Ecosystems

Level: Grades 2– 8

All creatures live in a web of resources that suport or suppress their growth. Create a dynamic model of an insect’s or bird’s world. Suspend a magnetized creature on a pendulum. Add food and shelter (with magnets) that attract the creature and predators and hazards that repel it. The creature navagates a complex and fascinating path.

Cost: $8 per student

Connecticut Core Science Curriculum Framework 3.2 Organisms can survive and reproduce only in environments that meet their basic needs. 4.2 All organisms depend on the living and nonliving features of their environment for survival. 4.4 Electrical and magnetic energy can be transferred and transformed. 6.2Populations in ecosystems are affected by biotic factors, such as other populations, and abiotic factors, such as soil and water supply.