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Fun Ecosystem Activities
from:The ecosystem is comprised of plants and animals and the environment in which they live. There are many types of ecosystems ranging from a pond, to a forest, to the ocean, or grasslands. One way to get a better understanding of the ecosystems of the world is to engage in ecosystem activities. Ecosystem activities are a great learning tool and help students to get a better understanding and working knowledge of how ecosystems works.
A List Of Ecosystems Activities To Do
There are many things that can be done for an ecosystem activity that will enrich your knowledge of the environment and how everything works together.
Build A Mini Ecosystem
Building a mini ecosystem is a great way to learn more about the ecosystems. This would make a great science project or can be used for a speech or presentation to give a better understanding of the ecosystem and supply a model for greater understanding. A mini ecosystem can be made to represent a wide variety of ecosystems. You may wish to incorporate the following list when choosing you ecosystem activity.
• Tundra ecosystem can be made using lichen, moss, and small alpine plants
• Northern coniferous forest ecosystem can be shown with small plants
• Decidious forest ecosystem can incorporate violets, wintergreens, strawberries and small ferns
• Grasslands ecosystems can be demonstrated with wildflowers and grasses
• Desert ecosystems can be displayed with cacti or aloe vera plants
• Tropical rain forest ecosystems can include African violet, creeping charlies or aluminum plants.
To make a mini ecosystem you will need:
• An aquarium
• Potting soil
• Sand
• Charcoal
• House plants
After you have cleaned your aquarium you can begin to build your ecosystem based on which type of ecosystem you are creating.
Build A Food Web
To do this ecosystem activity research must first be done to determine which animal is the predator, or carnivore and which animal is the prey. A chart can be made to chow the food cycle and how all the plants and animals in the ecosystem are dependant upon each other for survival.
Study The Arctic Tundra
Ecosystem activities can also be done to study the arctic tundra. Some activities that can be done include:
• Working with camouflages to better understand how camouflage helps animals to hide from enemies and stay hidden and protected.
• Play games based on the predators and prey that live in the arctic tundra. Participants can learn more about a certain predator or prey and then act out the habits and mannerisms of that animal.
• To show how animals fur and covering contribute to their safety and protection in the ecosystem have participants enter a cold environment, such as a walk in refrigerator or freezer, with varying levels of protection to see how having the right coat of fur or hide can keep animals warm in subarctic temperature.
• Allow participants to grow plants in shallow soil to demonstrate how plants can not grow well in the arctic tundra due to the shallow soil present there.
As you can see there are many ecosystem activities that can be done to help gain a better understanding of how the ecosystems work.
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