Pre-K and KDG kids are too young to introduce scientific research to right?
Or are they!?!
The truth is, this age is a wonderful time to introduce the concepts of scientific research. Keep it simple, of course, but kids this age are absolutely able to learn the basic ropes of research.
This particular project I am about to share with you actually wasn’t my idea. It was my 6 year old daughters idea.
The Program
For the last 6 months or so we have been working on a turtle fundraising project (which was actually my 4 year old’s idea, we are very kid led here!). And as part of the project we donated to the Sea Turtle Conservancy though their Adopt-A-Turtle Program.
The STC works by tracking wild turtles through satellite to learn about their habits in their natural environment, so that steps can be taken to protect them in the wild. When you adopt a turtle, you select one of the turtles they are tracking and your donation goes toward supporting the program. My kids selected a turtle named Raya for their adoption.
And one of the cool things about STC is that anyone can see the tracking data. It is available on their website (www.conserveturtles.org). So we would periodically check the website to see where Raya was at that time. (She seems to prefer the Bahamas… lucky turtle!)
And one day my kids came to me and asked if they could check on Raya. So of course I obliged. But then they wanted to see where the other turtles were. So we started checking on all of them. And pretty quickly we started to notice some differences. Some turtles seemed to cover huge distances… while others barely traveled at all.
And that is where the inspiration for a simple research project came into play.
The Project
So here is how the project played out. (Keep in mind that this is intentionally kept simple so as to not loose the interest of short attention spans.)
The Question: Do some turtle species travel further than others?
The Observations: We read the description of each turtle, then looked at the tracking maps. And we began to notice a pattern. Different species seem to travel different distances.
The Hypothesis: After looking at the data for several turtles of each of the species in the project, the kids came to the conclusion that Green, Loggerhead, and Hawksbill turtles travel the least. While Leatherbacks traveled the furthest. So the hypothesis was that any Leatherback we check will have covered a lot of distance, while any of the other species will have stayed in the same area.
The ‘Research’: Once we had our theory, we put it to the test. For each turtle in the list we would first check the species then make a prediction about whether it will have traveled a lot or not. Then we would open the map and see if we were right. The kids really enjoyed this part!
The Conclusion: Through this simple data collection, hypothesis formation, and research, the kids concluded that they were right. Leatherbacks are indeed the most nomadic of the turtle species in the research program.
Intro To Research
This incredibly simple research project is an easy way to introduce the basic sequence of scientific research. Ask a question, so some background research, formulate a hypothesis, conduct research, and come to a conclusion from that research.
Simple projects like this, that all in all only take about 5-10 minutes to conduct, can ignite a passion for science early on. And introduce a way of thinking to young kids. Plus its just fun. And who doesn’t love cute sea turtles?
You can recreate this project with your own kids. You, of course, already know the answer because you read this post. But your kinds don’t! So feel free to guide your children through the same thought process I guided mine through. And have fun doing it!
Go Team Turtles!
I hope this simple idea inspires you to do some turtle reasearch with your kids. And/or insipires similar projects that suit your childs individual interests. Now it is time for some shameless plugs!
Check out our whole turtle story, how we came to adopt Raya in the first place, and all the things we have been doing since to protect as many turtles as we can. (YouTube “How We Saved 253 Turtles And Still Counting)
And check out our store too! Every product in the Turtle Line saves 10 baby sea turtles! (Click here for the store!)
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