The Narrows

Our field trip today was a visit to The Narrows, a nature trail in Beavercreek. We began the day learning about water chemistry and biology. The volunteers explained to us some of Ohio's standards for what the chemistry and biology composition of our river water should be. We got to test for pH and temperature, and we examined different kinds of macro-invertebrates. We ended up using our testing cups to catch tiny fish in the water.

After our water testing, the naturalist took us on a hike through one of the tails. She gave each of us a pair of binoculars, which I thought was pretty cool because they were real binoculars, and I've never used any before. They helped us see birds in the trees that were protecting their nests. She also helped us examine some plants and told us what to avoid in the woods. Three leaves or fuzz on the stem/vines generally means stay away. She also pointed out a type of tree, the name of which I forget, that has protective needles on it. These needles are strong enough to puncture a tractor tire and go straight through the bottom of your shoe.

We went to The Narrows' nature center to take a look at the animals. The coolest animals I saw were a snake and a salamander, and the naturalist actually got the snake out and let us pet and hold him. We also got a demonstration on a stream table of how rivers meander and erode soil to form the water bodies we see today.

Overall our visit to The Narrows was a cool experience. I wish we could have explored a little bit more, but it was also cool to learn from people who know a little bit more about nature. The trip actually inspired me to finally b

uy a kayak since they allow kayaking/canoeing/tubing in the river there, and it would make for some amazing summer adventures. So far this STEMmersion has been a blast, going outside has easily become one of my favorite things to do.

Along with our field trip, we wrote a script in a group of six for a nature show. We chose young kids as our target audience, and we wrote the script for an episode about koalas and sloths. At the end of the day, we performed it as a skit to our class. Although, we didn't stop laughing the whole time because Lauren and Emma had to make koala and sloth noises.

Script

Alex: Hey everyone! Today we're gonna be talking about koalas and sloths.

Lauren: *makes koala noise while hopping onto kalie*

Kalie: Do you guys know anything about koalas or sloths already?

Blaine: I know that Koalas are from Australia!

Kalie: Yeah! Koalas are endemic to the continent of Australia whereas sloths are found in South America.

Alex: How about you Jessica, do you know anything about sloths?

Emma: *makes sloth noise*

Jessica: Uhhhh... Yeah! I know that they are slow and have families.

Kalie: That’s right! Sloths are placental mammals, and are divided into several families, none of which is Phascolarctidae. Koalas are marsupials, and the only member of the family Phascolarctidae. 

Alex: Anyone know what koalas eat?

Blaine: No.

Lauren: *koala noise*

Kalie: How about sloths?

Emma: *makes sloth noise*

Jessica: No.

Alex: Well, koalas live almost exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, whereas sloths eat a variety of plant parts.

Kalie: That's right! And sloths mainly consume leaves. Sloths are generalized as folivores or herbivores; they will eat leaves, buds, twigs, fruits and, occasionally, insects and rodents.

Lauren: *make koala noise*

Jessica: Okay so now that we learned all of this cool stuff, can we go get some lunch