Microscopes and the Fish Collection

Isadora arranged for different groups of elementary school children from the Refugee Women’s Alliance’s Summer Camp to visit UW today and next week. Today’s campers were primarily from Mexico. For our activity, we decided to discuss the many different sources of water in the Puget Sound area. We wanted the kids to feel a connection with their local body of water, and learn some fun facts about the creatures that lived there.

The first thing we did was go around and do introductions. We shared where we and our families were from, and what bodies of water were near us. We then discussed the bodies of water in the area, and the differences between lakes, rivers, and oceans and the animals that live there. Finally, we got to show them the cool creatures that live in the water by looking under a microscope at water from Puget Sound and by going to the fish collection!

Figures 1-2. Marta teaching the campers about the fish collection.

It was my first formal event with younger children, and it was really fun. Everything was cool to them: using a microscope, touching preserved shark specimens, and sharing critter facts. For next week, we’re going to shorten our introductions, incorporate more time for engaging with SCUBA gear, and set up microscopes ahead of time so we know for sure they’ll see things that aren’t just algae. Next week, we’ll have only two Spanish speaker,sa nd the rest will be of Somali heritage. I’m excited to see how they revieve our activity!