Living Classrooms

Academic Programs –> Living Classrooms Foundation Boat Trip –> Ms. Dalton's class, Burrville E.S.

Living Classrooms Boat Trip

This program introduces students to an aquatic food web. The highlight is a boat trip on the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers conducted by Living Classrooms. During this trip students catch and identify fish, dissect clams, and use a microscope to examine plankton - all while enjoying stunning views of their city! Students prepare for the trip with classroom activities that teach them to distinguish carnivores from herbivores, describe the characteristics and role of plankton, and explore the interconnected nature of an aquatic food web. While on the boat, students also learned about buoyancy by building small boats.

See any plankton? With guidance from a Living Classrooms educator, students look for signs of plankton in the water sample they just pulled from the river. (top left)

While visiting the captain in the wheelhouse, students use binoculars to spot birds and animals along the river. (top right)

Students dissect clams. (right)

Students place river water on a slide as they prepare to use a microscope to look for plankton. (below right)

"Ready on the net!" Students stand ready to throw the fishing net into the river. (below left)