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The BioLab officially opened for use by students in 2018. The lab is equipped to support many approaches to the study of biology and other components of the Earth system. The 8th grade aquaponics program is the anchor program of the BioLab, running 6-8 weeks every spring, involving 200+ 8th grade students maintaining 70 systems with a multitude of plants, fish and bacteria.
Current projects in the BioLab:
GEL ELECTROPHORESIS
May 2024
How do we separate molecules? As a final lab experience in 8th grade this year, students learned how to prepare and run electrophoresis gels loaded with test with samples. Electrophoresis is a laboratory technique used to separate nucleic acids, proteins and carbohydrates. In electrophoresis, an electric current moves molecules through a gel and separates them based on their size and their electrical charge. Electrophoresis is used in many biological applications to visualize, compare and identify materials
Measuring out the agar for the gel.
Pouring the gel around the comb creates sample wells in the cooled gel.
Electrophoresis starts with preparing the gel matrix.
Bubbles at the electrodes show the current is flowing.
Loading samples using a micropipette. A steady hand and proper technique are a must!
strawberry DNA Extraction
strawberry DNA Extraction
May 2024
8th graders completed their life science studies by investigating the molecules that carry the genetic information of an organism. Located inside the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, DNA is responsible for the development and functioning of the cell and the passing on of traits. The 8th grade life science unit includes genetics, heredity and evolution. Students learn about inheritance and variation of traits, unity, diversity and the role of natural selection in evolution. After all of their work on understanding how DNA functions, seeing it free of its cellular enclosure is powerful stuff.
Massachusetts STE Frameworks:
8.MS-LS3-3(MA). Communicate through writing and in diagrams that chromosomes contain many distinct genes and that each gene holds the instructions for the production of specific proteins, which in turn affects the traits of an individual.
Massachusetts STE Frameworks:
6.MS-LS1-3. Construct an argument supported by evidence that the body systems interact to carry out essential functions of life. Clarification Statements:
• Emphasis is on the functions and interactions of the body systems, not specific body parts or organs.
• An argument should convey that different types of cells can join together to form specialized tissues, which in turn may form organs that work together as body systems.
• Body systems to be included are the circulatory, digestive, respiratory, excretory, muscular/skeletal, and nervous systems.
• Essential functions of life include obtaining food and other nutrients (water, oxygen, minerals), releasing energy from food, removing wastes, responding to stimuli, maintaining internal conditions, and growing/developing.
• An example of interacting systems could include the respiratory system taking in oxygen from the environment which the circulatory system delivers to cells for cellular respiration, or the digestive system taking in nutrients which the circulatory system transports to cells around the body.
FROG DISSECTION
FROG DISSECTION
April 23-25, 2024 Schooner House, April 29-May 1 Light House, May 2,3 and 6 Harbor House
Why dissect a frog?
Frogs and humans are vertebrates with similar organ systems. Although all of the internal organs are not the same in frogs and humans, it is helpful to learn about anatomy through dissection. Computer simulations were available for students who chose not to participate in the actual dissection.
Some things we observed:
-A frog's coloring helps protect it from predators, both above and below.
-A frog has a large mouth with a tongue (attached at the front) used to capture insects.
-There are teeth!
-Frogs have large livers.
-Frogs have 2 lungs, located next to the heart.
-The frog's digestive system is similar to humans.
-Female frogs can carry A LOT of eggs.
-A cross section gives a different view of an organ.
-Discovering and identifying organs is rewarding.
Dissection is as much about teamwork and respect, learning new skills, bravery and exploration as it is about biological systems.
When students are asked why we dissect, they often say 'you can learn more this way'.
A closer look at an organ.
One, two, three, FLIP!
Observing and drawing each organ and organ system.
Ms Warren there for the assist.
Curiosity rules the day.
The biggest frog in the pail!!!
stream tables
stream tables
Grade 7, March 2024
Science Central has a fleet of 8, 7' x 2' continuous flow stream tables.
Watching a river take its course and experimenting with earthen controls provides insight into larger questions about engineering outcomes.
And it's way fun.
IMG_8165.MOVOnce a carefully dug S-turn canal, this now infilled and overrun stream spurs debate on what all parties watched happen just moments ago.
Yes, riprap is really a thing.
The theory...
...and it's practice made perfect!
Thumbs up for fresh lettuce from the grow beds.
Aquaponics-Salad Days
Aquaponics-Salad Days
February, 2024
The systems have been up and running for 8 weeks. It is time to do a final biomass measurement and enjoy the harvest. One surprise was the amount of root mass produced by the lettuce plants!
The roots are a part of the biomass!
8 weeks of daily fish feeding duty faithfully recorded by each group.
aquaponics-morning feed
aquaponics-morning feed
January 2024
The daily fish feed and system check before classes makes for a busy time in the BioLab.
IMG_8059.mov
The starting mass and length of each fish is measured and recorded.
Aquaponics-adding fish
Aquaponics-adding fish
January 2024
After a quick review of the transmission of sound through different mediums, students quietly measure and add fish to their systems.
Fish produce nitrogen in the form of ammonia, which will be taken up by the plants in the system once it is converted into nitrate by bacteria.
Students will monitor the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in their systems to ensure the health of their fish. Any spikes in ammonia or nitrite will require troubleshooting by the team.
Measuring fish length is a little tricky.
The system check includes light adjustments.
Feeding the fish becomes an 8th grade morning ritual.
Carefully lowering the fish into the system.
Using a triple beam balance to measure the starting plant mass.
Aquaponics-System building
Aquaponics-System building
January 2024
Students try out a new procedure for planting, using the recycled lumber tarps from their sail cars. The light blocking tarp is intended to keep the growth of algae at bay. An algal bloom will quickly deplete the nutrients and oxygen in the aquaponics systems.
Everybody's busy! More second use lumber tarp material is fashioned with marking, cutting and binder clipping, into light blocking, net pot carrying grow bed covers.
Aquaponics-Planting
Aquaponics-Planting
December 2023
8th graders spent the week before vacation starting seeds for the upcoming aquaponics unit. Students prepared the net pots using expanded clay pellets and coconut husk, then selected seeds to plant. Once their systems are built, the potted seedlings can move directly into their grow beds and be replaced as needed.
Moving seeds into pots with precision.
Planting guide.
Setting up for 2 systems is a lot of work!
AQUAPONICS
Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. In aquaculture, fish and other aquatic organisms are raised in controlled environments. Hydroponics is the growing of plants in a nutrient solution rather than soil. When the two processes are combined in aquaponics, the dissolved waste produced by the fish provides the nutrient solution for the plants. The plants, in turn, provide a filter for the water in the system by absorbing the waste.
8th grade students are working in groups of 3 to build, populate and maintain functioning aquaponics systems. Aquaponics offers a sustainable farming solution to the challenges of traditional agriculture which include impacts on land, water and resources.
Massachusetts STE Standards:
8.MS-LS1-5. Construct an argument based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
8.MS-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that (a) atoms combine in a multitude of ways to produce pure substances which make up all of the living and nonliving things that we encounter, (b) atoms form molecules and compounds that range in size from two to thousands of atoms, and (c) mixtures are composed of different proportions of pure substances.
TROUT HATCHERY: Updates
Trout Fan Club
Trout Fan Club
February, 2024
A stop at the trout hatchery is part of the morning routine. The trout are averaging 1 1/2 inches in length and becoming strong swimmers.
From Mass Wildlife:
Spring trout stocking has begun!
Spring trout stocking has begun!
MassWildlife will stock nearly 500,000 brook, brown, rainbow, and tiger trout across Massachusetts this year—nearly 455,000 will be stocked during the early spring. Visit Mass.gov/trout to get daily stocking updates and find a fishing spot near you. Stocking in southeastern waters started March 4 and other regions of the state will begin as soon as weather conditions allow. MassWildlife raises trout that are both fun to catch and delicious to eat at its five hatcheries in Sandwich, Palmer, Belchertown, Sunderland, and Montague.
2024 spring trout stocking stats:
75% of trout will be over 12 inches
40% of trout will be over 14 inches
800 18”+ retired brood brown trout and 600 retired brood brook trout will be stocked
About 2,900 tiger trout will be over 14 inches
IMG_8479.MOVSwimming and Feeding
Swimming and Feeding
February, 2024
The trout are on the move. They are an inch in length and feeding at the surface. Our Wilson Intern, Sarah, is monitoring the water chemistry of the hatchery and making adjustments to alkalinity and hardness. Adding bacteria to the water is helping with nitrite breakdown.
Sac fry nestled in the gravel.
THE Eggs have hatched!
THE Eggs have hatched!
December 26, 2023
The trout eggs have been hatching over the course of the last 10 days, and now all of the eggs have hatched. The hatched fish, now called alevin or sac fry, dropped from the egg platform into the gravel at the bottom of the tank. The sac fry will stay in the gravel as the yolk sac is absorbed. This will take 2-3 weeks.
TEACHING WITH TROUT
December 15, 2023
Dan Marchant, Fish Culturist and Hatchery Manager at The Roger Reed Fish Hatchery, delivered 200 brook trout eggs to the Science Center as Part of Mass Wildlife's Teaching with Trout program. The program is designed to teach Massachusetts students about concepts related to local aquatic resources. Topics of study include ecology, population biology, water quality, and conservation.
The eggs were delivered in the eyed stage, meaning the eye pigment is visible through the shell of the egg. Hatching should occur within the next week.
Dan Marchant, fish culturist, with the eggs.
Trout eggs rest on a platform in the tank.
Getting a closer look at the thermometer.
Heating earth's surface
Heating earth's surface
November 2023
How do the heating and cooling rates of sand and water compare? 8th graders use quantitative data to compare the heating and cooling rates of sand and water. Temperature differences, created by differences in heat capacities, create pressure differences in the air above land and water. The lab helps build an understanding of one of the causes of the global circulation of air masses. Students also witness first hand the tremendous heat capacity of water, and gain a better understanding of the ocean's ability to store and distribute energy. On a local level, the unequal heating of Earth's surfaces can explain the land and sea breezes we experience.
Massachusetts STE Standards:
8.MS-ESS2-5. Interpret basic weather data to identify patterns in air mass interactions and the relationship of those patterns to local weather.
8.MS-ESS2-6. Describe how interactions involving the ocean affect weather and climate on a regional scale, including the influence of the ocean temperature as mediated by energy input from the Sun and energy loss due to evaporation or redistribution via ocean currents.
Reading the water and sand temperatures every minute.
Plant anthers, stigma and pollen at 30x.
Flower Power Under the Microscope
Flower Power Under the Microscope
September 2023
7th graders begin their studies of flower reproduction with a review of microscope use.
Student flower dissection can involve using the digital cameras.
7.MS-LS1-4. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures increase the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants.
Phoenix House students brush up on their microscope skills
Students teaching the teacher! Mr Destino gets a lesson on magnification.
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