This week in STEM, the 2/3 class continued exploring the different ocean zones, this time venturing to the deepest parts of the ocean, the abyss.  They focused on the adaptations that organisms need to live in certain ocean zones, and how scientists have explored these zones.e learned about how scientists had explored the Mariana Trench, and talked about what factors made that feat extremely challenging!

They learned about the light, temperature, pressure, and features of the abyssal plain, and used this information to brainstorm the type of adaptations that organisms living there might have, such as small, narrow bodies and slow movement to conserve energy, or large nasal passages to smell food particles that have floated down from the surface.

Using this information, they started designing their own organism that could survive on the abyssal plain, taking into consideration the light, temperature, pressure, and scarcity of food. They also started drawing real life organisms from the Dark Zone and Abyssal Plain to add to the first two layers of our mural which will be started next week!

Drawing Organisms from the Dark Zone and the Abyssal Plain for our mural

Researching the animals that live in the deepest parts of the ocean!