Fish Science Activities
To learn about the science of fish, there are many activities such as visiting an aquarium, using a net to catch fish and dissecting fish with preserved fish or by using 3-D imagery. You can learn about the anatomy, survival methods, defense mechanisms and the habitats and eating habits of specific fish.
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Take a Tour of a Zoo Aquarium
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A beautiful fish. Plan an aquarium tour. Aquarium tours help to educate children and adults about fish and other aquatic life such as sharks, dolphins, rays, sea horses and more. Some aquariums offer self-guided tours, guided tours and classroom-like activities involving the fish and marine life. Aquarium tours and exhibitions allow students to learn the fish food chain and defense mechanisms of fish, and to explore many kinds of fish coming from various habitats such as rivers, lakes and oceans.
Go Fishing With a Net
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A fish net For a science activity that all will enjoy, go fishing. However, for scientific purposes only and the safety of the fish, use a net. You can either buy a large fish net, or several smaller nets, or even make your own. Head to a stocked pond, river or, if you are close enough, a sea. Make sure you're wearing rubber boots, that your net has a long handle so you don't get wet, you have several large containers to examine the fish, and that you have a pen and paper to take notes. Take the net and dip up and down in the water. Empty the contents of the net into the containers and add water so the fish can swim and can remain safe. After writing down the descriptions of the fish, empty them back into the body of water. Use reference books such as encyclopedias to match specific fish with your fish descriptions and findings.
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Fish Dissection
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Two fish out of the water To learn the anatomy of fish, you can plan an activity around dissection of preserved fish. For hands-on dissection using fish such as barracuda, starfish and other fish, you will need dissecting pins, gloves, forceps, scissors, scalpel, hand lens, dissection tray, cleanup materials and more. Use a biology lab if one is available. If preserved fish are not available, you can also use computers for online dissection of fish, which uses digital, 3-D images of the fish anatomy. You can go to the Digital Fish Library online at digitalfishlibrary.org to view these 3-D images.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit scorpion-fish,fish,sea fish,sea,water,nature,anima image by Pali A from Fotolia.com fish image by cherie from Fotolia.com Fishing Net image by Olga Dovydenkova from Fotolia.com Dry fish on a dish in the form of a fish image by terex from Fotolia.com
