Virtual Saturday Family Science

Wanted: Waste! Decomposers and the Food Chain
Saturday, May 9 at 10am

What happens to plants and animals after they die? Or the banana peel you aren’t going to eat? They become a tasty buffet for some vital critters in the food chain. Decomposers act as nature’s “clean-up crew”– they consume dead animal carcasses, decaying plant material and waste products from other members of the ecosystem. At home you can search for, observe, and study the work of decomposers, and together we’ll explore why these small critters play such a big role.

Live Stream Link

Join Aemelia Thompson at 10am on Saturday for the live stream portion of Virtual Saturday Science.

Join the Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81276051256?pwd=dE1wUVpwY1JOa1phS0V6aVpiMDlyZz09
Meeting ID: 812 7605 1256
Password: 5HBPpA

Meeting ID: 812 7605 1256
Password: 549212

HELPFUL TIP: Please change your Zoom screen name to your child’s name. This will help Aemelia to call on and interact with your child directly.

Pre-Live Stream Activities

Feel free to engage with whichever activities you can before our interactive session on Saturday. It is not required to do the activities but it might help learners engage more fully with the concepts. Have fun!

Learn

Hitchcock Center: Finding Decomposers!
In this short video Hitchcock Educator Aemelia explains what decomposers are and how to go into your backyard and find them. This video will help learners prepare for Saturday so please check it out!

Explore

• Decomposition Backyard Scavenger Hunt Print Out
  This scavenger hunt will give learners an idea of what they’re looking for when they go into the yard to look for decomposers!
• Decomposition Experiment
  Here is a link to a great and simple decomposition experiment to do with kids. In this experiment you compare how organic matter decomposes if left alone for five days alone with soil versus wrapped in plastic.  It includes simple materials you can get from home and a simple process to follow.

Make:

• Food Chain War Card Game Print Out
  Play a food chain version of the card game “War”. The rules and the cards can be printed out from this PDF. If you don’t have a printer, you can try making the cards yourselves!
• DIY mini worm composter
  This link is a great example of how to bring decomposers into your home! It details a simple how to on making a mini worm composter. It includes simple materials you can get from home and a simple process to follow.
• If you’re interested in going bigger with your worm composter and need more worms here is a dependable place to buy red wigglers.

Watch

• Check out these awesome videos of bacteria and worms doing their job in these videos showing decomposition fast forwarded!
  • Bacteria at work decomposing fruit.
  • Red wiggler worms decomposing a whole pumpkin.

Curious about upcoming Virtual Saturday Family Science programs? Registration opens each Tuesday prior to the Saturday program.

Did your family have fun and learn from this content? Consider making a donation of any amount to help support Saturday Family Science.