Isopod Colonies in Kindergarten Schools

By Anonymous -

Isopod Colonies in Kindergarten Schools
Aaron Ward & Zachary Peterson


     “You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.”
- Clay P. Bedford

Educating children to be scientifically interested and minded is one of the most important and difficult duties we as human adults have to ensure the future advances of our scientific knowledge. A recent study published as an article in the peer reviewed journal Science Education suggests that a child’s interest in science at the age in which they are in a kindergarten environment is a great predictor for the child’s interest in science and higher scientific self-concepts later in childhood. In other words, if a child shows interest in science at an early age, it is a good indicator that they will enjoy and be good at science in the future. Therefore, we must identify those students who show signs of scientific inclination and ensure that they are provided with the support they need to grow into young adults with an ever growing passion for science.
So how, you may ask, do we present these children with the opportunities to become interested in science in the first place? I say we expose them to opportunities to ask questions in an environment designed for learning, and what better way to do this than getting a class pet? A class pet gives students something to watch and interact with as well as something to ask questions about. But, larger animals can be distracting due to their need to move around and interact. To circumvent this issue, and arthropod can be a great option for a class pet, as they don’t make much noise, even when moving, the varieties which can be kept as pets cannot easily harm a child, and they can often be found doing unusual things which can be found funny and amusing by kids.
But now, we run into a new problem, what arthropod to choose? Many children are afraid of arachnids like spiders and scorpions, and many children don’t like bugs in general. However, there is one type of arthropod that seems to be largely unfeared by children in our culture. Enter, the humble isopod.
                      Image Source: http://bugwoodcloud.org/images/384x256/5440422.jpg
 Isopoda is the order of arthropods containing the woodlouse, also called rolly polies or pill bugs. They can be handled without fear of being bit, because isopods do not have mouth parts that are suitable for doing any sort of damage to a living human, or anything besides plant matter. They have the amusing property of rolling into a ball when frightened, a trait that children often find humorous, and will eventually unroll and begin crawling around again wherever they may end up, even if it is a human hand! They will eat a large variety of plant matter, and even dead insect matter, so finding food will not be a problem. The best part is how abundant isopods are! When starting a colony of isopods for a class pet/ project, children can collect and bring in isopods they find themselves from their own backyard.
Next we will go into more detail as to how to start a colony…

Starting a Coloney! 

While raising a colony of different isopods may seem difficult, complicated and expensive, it is exactly the opposite. Raising a colony of isopods is actually easy and very inexpensive. One only needs very few materials and some insects. If taken care of properly, a colony of isopods can be a very useful in learning.

First, one will need a medium sized plastic container with a lid to hold in humidity. On the bottom of the container needs to be leaves, grass, mosses, dirt etc. Anything the one would normally find in nature. The bottom of the container needs to be a couple inches deep and moist, for isopods tend to live in dark, damp places. It is recommend that you keep a spray bottle around to moisten the base whenever it begins to dry up. Although, the water must be dechlorinated, so you may need to go to a store to pick up water conditioner for your spray bottle.

                       Image source: http://alaskahermit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/083-11.jpg

To gather isopods, all you need to do it go outside and look under rocks, branches etc. since they live in dark damp places. Once you have a good amount of isopods (10-20), you should have enough to have a good sample population of male and females.

You do not have to worry about feeding isopods, except for the occasional egg shell (or another source of calcium for shell growth), for they feed on decaying plants. Therefore, they will eat the leaves you leave at the bottom of the container. You can also feed them fruits and vegetables if you need too.

Once the isopods get accustomed to their new environment, they will most likely begin to mate.


Overall, an isopod colony can be a good way to get kids to start asking questions and get them into science!


Sources:

http://alaskahermit.com/information-center/crab-care/terrestrial-isopod-care/

"Science Interests in Preschool Boys and Girls: Relations to Later Self-Concept and ScienceAchievement" - Science Education, v97 n4 p574-593 Jul 2013. 20 pp.



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