Educatico - National Aquarium

24 Pages·2013·5.95 MB·English

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Watershed Moments
Pre- and Post-Visit Activities
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All Grades
Education Department
501 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Reproduction for educational purposes only.
Printed on recycled paper, preserving aquatic habitats. 12/13
The National Aquarium
Through transforming experiences, the National
is a nonprofit organization
Aquarium inspires people to enjoy, respect and
whose mission is to inspire conservation
protect the aquatic world.
of the world’s aquatic treasures.
501 East Pratt Street • Baltimore, MD 21202
aqua.org
This booklet was prepared by the Education Department at
the National Aquarium.
Illustration: Cindy Belcher
The educational goals of the National Aquarium are supported
by funding from the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Aquatic
Education Endowment Fund.
The booklet may be reproduced by any teacher, school or
school district for educational purposes.
© 2010
Watershed Moments
A 20-minute auditorium program for all grades at the National Aquarium
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION DAY 3: POST-PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
Students participate in a multi-media auditorium presentation The day after your visit, complete Activity 2 – Hellbender
on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Students learn how their Populations found on pages 14-15, Activity 3 – Bayscaping:
day-to-day actions affect the health and inhabitants of the Building an Environmentally Friendly Yard found on pages
Chesapeake Bay watershed. 18-19, and Activity 4 – Watershed Pledge found on pages
21-22. These activities can be incorporated into lessons on
interpreting graphs and reading comprehension.
PLANNING FOR THE PROGRAM
The pre- and post-visit activities included in this booklet are
a supplement to the auditorium program conducted at the
National Aquarium. The Watershed Moments program can
be incorporated into units about the Chesapeake Bay and its AAAS Benchmarks
watershed, the water cycle, native animals and plants of Maryland
and conservation practices. Including your trip to the National
Aquarium, this lesson should be covered in three days. 5D3-5-5: Changes in an organism’s habitat are
Note: Activities can be modified for your particular grade. sometimes beneficial to it and sometimes harmful.
5E-K-2-1: Plants and animals both need to take in
DAY 1: PRE-PROGRAM ACTIVITIES water, and animals need to take in food. In addition,
plants need light..
The day before your visit to the National Aquarium, read the
Teacher Background section on pages 2-4 and share the
information with your students. Complete Activity 1 – 5F-K-2-1: Different plants and animals have
Watershed Address on pages 9-10. external features that help them thrive in different
kinds of places.
DAY 2: PROGRAM
8B3-5-3: Discarded products contribute to the
Visit the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Waterfront Park outside the
problem of waste disposal.
main entrance to see plants representing terrestrial habitats

found within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Attend the
interactive presentation of Watershed Moments held in the MD Voluntary Curriculum: Science
4-D Immersion Theater of the National Aquarium. Visit

the Maryland: Mountains to the Sea exhibit on Level 2 to see
examples of fresh and saltwater habitats in Maryland. Grade 2 - 6.0 Environmental Science B.1a.
Identify and describe that individual and group actions,
such as turning off lights, conserving water, recycling,
picking up litter or joining an organization can extend
the natural resources of the environment.
Watershed Moments – All Grades 1
watershed covers more than 64,000 square miles and includes
parts of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, West
Virginia, Delaware and Washington, DC. There are more than
100,000 rivers, streams, and creeks within the watershed. These
bodies of water contribute fresh water to the Bay. Salt water
from the Atlantic Ocean mixes with this fresh water to form
an estuary. The Chesapeake Bay is North America’s largest
estuary and the third largest estuary in the world.
WATERSHED INHABITANTS
In addition to the more than 16 million people who live within
the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the area is home to animals
Chesapeake Bay
and plants that interact in a complex ecosystem.
Watershed
One such animal is the hellbender, a large salamander found
in the mountains and foothills of the eastern United States. It
Teacher Background is the largest species of salamander in North America and can
grow to be more than 2 feet long! Olive-brown in color, this
amphibian is completely aquatic and lives on the bottom of
fast-moving streams and rivers. The hellbender is a solitary
WHAT IS A WATERSHED?
animal and generally does not live in groups. It possesses lungs,
A watershed is an area of land which collects runoff and but utilizes folds of skin along its body for most of its gas
then drains into a common outlet. That common outlet exchange. The hellbender spends its days under rocks where
is typically a body of water like a river, bay or ocean. All the it camouflages with mud and algae. At night, it forages for
land on Earth is divided into watersheds that feed rain and crayfish, invertebrates and small fish using its senses of smell
melting snow into various bodies of water. The continental and touch. The hellbender can swim, but usually walks along
United States alone is made up of over 2,000 watersheds! The river bottoms in search of food.
particular destination for runoff is determined by a watershed’s
elevation and topography. For example, a drop of rain that Many species of fish that live in the ocean as adults spawn and
falls on one side of a mountain might flow into a river in mature in the Bay. The Atlantic sturgeon is an example of
one watershed, while a drop of rain on the other side of the just such a fish. As an adult, this species lives along the east
mountain might flow into a lake in a different watershed. coast of North America. When it is time to spawn, Atlantic
sturgeon travel upstream into the Chesapeake Bay. Females
lay their eggs, which stick to hard surfaces such as rocks, shells
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED and logs in order to develop. After the eggs hatch, the immature
Since the Earth is separated into watersheds, no matter where sturgeon spend up to six years in the brackish water of the
you live, you are a part of one. For example, the National Chesapeake Bay. After six years, sturgeon swim out into the
Aquarium’s Baltimore venue is located within the Chesapeake coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Bay watershed. That means that rain or snow that falls near
the Aquarium will flow into streams and creeks that lead to The sturgeon is considered a “living fossil” because its body
the Chesapeake Bay via the Patapsco River. structure has remained essentially the same for millions of
years. The length of its body is covered with five rows of bony
While the Chesapeake Bay itself is sizeable (approximately scutes, or plates, instead of scales like most other fish. Its
4,479 square miles, including tributaries), the watershed coloration is blue-black or olive green on its dorsal (top) side
draining into the Bay is much larger. The Chesapeake Bay and white on its ventral (bottom) side. The sturgeon has four
Watershed Moments – All Grades 2
barbels, or whisker-like growths on the sides of its mouth, that
sense prey such as crustaceans, worms and snails on river bottoms.
When fully grown, a sturgeon can measure between 6 and 8
feet in length and weigh up to three hundred pounds. Despite
its large size, a sturgeon can leap completely out of water!
In addition to animals like the hellbender and Atlantic sturgeon,
the Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to a variety of plant
life. These plants play an important role in the watershed’s
ecosystem. In the shallow water of the Chesapeake Bay,
underwater grasses called submerged aquatic vegetation
(SAV), provide food and habitat for many fish, invertebrates
and migratory birds. Blue crabs hide within the underwater
grass beds after they molt. Molting is the process of shedding
their exoskeletons and results in “soft shells.” This is when
the crabs are most vulnerable to predators. Small fish find
refuge from larger predators among the grass beds. SAV beds
also act as a nursery for crabs and fish, including menhaden,
herring and sturgeon.
WATERSHED HEALTH
The Chesapeake Bay is one of this country’s greatest resources.
For centuries, humans have reaped the benefits of the Bay.
Excess fertilizers from farms, golf courses, and lawns pose
They have eaten its animals, used it for commerce and
another threat to the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
shipping, and participated in recreational activities along
Fertilizers wash off the land into streams and rivers leading
its beautiful banks.
into the Chesapeake Bay. Once in the waterways, fertilizers,
designed to make crops healthy and lawns green, promote
However, the actions of humans threaten to destroy the Bay’s
the growth of harmful algae. As the algae grows, it blocks
value as a home for wildlife as well as a source of food and
sunlight, thus preventing SAV from growing. After the algae
recreation. Human behavior on the Bay, as well as on the land
dies, it sinks to the bottom and is broken down by bacteria.
surrounding the Bay, is having a negative impact on the eco-
This process uses up much of the oxygen in the water, creating
system. Since the land within the Chesapeake Bay watershed
dead zones which threaten underwater life that needs oxygen.
directs runoff into the Bay, what happens on that land is
directly linked to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR
For example, land-clearing for developmental or agricultural
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED
purposes has led to increased sedimentation in the Bay.
Sedimentation occurs when sand, clay and silt collect in the There are things that you can do to protect the Chesapeake Bay
water column and eventually settle to the bottom. Although watershed. To prevent excess sedimentation, you can plant
sedimentation is a normal process, increased amounts of dirt trees. Tree roots not only anchor trees to the ground, they
in the Bay can be harmful to the Bay’s aquatic life, including prevent erosion so that soil does not run into waterways.
hellbenders, sturgeon and SAV. The hellbender, which needs You can also limit sedimentation by slowing down the flow
to live in clear water, has been faced with a decline in suitable of rainwater. This can be accomplished by installing a rain
habitat as a direct result of increased sedimentation. barrel to collect water as it flows off your roof into rain gutters.
Gravel (as opposed to cement or asphalt) driveways also impede
the flow of water before it exits your property.
Watershed Moments – All Grades 3
Glossary
Algae – photosynthetic, aquatic organism that grows
excessively in the presence of fertilizer
The amount of fertilizer washing off your lawn can be
minimized through a gardening practice called bayscaping.
Atlantic sturgeon – a species of fish that spends the first few
Bayscaping incorporates native vegetation into residential
years of its life in the Chesapeake Bay before swimming out to
lawns. Planting native trees and plants provides habitat for
the Atlantic Ocean. Sturgeon return through the Bay on their
native animals and reduces the amount of runoff from lawns,
way to lay eggs on river bottoms. They can grow to be 6 to 8
in addition to the need for fertilizer.
feet in length. Sturgeon eat bottom-dwelling animals like crus-
taceans, mollusks and worms, which they find using barbels.
Of course, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is another important
conservation concept for the Bay. You can reduce the amount
Barbels – whisker-like growths on the sides of the sturgeon’s
of water used in your home by turning faucets off when not
mouth that are used to feel for and taste prey such as crusta-
in use. You can reuse a cloth grocery bag instead of using
ceans, worms and snails on river bottoms; catfish and nurse
plastic bags, which will limit the amount of plastic trash that
sharks also possess barbels for a similar purpose
ends up in the Bay. You can recycle paper, which will conserve
trees that help prevent erosion along the Bay. Energy can also
be conserved by turning off lights, radios and televisions when Bayscaping – landscaping technique where native plants
not in use; running only full loads in the washing machine and and trees are planted to provide habitat for animals and limit
dishwasher and replacing ordinary light bulbs with energy- fertilizer use
efficient bulbs. Conserving energy reduces the load on fossil
fuel plants, thereby reducing the pollution they produce. Brackish water – a mixture of salt and fresh water
Water can carry trash from land into the waterways, so disposing Chesapeake Bay watershed – the area of land that drains
of trash properly is an important way to keep the watershed into the Chesapeake Bay. It encompasses 64,000 square miles
clean. Even just picking up litter on the street will help. Another and includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New
idea to minimize litter is storm drain stenciling. This activity York, West Virginia, Delaware and Washington, DC.
involves labeling storm drains with statements such as “Bay
Starts Here” or “Chesapeake Bay Drainage” to remind people
Dead zone – an area of water that contains little or no dissolved
about the consequences of littering.
oxygen. These areas often occur after fertilizer is washed off
land and into waterways, causing large amounts of algae to
For more information about the importance of protecting
grow. When algae dies, bacteria break it down, which uses
the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, be sure to visit the
oxygen. Few animals can survive in these low-oxygen areas.
Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Waterfront Park, located outside
the Aquarium near the ticket booth. Here, students can locate
Dorsal – the top or upper side of an animal
their home or school on a large map of the Chesapeake Bay
watershed and explore exhibits containing various terrestrial
habitats from the watershed. Also, the Aquarium’s Level 2 Ecosystem – a community of living organisms and their
gallery Maryland: Mountains to the Sea is an up-close look relationships with the non-living materials in a given area
at aquatic habitats of Maryland.
Watershed Moments – All Grades 4
Erosion – the movement of soil, usually by wind or water with statements such as “Bay Starts Here or “Chesapeake Bay
Drainage” in an attempt to prevent disposal of waste down
Estuary – a semi-enclosed body of water composed of fresh these drains
water from rivers and streams, and salt water from the ocean
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) – underwater grasses
Exoskeleton – the hard outer covering that supports and that grow in shallow water of the Chesapeake Bay; these
protects a number of animals, including blue crabs Note: it plants provide important food and habitat for Bay animals
is not a true “shell,” as it is made of material called “chitin,” and are negatively impacted by runoff containing fertilizer
rather than calcium
Tributary – stream or river that flows into a larger body of water
Habitat – the environment in which an organism or biological
population lives or grows; the necessary components of a Ventral – the bottom or underside of an animal
habitat are food, water, shelter and space
Watershed – an area of land from which runoff collects and
Hellbender – a large aquatic salamander found on river
then drains into a common outlet, typically a river, bay or ocean
bottoms within the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Molting – the process by which crustaceans grow larger; the
exoskeleton splits and the animal backs out of it to reveal a
new, larger, soft exoskeleton that will soon harden
Rain barrel – a barrel designed to collect and store rainwater
as it drips from a rooftop or rain gutter
Runoff – water that is not absorbed into the ground, but
instead flows over land and eventually into a stream, river or
other body of water; runoff can carry loose soil, fertilizer,
garbage and other pollutants into the body of water
Scute – a scale-like bony plate on or under the skin of certain
animals, such as sturgeon
Sedimentation – the process by which sand, clay and silt get
into the water column and eventually settle on the bottom.
Excessive amounts of sedimentation can be harmful to the
Bay’s aquatic life.
Spawn – to produce or deposit large quantities of eggs in
water; the Atlantic sturgeon uses this method of reproduction
Storm drain stenciling – the process of labeling storm drains
Watershed Moments – All Grades 5
Resources
NATIONAL AQUARIUM, BALTIMORE VENUE: BALTIMORE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
HARRY & JEANETTE WEINBERG WATERFRONT PARK PROTECTION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
aqua.org baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/environment/
growinghome/index.html
Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Waterfront Park outside the entrance
to the National Aquarium. Look for the map of the Chesapeake Includes tips on planting your own tree.
Bay watershed, as well as examples of flora found in various
watershed habitats. Be sure to listen for watershed inhabitants
CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION
like birds and frogs as you explore the park.
cbf.org
Provides information on the health of the Chesapeake Bay
NATIONAL AQUARIUM, BALTIMORE VENUE:
and its watershed.
MARYLAND: MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA, LEVEL 2
aqua.org
CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM
These exhibits depict Maryland habitats in a water cycle that
chesapeakebay.net/inyourbackyard.aspx?menuitem=16888
moves from an Allegheny stream through a tidal marsh and
coastal beach and out to the continental shelf. Provides information on Bay-friendly landscaping. Includes
information on bayscaping, composting and reducing runoff.
LIVING WATERS OF THE CHESAPEAKE CD-ROM,
NATIONAL AQUARIUM LIFE IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
by Alice Jane and Robert L. Lippson
Living Waters of the Chesapeake CD-ROM is loaded with
ISBN# 0-8018-5475-X
interactive learning activities about the Bay for teachers
and students. Life in the Chesapeake Bay is an excellent resource book about the
plants and animals of the Chesapeake Bay.
KEEPING OUR OCEANS CLEAN CD-ROM & SAVING
INKY DVD, NATIONAL AQUARIUM MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
dnr.state.md.us/
Provides information on marine debris and footage of
rehabilitation of Inky, a pygmy sperm whale stranded with Contains tips on storm drain stenciling.
a stomach full of plastic trash.
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE’S CHESAPEAKE BAY
ALLIANCE FOR THE CHESAPEAKE BAY FIELD OFFICE
acb-online.org/pubs.cfm fws.gov/chesapeakebay/baysc2.html
Contains information on bayscaping and rain barrels. Includes information on bayscaping.
Watershed Moments – All Grades 6
TEACHER PAGE
Activity 1 – Watershed Address
DESCRIPTION
A watershed is an area of land from which water (rain or snow) drains into a stream, river or other body of water. No
matter where you live, you live in a watershed!
In this activity, students use a map of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to identify the states included in the watershed and where
their school is located. Students use this information to complete the activity on the Student Page.
PROCEDURE
1. Review the definition of a watershed and information on the Chesapeake Bay watershed with students. Refer to pages
2-4 of the Teacher Background. Be sure to include the fact that all water in a watershed drains into a common outlet,
which in this case is the Chesapeake Bay. As a result, human behavior on land, like using fertilizer or littering, can affect
the health of the Bay and its inhabitants.
2. Distribute copies of the map and the Student Page for the Watershed Address activity found on pages 9-10. Have the
students study the map of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to complete Step A.
3. As a class, complete Steps B and C. Label where your school is located on the Chesapeake Bay watershed map.
4. Have your students complete the rest of the Student Page individually or in pairs. Discuss the answers as a class,
including what can be done to protect the Chesapeake Bay.
For more information about your watershed and others within the United States, visit cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm.
Watershed Moments – All Grades 7
TEACHER PAGE/ANSWER KEY
Activity 1 – Watershed Address
STEP A
Using the map, list the six states and one district in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
New York Virginia
1. 5.
2. P e n n s y l v a n i a 6. West Virginia
Delaware Washington, DC
3. 7.
4. Maryland
STEP B
As a class, locate and label where your school is on the map. Is your school within the Chesapeake Bay watershed?
If not, visit cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm to find out which watershed your school is located within.
Write the name of that watershed here:
STEP C
There are many rivers on this map that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. Name the river that is closest to your school. Note:
There are 10 rivers labeled on the map. You may have a river closer to your school that is not labeled.
Using a blue crayon or marker, draw a line from your school to that river. Continue tracing a path from that river to the
Chesapeake Bay. This line represents the flow of water.
Where would that water flow next? into the Atlantic Ocean
STEP D
You just traced the flow of water that connects your school to the Chesapeake Bay. Anything that gets into the water can end up
in the Chesapeake Bay. Since your school is connected to the Bay, trash and pollution at your school can hurt the Bay. List
three things you can do at your school to protect the Chesapeake Bay.
Answers vary. Possible answers include recycling, planning a schoolyard clean-up event, planting native trees
and flowers, creating a rain barrel, using reusable water bottles, reusing old school supplies, bringing your
lunch in a reusable lunch box or cooler, covering your books with newspaper, etc.
Watershed Moments – All Grades 8