Principal Investigators: Dr. Edward Goolish, Dr. Louis Ostrach, and
Michael Pence
Overview
In the year 2001 the Space Station will contain an international biological
research project that will contain an aquatic environment, among other
habitats for a ninety day study. A special goal of this activity is for
students to be able to have classroom experiences that parallel the investigations
that space scientists are conducting during joint missions of the Space
Station Project.
In this activity, children observe the life development of two types
of animals: fruit flies and zebrafish. They compare the changes that occur
in these insects and fish with changes in human development from infancy
to adulthood. They also learn about how scientists on the International
Space Station will study the development of fish and insects in space
to prepare for long term space endeavor for humans.
Key Questions
How are the zebrafish and fruit flies the same or different in their
life development?
How and why do space scientists study zebrafish and fruit flies?
Time Frame
On-going part time work for two weeks plus any other necessary 30 minute
periods for each animal project. Other curriculum such as art, literature,
and handwriting can be integrated as an on-going process.
Materials
1 video "Mock-Up Space Station", NASA Teacher Resource
Center Supplemental Materials
several large sheets of butcher paper and fat felt tipped pens for
recording results of class discussions
glue
FISH:
1 aquarium (see instructions in "Getting Ready" section)
zebrafish-15 males and 15 females (from pet store)
paper towels
various art supplies (paint, crayons, markers, paper and string)
1 square of red construction paper-5 cm x 5 cm (2"x 2")
1 square of waxed paper 10 cm x 10 cm (4"x 4")
6 rectangular strips of construction paper
Getting Ready
Review the section "Background for Teachers" at the end of
this document.
Brainstorming the necessary vocabulary prior to recording in the journal
is imperative and must be recorded on large chart paper so that it is
visible to the entire class. These "word banks" should be hung
about the class.
FISH:
1. Find out about care of fish when obtaining the fish from the pet
store. To produce eggs, fish must be warm (25°-30°C), have 14
hours of light and 10 hours of dark each day. That means they will need
artificial lights during winter months.
2. Journals can be made with regular lined paper and a construction
paper cover. The kind of journal used is up to the teacher as long as
each entry is dated and each is separate from the previous one.
3. Gather and organize all the items on the Materials list.
4. Prepare a "mini-aquarium" for each pair of students.
Each one will need a screen or layer of marbles on the bottom to provide
a refuge for eggs, so adult fish do not eat them.
Ten Gallon Glass Aquarium: Glass aquariums are much less resistant
to scratches thin acrylic aquariums, but more likely to break if dropped.
Air Pump, Air Stone, and Air tubing: These items are used to assist
with the oxygenation of the water, The bubbles help produce another
air/water interface and increase the circulation in the tank.
External Filter: This filter acts both as a mechanical filter (removal
of visibIe fish waste) and a biofilter (reduction of ammonia to nitrate)
by circulating the aquarium water through the filter media.
Filter Media: There are many types and kinds to choose from for different
effect in your filter. The most common and basic needs are as follows:
some Filter floss to catch particulates (mechanical filter), some Filter
carbon to assist in the removal of ions and carbon waste (mechanical
filter) and a Filter sponge to allow good bacteria growth (biofilter).
Water Conditioners: These products help remove the chlorine and chloroamides
found in everyday tap water. They also add vitamins essential for the
fish's slime layer.
Bacteria Primer: This is actual bacteria needed for the reduction
of ammonia. It wouId naturally build up in the filter over time but
this speeds up the process so fish may be added immediately.
Aquarium Heater: Most fish need warmer temperatures (7585 degrees
F).
Lighting Fixture. Most fish need some sort of photoperiod to grow
healthy.
FLIES
1. A week or two before the fly study, mash ripe bananas, add water and
a bit of packaged yeast and place in the bottom of a jar. This will attract
fruit flies. After about ten are collected in the jar, close the jar with
a piece of foam.
If this method fails, order flies from a vendor. Depending on the season,
climate, and geography, it may be difficult to attract the right kind
of insect. That is an experiment in itself!
Put one covered container of decaying fruit between two tables (this
insures that four people will get to observe during the entire day. First
graders naturally observe and discuss what is happening on their desks.
The larval stage can only be seen with a microscope inside the mashed
fruit mixture in the jar.
2. Gather and organize all the items on the Materials list.
3. Journals can be made with regular lined paper and a construction paper
cover. Optional: have students use the same journal to record for both
fish and flies with a special page to separate the sections.
Pictures from the books in the bibliography can help students design
their model animals.
Classroom Activity
INTRODUCTION:
1. Introduce the idea of the International Space Station by showing the
video of the Space Station Mock-Up, it will take approximately 15 minutes.
Based on the video, discuss with the class what it's like in space. (People
seem to float.) Explain that on the Space Station, people will be studying
how different animals live and grow in space so that we might better understand
how people can live in space.
2. Ask the children, "What do you know about animals that have been
in space? What would you like to know about animals that have been in
space?"
PART 1: FISH
1. Care of animals. The students will need some adjustment time
to realize that this is a science project not just a pet project. They
must be instructed in sharing and cooperation to insure the safety of
the animals as well as fairness to one another. Discuss the care of fish
with them. Make a chart of key points and display it in the class.
2. Brainstorming. Ask the students to tell what they know about
fish. Record their exact statements on a large sheet of butcher paper.
If there is a scientific error, question the entire class as to its accuracy
and if no one catches the error, simply state the correct fact and ask
the child who volunteered the misinformation to re-word the corrected
fact in their own words. Hang the recorded list of "what is known
about fish" on a wall for all to see. These same sentences can be
used later in the day for handwriting and spelling practice. Group and
partner work helps distribute skill levels and helps the second language
learners to produce with their English speaking classmates.
3. Fish parts and clay fish. Review the essential fish body parts
at the overhead projector or at the board-head, tail, fins, eyes, gills.
Then give each child a small portion of modeling clay. Ask the students
to create a likeness of their favorite kind of fish. Allow the students
to come together and share their model fish with the group.
4. Looking for eggs. Tell the students to watch for swollen abdomens
in the females and eggs at the bottom of the mini-aquariums. When they
spot the first egg or swollen abdomen, have them record it in their journals.
Share ideas with the children about the life stages of fish and have them
write or draw in their journals with the specific vocabulary and accompanying
illustrations. This can be facilitated in one of two ways:
a. elicit statements of observation and record these using the overhead
projector, blackboard or pictures. Students can record in their journals
and read with their partners. Or...
b. if many of the students can read and write, then ask the students
to write two sentences about what they saw, again asking them to read
their sentences to their partner. This serves to reinforce the reading
skills for those students who need the review of the vocabulary. This
verbal sharing also allows the children who are too shy to contribute
in group to participate.
5. Observing and recording in journals. Optional: Have students
write the scientific name for zebrafish in their journals-Danio rerio.
For one week, have the students observe the fish each day and use magnifying
glasses to count eggs. Have them record their counting results and write
and/or illustrate observations daily. They should have the day and/or
date on each page. Ask for volunteers to share with the class their results
and show their drawings. This oral publishing encourages sharing and respect
of others thoughts. Once the fish will have laid eggs for the children
to observe, the teacher needs to remove the adults to another container.
The adults eat the eggs if left together. The teacher or aide will put
the hatch larvae and eggs into separate petri dishes with water for observation.
The student can continue to observe, count, record and draw in their journals.
6. Comparing life stages of fish with humans. Show the life stages
of the zebrafish again and discuss the similarities to humans and other
vertebrates. Have the children draw the stages of the fish in the journal
with the corresponding stages of the vertebrate: infant, child/teenager,
adult.
7. Measuring the length of fish. Younger students may need to
do the following procedure in the spring to allow time for development
of finer motor skills. Model the procedure step by step, then have the
students repeat the procedure.
a. Have a small plastic TV tray with a wet paper towel in it and a
ruler with the zero end lined up the far left side of the tray.
b. Scoop the fish from the tank with a net and place on the wet paper.
c. Place the fish's nose at the far left end of the tray where the
zero of the ruler is and measure how long the fish is. First graders
can measure to the inch in the fall and the half inch by the spring.
If the fish try to hop around, they can be covered by a wet paper towel.
One partner should keep dropping water on the paper towel blanket of the
fish with an eye dropper or pipette.
Important:
Do not flatten the fish.
The fish can only remain out of water for 60 seconds. For the safety
of the fish, use a timer to warn the students when 60 seconds has elapsed.
Alternatively, have students hold their breath while the fish are out
of the water-when they need to exhale, it's time to put the fish back
in the water.
If any student is reluctant to handle the fish, then allow that child
to be partnered with someone who is willing to handle the fish, but encourage
participation.
When the fish are safely back in their homes, discuss with the students
as a group: what we learned about fish, including size, body parts, the
actions of the fish, difficulty of measurement and suggestions for improvement
for next time. Write down student's comments on an "experience chart."
Have the children write their observations, count, measurement, and drawing
of this task in their dated journals on two different occasions two weeks
apart.
8. Assessment. Hand out one white piece of construction paper, color
markers of assorted hues, and pencils. Have each student fold the paper
in thirds, draw the three stages of the zebrafish on each section, and
label each one. As partners, have the children create a list of the primary
needs of fish. Attach these two items to one another and keep them in
"science portfolios" along with the journals.
PART 2: FRUIT FLIES
1. Prepare a journal. Help each student prepare their own journal
of lined paper, colored construction paper and markers.
2. Who likes decaying fruit? Have the students observe the decaying
fruit in the covered bowls on their desks. Ask them to describe if verbally
and draw it in their dated journals. Ask the students,
What is this decaying food good for?
What animal might live on this matter?
How do these animals get in there?
Have you ever seen those animals anywhere else?
3. Life stages of the fruit fly. Show the life stages of the fruit
fly. (Use overhead transparency.) Have the children draw or show the life
stages of the fruit fly, illustrating and labeling each one: egg, larvae/pupa,
adult. Have the students do the same in their dated journal. Tell the
students the scientific name, Drosophila melanogaster. [This name translates
literally as "dew-loving (Droso/phila) pigmented (melano) stomach
(gaster).] Have the students draw and write the name in their journal.
Review the Space Station Mock-Up video and discuss the reasons for choosing
the fruit fly to be an astronaut as well as the zebrafish (see "Background
for Teachers" section at the end of this activity).
4. Model of a fly. Identify the body parts of a fly and allow
each child to construct a model of a fly. Useful items for this purpose
are three sections of an egg carton, a small 2" square of red construction
paper, a 4"x 4" square of waxed paper, six rectangular strips
of construction paper and glue.
5. Daily observations. Have the children use magnifying lenses
each day to observe the fruit. Have them record and draw even if nothing
has changed.
6. Assessment. In small groups or individually if time permits,
give each child some clay and ask she or he to create a fruit fly and
tell about it and about how it relates to the space station and our study
with regards to human conditions in space. Either take pictures of their
models or record by hand your evaluation of their depiction and comments.
Place this in their portfolios.
Wrap-up
Ask the children the key questions:
Ask the children to remember what the life stages are for each type
of animal.
Ask, "How are the zebrafish and fruit flies the same or different
in their life development?"
These further questions may stimulate the discussion:
Can flies or any animal stay up in space indefinitely? Why or why
not?
Can the smaller animals stay up in microgravity longer than the larger
ones?
Do you think that fish and flies can do better in space than people?
Why?
Explain again that space scientists study the development and reproduction
of fish and insects in the hope that they can learn more about how humans
may fare in space.
More Activity Ideas
Have students create one of the stages of the zebrafish out of butcher
paper and color them in crayon-resist with a water color wash to be stuffed
and made into a mobile. This activity could take up to two class periods.
Transcribe the charts of student comments and information into a computer
and make a class book for the children to review, share, and take home
to show their parents.
You can explore the life cycles of bean plants, frogs and tadpoles, chickens
and eggs, butterflies and caterpillars, meal worms, other types of fish.
Background for Teachers
Prerequisites: None
Vocabulary:
These words will become commonly used around the room, but it is not
possible for first graders to write and spell them.
environment- the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which
one is surrounded
generation- the average time between the birth of parents and
the birth of their offspring.
habitat- the physical environment normally occupied by a particular
organism or population.
microgravity-a level of gravity MUCH less than Earth's gravity
(much less than 1% normal Earth-gravity), generally caused by free fall
or space flight.
space station-an Earth orbiting research laboratory where astronauts
live and work.
Fish Words:
·adult- a fully mature fish.
aquarium- an artificial pond or tank that serves to house animals
and plants that live in the water.
embryo-the early development stage of an organism produced
from a fertilized egg; a young organism before it emerges from the seed,
egg, or the body of its mother.
fry-a juvenile fish, looks like the adult, but cannot reproduce
larvae-the fish that emerges from the egg; recently hatched.
spawn- to mate, produce eggs, and offspring.
zebrafish-a small fish that survives very well in the laboratory
and in space, also called Danio rerio.
Fly Words:
adult-a mature insect in its final winged stage, the adult
fruit fly is called an imago.
egg-a female reproductive cell which can, when fertilized by
a male sperm, develop into a new independent being.
larvae-the immature, wingless feeding form that hatches from
the egg of many different kinds of insects, changing in size while passing
through several molts and finally becomes the pupa.
pupa-the intermediate stage of an insect when it is enclosed
in a cocoon or case where it changes into the adult.
General Science Terms:
experiment-the testing of a hypothesis or idea under controlled
conditions.
life cycle-the stages of development, maturation, and reproduction
which an organism goes through.
mutation-a significant physical change in genetic material,
either chromosome or in genes.
Skills:
The students will gather information by observation, recording data,
classifying, comparing and predicting.
Concepts:
Zebra Fish and the Fruit Fly go through certain life stages.
All living organisms go through life cycles.
Scientists study certain animals to help them understand how humans
may adapt to life on a space station.
The students can collect data, make observations and make predictions
about occurrences in their lives.
Additional Science Background
On Fish:
In the year 2001 the Space Station will contain an international biological
research project that will contain an aquatic environment, among other
habitats for a ninety day study. The Space Shuttle Columbia carried fish
on its mission. They were the first vertebrates to reproduce in space.
The Japanese Space Agency has studied the Medaka fish in space. The Japanese
Space Agency discovered that the Medaka can reproduce in microgravity.
Four fish, two males and two females, were put in an aquarium. They were
kept under temperature and light controlled conditions (24°C and 14
hours light and 10 hours dark), like summer. A video camera recorded the
mating and the production of embryos.
NASA uses zebrafish for their study because they reproduce quickly and
are very strong. The NASA scientists are experimenting with six different
sized containers to discover which size container is best suited for the
optimum health and reproduction of the zebrafish life development. The
containers range from 100 ml to 500 ml. Until 15 days the hatch larvae
are fed dried egg yolk. Thereafter, they receive brine shrimp. The scientists
on the space station will probably feed the fish an artificial food such
as tetra-min like the kind we buy at the pet store. The zebrafish are
an excellent animal to study because they are vertebrates just as we are,
but they have a short generation span (1012 weeks). They are presently
being studied in the fields of genetics and molecular biology in laboratories
across the United States because of their accessible, transparent eggs
and embryo.
Why is it necessary to study animals in space, and in particular why
such a diversity of species? Is it really necessary to use animals to
understand human biology in space?
Answer: A major rationale for developing the International Space Station
(ISS) was that it would serve as an orbiting platform for the U.S. and
world science community for research in the life and microgravity sciences.
ISS would provide facilities for maintaining animals and plants, along
with supporting laboratory equipment, for finding out how the conditions
of space (e.g., microgravity and radiation) affect fundamental biological
processes. In addition, the ISS would serve to educate and inspire a new
generation of scientists and citizens, in the U.S. and around the world.
The ISS would in effect be an "Orbiting Research University,"
which would provide information on the adaptation of life to space, the
biomedical changes resulting from human space flight, and the early evolution
of life on Earth. A visit to any premier medical schools would make it
very clear that medical advances are based largely, not on experiments
done with humans, but on research done with animal models. Fundamental
processes in molecular biology, virology, genetics, cell biology, developmental
biology, and neurobiology have all been explored using animal models,
and only later has the information been applied to the human condition.
E. coli, C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, Xenopus, mice, rats, and the
chick are just a few of the highly-recognizable contributors. Some of
the largest zebrafish research facilities are located at the Massachusetts
General Hospital, The National Institutes of Health, The New England Medical
Center, and Children's Hospital (Boston).
A complete understanding of how life can adapt to various gravity environments
can only be achieved by studying a diversity of organisms. Consider, for
example, what we know about how life can adapt to another environmental
factor, temperature. The variety of mechanisms for temperature adaptation
is remarkable, and includes heat-shock proteins, hibernation, blood "anti-freezes",
torpor, endothermy, enetic polymorphisms, and cell membrane composition.
These phenomenon were discovered and described by studying bacteria, mammals,
fish, lizards, birds, insects, as well as a variety of other species.
If our examination of temperature adaptation had excluded these model
systems, then our current knowledge of how life in its entirety can adapt
to temperature would be extremely narrow, and we could never understand
the full scope of life's ability to colonize novel temperature environments.
The same will be true for Space.
On Fruit Flies:
There are many advantages of studying insects. They are the most abundant
and diverse group of animals on Earth. They have short life cycles and
are easy to raise, making them ideal for studying development. It takes
only 910 days for a generation of fruit flies to develop, allowing
biologists on the space station to observe mutations and other changes
in multiple generations during a mission. Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster)
can also be used to study radiation biology, genetics, physiology, and
behavior. In addition to fruit flies, other NASA research subjects include
flour beetles, crickets, and moth larvae.
There are four distinct development stages in fruit flies: egg, larvae,
pupae, and mature adult. At 25°C they will produce new adults in less
than 2 weeks. The adult fly may live several weeks and produce many new
eggs.
Many interesting results have already been found with fruit flies and
other insects in space. Successful mating is possible in microgravity
and embryo size increases, but life span in males is shortened. All other
developmental processes are normal. Adult flies brought up to space prefer
to walk, but when they do attempt to fly they become disorientated and
fly into the walls of the habitat.
To further this research, a fruit fly colony has been established at
Ames Research Center. The colony is housed in an incubator at 25°
C with 70-80% relative humidity, and an environmental light regime of
twelve hours each of light and dark periods. Adults are periodically transferred
to new containers with food and allowed to mate and lay eggs. The adults
are then removed to separate them from the next generation of eggs. The
eggs are allowed to develop to mature adults, a process that takes 910
days. Pupae are counted twice daily. Adults are counted and their sex
determined before being dehydrated and weighed.
Scientists at Ames are currently working on a mechanical device to separate
successive generations of fruit flies. A container was developed with
a cover that limits access to new food in the outgoing cylinder by the
feeding larvae and by egg-depositing females. Video images were collected
as a test of the feasibility of using video to monitor daily developmental
activities and to assist in deciding when to move food medium cylinders
remotely. A web site will collect and store all images of critical events
of adult mating and egg depositing. The data will be used to give an estimate
on the amount of time it would take a crew member to complete a specimen
collection task in orbit.
Editing by: Alan Gould, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California,
Berkeley
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