Harrison’s assignment was to build a model of a habitat for an animal of his choice, and he picked the great white shark. We started by figuring out which animals to include to demonstrate a complete food chain, including decomposers. We went with:
Seaweed → Kelp Crab → Squid → Shark → Marine Bacteria
Once we agreed on a design, I got to work bringing the habitat to life!
Making the Model
For the sand, I mixed cornmeal and coffee grounds with Elmer’s glue to create a paste, then spread it over the cardboard and let it dry.
To create the surface of the water, I used crinkled paper and paint to give it some dimension. This also gave me something to suspend the shark and squid from. I used beading wire for the shark instead of string to give it a little extra stability.
I had the most fun making the rocks! I crumpled brown art paper into different shapes, taped everything into place, and painted them black and gray with a little white for dimension. Once they were finished, I arranged them into a pile and secured them with hot glue.
Family Research
Researching the project turned into some unexpected family time. Harrison, Daddy, and I all ended up sitting around learning random things about sharks together.
We learned how their gills extract dissolved oxygen from water, why great whites need to keep swimming to breathe, and that nobody has ever witnessed a great white shark giving birth in the wild!
And of course, one question led to another. Before we knew it, we were looking up all kinds of cool facts about marine life and other animals.
The goal was to finish a science project, but somewhere along the way, we ended up spending some pretty great quality time together.
Presentation Day
Once everything was finished, Harrison practiced his presentation with me and Daddy. I made him some flashcards, and we went through everything until he felt confident.
He even called NanNan on the way to school the next morning and gave his presentation to her, too!
And he got a 100! 🦈🎉
So proud of our little scientist.