Ecosystem in a bottle

Add caption It's beginning to feel like Spring in Pennsylvania, and with it comes our state tests and just beyond...my favorite teaching of the ENTIRE year...ecosystems and biomes. I just LOVE nature and last year I jumped our third graders in with both feet and we made a huge mess in my room for two days and assembled fully self-contained terrestrial and aquatic biome bottles. This project has allowed me to connect so many things I love--big projects, my aquarium past, kids, parents, plants…

Ecosystem in a bottle

Ecosystem in a bottle.

Always a challenge to make a terrarium in a sideways bottle. But the results are always stunning. The ABG mix we use in the shop is meant to replicate the forest floor, with only natural fertilizer...

Make a Pop Bottle Ecosystem to show illustrate how the animals, plants, and non-living things in an environment all affect one another. Also includes a lesson on responsibility.

Ecosystems come in all sizes. Creating an ecosystem in a bottle can be a fun and affordable way to learn about species interactions and the basics of aquarium care. Fish are highly complex creatures making it hard to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that doesn't need extra food input or cleaning.

In this multi-day activity, students explore environments, ecosystems, energy flow and organism interactions by creating a scale model biodome through applying the engineering design process. The Procedure section provides activity instructions for Biodomes unit, lessons 2-6, as students work through Parts 1-6 to develop their model biodome. Subjects include energy flow and food chains, basic needs of plants and animals, and the importance of decomposers. Students consider why a solid…

Don't let the title, DIY 2-Liter Bottle Ecosystem Project scare you. This activity is fun and intriguing for the home or a science project!