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Have you seen "More Than Eye Can See?" Hurry to Explorit if you don't want to miss it; next week is the last week of this exhibition. If you've seen "More Than Eye Can See," you'll want to come back and check out our aquarium of pond water. We have lots of baby copepods!
Our pond water originated in Putah Creek. Believe it or not, Putah Creek is full of fish, and other organisms in the water are influenced by the fish population.
When we first collected our water, it was inhabited by many organisms that were resistant to fish predation, such as water fleas and blue-green algae. Water fleas have sharp spines to discourage little fish from eating them. Blue-green algae are toxic to many animals, including cows, and they are covered with a gelatinous sheath which makes them hard for fish to eat.
At Explorit, the aquarium doesn't get a lot of sunlight and there are no fish. This has changed our pond population. The blue-green algae died off without as much sun and it is decomposing at the bottom of the aquarium. This decomposition allows more bacteria and protozoa to grow.
The water fleas have also begun to die out. Since there are no fish, copepods and bosminids have proliferated. They eat the same foods as the water fleas and are outcompeting them.
We also are seeing a brand new generation of critters! Earlier this week, many of the copepods gave birth to babies. These babies will go through 12 stages to reach adulthood. Come and watch these young'uns as they grow!
"More Than Eye Can See" will end on Sunday, July 28. Explorit will be closed from July 29 through August 2, and open on Saturday, August 3 with "Summer Science Sampler."
Explorit Science Center is located in East Davis at 3141 Fifth Street. Regular hours are Saturday from 11am to 4:30pm, Sunday from 1 to 4:30pm, and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30pm. Admission is $3. Members, teachers, and children under 4 are free. For more information, call 756-0191, or check Explorit out on the World Wide Web: http://dcn.davis.ca.us/GO/EXPLORIT/.
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Explorit has been hosting a book fair this past week featuring Usborne Books. Usborne is a top-selling, award-winning publisher of educational books for children. Up to 50% of the Book Fair totals will go toward books for the Explorit library. Explorit would like to thank everyone for their support -- sales have exceeded our expectations!
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Explorit would like to thank Cost-U-Less of Davis. Cost-U-Less has agreed to provide "healthy snacks" to the children in Explorit's Summer Vacation Classes. Summer Classes run until August 16.
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Enrollment for Summer Classes filled quickly this year, but there are still a couple of pre-school classes open. On August 6th, 4 and 5-year-olds will find out "What's Special About Sand?" On August 8th, they will travel on a "Backyard Safari for Shapes and Colors." Please call Explorit at 756-0191 for more information and registration.
Parents: if your children are not enrolled in the Davis public school system, and you would like to receive registration materials for future vacation classes, please call and put your name on our Vacation Class mailing list. Also, please let parents of children in the surrounding area know about Vacation Classes.
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Explorit welcomes more volunteers for the next few weeks of Summer Classes: Sara, Debbie, and Jennifer will help teachers prepare and present exciting topics for summer science fun. Explorit would also like to thank Sid, Neal, Reecie, and Emily for all of their hard work and assistance, so far. Their help has been greatly appreciated and has facilitated Summer Classes running very smoothly.
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Next time you drive down Fifth Street, look for Explorit's new street sign, courtesy of Ramco Enterprises, Inc. and Mace Ranch Park, produced and installed by Signs Unlimited.