East Coast Explorers

Greetings from the East Coast Explorers.

We have come to the end of the second sojourn of aquariums in the classroom here in the Dublin and Wicklow schools. I can safely say that all the participating classes enjoyed the experience immensely. Ní raibh eisceacht ar bith inár measc.

The first period in which the Sea Creatures took up residence in our classroom coincided with the big snow that brought us an early winter. Some schools were forced to close for a while because of the heavy falls of snow but that brought out the brave efforts by some to ensure that the tank inhabitants thrived. The personnel from SeaLife in Bray which provided us with the marine creatures drove through the snow when, many other drivers stayed at home, to deal with a perceived emergency in one of the tanks. I scoil amháin tháinig an PríomhOide go dtí an Scoil, a bhí dúnta don chuid is mó de sheachtain, chun bia a thbhairt do na héisc ina scoil féin.

During the two periods in which the aquariums were in our schools the classes compared the behaviour of the fish in their classrooms with each of the other tanks through email and weekly newsletters. There were some similar experiences and indeed noticeable differences.A noticeable similarity was the behaviour of the crabs.  But in those aquarium where crabs were present they seemed to be the bully of their group.

All classes have been keeping records and journals of these behaviours. There are plenty of photos and videos of the comings and goings of the sea life in out aquariums. We hope to share some of these photos here with you over the next while.

All the classes are looking forward to the next phase in the project when they visit the beach and get to see these creatures in their native habitat after the Easter break.