Middle School, Zoology Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 4)

How Stable is Your Food Web?

Lesson Plan Grade: 5th-9th

1

2

3

4

5

3 reviews

"Giant Kelp Forest" © 2010 Tom Thai Could you describe the kelp forest food web as a system? Your students will design and use a simple model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a marine food web, ranking their hypothetical ecosystems according to their stability when faced with a natural or man-made disturbance. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS2-6. Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

How Sweet It Is! Explore the Roles of Color and Sugar Content in Hummingbirds' Food Preferences.

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you like to watch hummingbirds? Have you ever wondered why there is specialty hummingbird food? What is it about the food that makes it so appealing? In this zoology science fair project, you will observe these remarkable creatures and learn how color and sugar concentration influence a hummingbird's selection of a food source. Read more

Skeleton Building

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you like skeletons? One of the more interesting jobs at a natural history museum is the creation and care of the skeletons and bones. How do the curators clean and put together the skeletons? Many curators use the carrion beetle, Dermestes vulpinus, to quickly clean off the dead animal tissue from a corpse to reveal the skeleton. These insects do such a good job that sometimes the skeleton remains intact! Another method is to slow cook the carcass until the meat falls off. You can use… Read more

What is the Most Effective Treatment for Whitefly Infestations on Plants?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Whiteflies are a group of closely related insect species whose larvae live on plants. Like aphids, they suck nutrients from the plant's circulatory system. What is the most effective method for fighting a whitefly infestation in your garden? This project has some ideas for you to try. Read more

Where Do Lizards Go for Lunch?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You've probably heard about differences between the left brain and the right brain in people. Did you ever wonder where that came from? Do other animals have specialized brain hemispheres too? One hypothesis has it that brain lateralization evolved as a survival mechanism in animals with eyes on the sides of their heads. One eye could focus on finding food, while the other watched out for predators. This project tests that hypothesis by looking for left-right bias in feeding behavior in lizards. Read more

Worm Hunt: Isolating Soil Nematodes from Your Backyard

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you know what is living in your backyard? How about at the playground, or in your compost pile? Nematodes, also called roundworms, are the most abundant animal on Earth and they might be living in any of these places. In this science project you'll isolate nematodes from several soil samples to discover the best nematode habitats. Read more

Antlion Pits in Open Sand or Under Leaf Cover

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Antlion larvae are known for their predatory ways. In sandy areas, they dig pits to trap ants or other crawling insects that happen to stumble in. This project shows you how to create a mini-environment for antlion larvae to test their preferences for pit-building sites. Read more

Do Migratory Birds Like It Hot?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Why do birds migrate? Do all birds have the same reasons for migrating? Where do they go when they migrate? These are questions scientists have asked for centuries. The more species for which they gather data, the more specific the answers become. In this science project, you will choose a species to investigate, then access and evaluate real data collected by scientists to start answering those questions yourself! Read more

Does Body Size Matter?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Animals come in all shapes and sizes, even humans. You can look up different statistics about different kinds of animals using the Internet: average body size, brain size, life expectancy and generation time are some examples. Is there a correlation between body size and life span? Is there a correlation between body size and brain size? Is there a correlation between body size and generation time? Is there a correlation between body size and the size of your footprint? (Comparative Mammalian… Read more

Eeew! Maggot Mass Temperature

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you're looking for an experiment that will gross out just about everyone, you probably can't do much better than this! This project investigates an important question in the field of forensic entomology. Just make sure to get permission at home before you start. Read more

Middle School, Zoology Projects, Lessons, Activities (47 results)

Explore Our Science Videos