OIL SPILL!

As we are learning about life cycles in science, we are also discussing the earth and the environment we live in- these topics go together so nicely! We have been learning about the 3 R's - Reduce, reuse, and recycle. We've also opened our eyes to the fact that people share this earth with countless amazing animals, who don't have a voice! It's our responsibility to take good care of the earth we live in by keeping it clean, reducing the amount of electricity and resources we use, recycle everything we can, and ultimately make less garbage- and less landfills!

 On Friday we read a story called "Oil Spill" by Melvin Berger. It was a book about the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989. We learned that 11 million gallons of oil spilled into the ocean in this accident. It affected countless birds and animals, as well as 1300 miles of Alaska's shoreline. The children then simulated an oil spill with their small group.

 We poured vegetable into our "ocean." The children were quick to notice that it sat right on top of the water. It didn't mix. We thought about the ducks and birds that might be sitting in that oil, or the dolphins or whales that might need to come up to breathe- and would find thick black oil instead.

 We add some cinnamon to represent the "sludge" that forms when oil, dirt, and sand mix. We imagined what it might be like to be covered in that. We blew on top of the oceans to add wind and see how it all came together and thickened. Ick.

 We dropped in some marshmallows to represent the animals that live in the ocean. They were quickly covered entirely in oil and sludge. We also viewed a few real photos of animals covered in oil.

The kids did their best to remove the oil with spoons. After many spoonfuls, the oil was still everywhere. Unfortunately, they didn't make much progress in the removal process. The children thought about other ways to fix the problem of an oil spill that they learned in the story- use of chemicals, fire/burning the oil,  or the use of a "boom" to contain the spill. This showed great application of what they had learned! Unfortunately, oil spills are very difficult to correct and damage is done. We realized that if we use less electric energy, there will be less of a need for oil and oil transportation across the ocean. Using solar or wind energy would also help us to use less oil. We also decided that the companies transporting the oil need to be very responsible and should create double hulls in their ships to better protect the oil, and they need to communicate more carefully with other ships to prevent accidents. These oil spills happen due to human error, and the ocean and its animals are affected. The children learned so much during this activity!