F.L. Stanton Elementary gets a ticket to ride … the BioBus

Frank L. Stanton Elementary fourth-graders will receive a valuable environment lesson when they hop on Georgia State University’s BioBus on Thursday morning in the school parking lot. Students will learn about “Water in the Environment in a session that will run from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. The water module provides several visual and hands-on activities that teach students about the importance of water.

First, students are taught about the properties of water and the water cycle. Demonstrations illustrate the properties of water such as specific heat and cohesion. The Earth is presented as a closed system in which water is continually recycled. Secondly, students are educated about where fresh water comes from. An experiment with an aquifer illustrates how lakes and rivers are continually refilled, and also shows how pollution from underground storage tanks and leakage from landfills contaminates the water. A demonstration with a filter column shows how layers in an aquifer filter wastes from water, and shows the properties of water in action.

Thirdly, students are taught about how run-off can contaminate our freshwater and affect the food web. This phenomenon is illustrated with a demonstration of how phosphates can cause algal blooms which prevent light transmission into rivers, lakes, streams, and even sections of ocean. This presentation ties directly to fourth-graders’ Georgia Performance Standards and is the fourth grade’s current unit. Students will board the BioBus to participate in this activity.