (student has to make 4 MORE Purple organisms (with the same number of Blue, Green, and Silver)
 * Very quickly, students can see how numbers are INCREASING as you go up the food chain. You can have them graph or quantify how much mercury was found at EACH trophic level.

From: James Rodewald, Free online text called **"Conservation Biology for All"** at: []

From: Billy Goodman, Passaic Valley High School, Little Falls, NJ I sometimes have students work in small groups, outside of class, to put together a biome tour in Google Earth. For each biome they must write a description, including the usual stuff you would expect them to know, and include one or more pictures and a climatograph. I also ask them to find the distance of their representation of the biome to our high school. I'm interested in teaching them to use Google Earth, as well as reviewing the biomes. I don't spend time in class on biomes, but will include some test questions.

From: Wendy Mills I know there are similar projects for natural parks, but what about using a biome as a vacation destination. They could make a vacation package brochure...name of places or countries that contain the biome, weather, wildlife, recreational activities, etc,

**Subject:** FW: Saguaro National Park Electronic Field Trip - Desert Diversity - for grades 4 to 8 Good afternoon all. Although nothing compares to actually experiencing the world around us, sometimes electronic field trips are more practical. In California we have been fortunate to have the Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) available at @http://ports.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22922. I just received this information from Carolyn Hill with the National Park Foundation and hope you will share it with those who might find it of interest.
 * From: ** "Jim Greco" JGreco@cde.ca.gov

"We invite you to register now for the //free// Electronic Field Trip - Desert Diversity: A BioBlitz at Saguaro National Park - which will air live on Friday, October 21st at 1:00pm __ET__ and again at 4:00pm __ET__! (10:00am and 1:00pm Tucson time).

The companion website for the EFT that includes lesson plans for classroom use and interactive games for youth is now live at www.electronicfieldtrip.org/saguaro Here you will find tools to prepare students for their upcoming trip to Saguaro National Park. Take a hot air balloon ride to discover what animals live within the different life zones or learn how to conduct your own schoolyard BioBlitz! These companion resources cover some of the same skills scientist will be using during the BioBlitz to count and discover species living within the park, so check out the website today at www.electronicfieldtrip.org/saguaro

Please make sure that you “white list” our email - eft@nationalparks.org - so that you can receive our messages. You can also email us with any questions you may have in relation to EFTs at this address. And as a reminder if you wish to stream the webcast, please make sure you can access the show’s site, www.electronicfieldtrip.org


 * We look forward to seeing you in Saguaro a **** nd please invite your friends and colleagues to join the adventure! **
 * Registration at www.electronicfieldtrip.org . **

Carolyn Hill Director, Grants & Programs National Park Foundation 1201 Eye St, NW, Suite 550B Washington, DC 20005 PH: 202-354-6471 / FAX: 202-371-2066 chill@nationalparks.org