Wow where has November gone! What do you think about the whole month of November? Eating Turkey with the sides right! What will that be like on Mars? Turkeys require more feed and space, so it makes sense to take chickens at first. There will be no grinders for wheat at first either, so no flour for rolls, but it might be possible to have vegetables. NASA is currently growing veggies on the ISS (International Space Station) to learn about growing plants in space.

How does this apply to what we are doing in science class!?! Well, November has been a month "There are more than 1 breed of chickens?!" "You have chickens that just lay eggs, but you don't eat them?!" If the first Thanksgiving Chicken on Mars will be meat the students have to think carefully about the breeds of chickens they are taking with them. However, Thanksgiving is only one day a year and we will need more chickens for the following year along we eggs for breakfast everyday.

Allison Walker from Randolph Cooperative Extension dropped off 2 incubators for us with local eggs to incubate. She taught students about how to care for eggs and gave them some information to think about when creating their chicken coops. Each student has been charged with being the "Mother Hen" and responsible for the tasks of the mother from turning the eggs, watching the humidity, just short of sitting on the eggs. We candled our eggs on Day 8 and students were amazed at the egg having a living creature inside the egg. How could an egg have a living creature inside it? Even though many of these students have backyard chickens, they purchase their eggs from the store. This aha moment was fun to watch as the students watched the embryos dance inside the egg.

Joe Allen a local heritage poultry producer, spoke with the students about different breeds and the positives of those breeds. Students ask great in depth questions about the needs of the chickens and how they needed to be housed.