Bringing the Coral to the Classroom

Guest blog post by Logan Brenner (lbrenner@ldeo.columbia.edu)

I love the ocean and everything about it, from the isolated atolls down to the creepy deepsea anglerfish and back up again to the coral reefs. But those distant ecosystems don’t appeal to everyone. However, just because something is geographically far removed doesn’t mean that it isn’t important. As a graduate student studying ocean science and climate change, I want to use my research to share the importance of the reef system and how scientists can use corals as tools to learn about the past.

I developed a quick, easy, and inexpensive experiment to help younger students learn how paleoceanographers core and analyze corals. The goals of this project are to introduce students to ocean studies and to teach, albeit in a slightly abstract way, how to conduct fieldwork.  The main goal, however, is to take what maybe a completely unfamiliar part of the world, a coral reef, and learn in a hands on fashion without having to go to the ocean. This project was originally created for an open house setting where students were passing through, but could easily be adapted for the classroom.

As I said this project is inexpensive and only requires:

             -- A clear/glass casserole dish,

            -- Cut bubble tea straws,

            -- Two colors of art dough,

            -- A pen,

            -- Confetti,

            -- Paper cut outs of corals,

            -- tape

Instructions for Set Up:

            -- Layer the dough in the casserole, alternative colors. This represents banding in stony corals

            -- Pour confetti on the top layer to represent the tissue layer

            -- Tape the paper cut outs to the casserole dish to make a lively coral reef

Project Procedure for Participants:

            -- Choose a bubble tea straw

            -- Place the straw on top of the tissue layer

           -- Press the straw straight down to the bottom of the casserole

            -- Slowly pull the straw straight up

            -- Use a capped pen to push the coral core out

     Analysis Questions:

            -- What could the different colors represent? (annual couplets, different seasons)

            -- Why the layers different sizes? (represents different lengths of time)

            -- Why do the layers get tilted? (grew that way or perhaps from coral core removal)

Please contact me at lbrenner@ldeo.columbia.edu with any questions.

Happy Coring!

Logan Brenner

Check out Logan's blog at:

ScienceofLogan.com