Harbor Explorers, MIT Scientists!

Many of the thousands of young people that Save the Harbor / Save the Bay’s youth environmental education programs serve each summer haven't had many opportunities to interact with marine science first-hand. But on Boston Harbor’s rocky shores and sailing center docks, they can be heard squealing with delight as they catch a minnow in a dip net or hold a lobster for the first time. By the end of each summer, and often just by the end of one day, they can explain more about the intertidal zone and the anatomy of a crab than the average college student. It’s truly amazing how much our children and teens can learn and retain about marine science when they’re having fun. It's what we strive for here every day!

In Summer 2010, the 9,400 kids and teens in the Boston Harbor Explorers and All Access Boston Harbor youth programs had the unique opportunity to take their exploration of marine science one step further. They didn’t just transform into individual budding scientists, but became crucial components of a network of thousands of “citizen scientists” across the region through a brand new initiative of Save the Harbor’s youth curriculum. Dr. Judith Pederson, a great friend of Save the Harbor and a professor with MIT’s Sea Grant College Program, enlisted the help of our youth program staff and participants to gather scientific data across the Harbor about its marine wildlife, how its water quality changes from day to day, and how its marine environments differ from location to location across our magnificent natural resource.

And this summer, a new year of Harbor Explorers are joining the effort -- and the fun!

The goal of Dr. Pederson and her team's research tasks is to gather data regarding the abundance, density, size, and gender of invasive crabs on Boston Harbor’s shores - specifically Asian Shore crabs. Using predetermined measurements for a sample area, the kids and teens choose a section of shore at random and collected the crabs they found within the limits. Everyone had a blast chasing the crabs as the scurried under rocks to evade capture. After investigating each crab’s species and gender once it was caught, measurements of its carapace, or body, were also determined and recorded. Each new day our explorers got to analyze how their “crab count” results changed based on the weather and the tides. But most of all, they got so excited that their new role as citizen scientists let them get their hands on so many critters in the process.

The benefits of Citizen Science extend even farther beyond recreational and educational benefits for Greater Boston’s youth. Each of our Citizen Scientists gave MIT researchers another pair of eyes and hands to observe and record new data, making it possible for a just a few researchers to collect large amounts of data and study huge stretches of coastline. Additionally, history has proven to us that some of the most interesting discoveries have been made not by scientists, but by regular citizens volunteering to be a part of understanding our world a little better! So our Harbor Explorers are keeping an eye out for new and unfamiliar things too!

Save the Harbor’s thousands of youth this summerare learning an important lesson: you don’t need a lab coat or beakers filled with brightly colored chemicals to be a scientist. All you need is the eagerness to explore and analyze, and, if you’re lucky, the chance to be part of something greater.

Happy Crab Counting!

Michelle Palermino

Citizen Scientist

Project NaGISA: Global Citizen Science at Camp Harbor View

Citizen Science is a concept that repeatedly comes up in the posts on this blog—whether we’re making ecological observations by counting crabs or testing water quality with Secchi disks, we Boston Harbor Explorers use our firsthand contact with the Harbor to gather important data. While we do provide the data we collect to Dr. Judy Pederson and her colleagues at MIT’s Sea Grant Program, there are some even larger and more ambitious programs out there that aim to collect and compare data collected by Citizen Scientists across the nation and around the world. Project NaGISA, which stands for Natural Geography In Shore Areas, is a worldwide research collaboration that takes a census of life along the coastline at 240 sampling sites in 28 different countries. Camp Harbor View is one of those 240 locations, and last Tuesday I had the pleasure of participating in their data collection firsthand.

In order to compare data collected at sites scattered across the globe, Project NaGISA has a rigorous set of standardized procedures. Greg Stoddard, Camp Harbor View’s Director of Operations, oversaw a group of Counselors-In-Training as they undertook this scientific survey to fulfill their project requirements. Staff from the New England Aquarium provided the CITs with GPS units, to record precise latitude and longitude measurements for each one-meter-square quadrat, and sections of PVC piping to mark off the habitat areas where we collected data. After assembling our equipment, we headed to the rocky coast to see what living and non-living features we could identify. Racing against the rising tides, we collected data from low, medium, and high tidal zones—providing a detailed, multi-faceted description of life along Long Island’s shoreline. Counselors and CITs alike wore expressions of intense concentration as they scrutinized each quadrat, carefully recording their observations.

Project NaGISA provided scientists around the world with detailed data on the coastal geography of our very own Boston Harbor, from the perspective of Long Island. In addition, the research process gave the young adults working at Camp Harbor View a glimpse of the rigors of field ecology, introducing them to a field that’s becoming increasingly important in our changing world. Science is all about collaboration, and I’m thrilled to have been a part of this endeavor.

Cheers,

Aaron Becker

Big Trouble from Microscopic Algae

For the two weeks I worked there, Piers Park Sailing Center in East Boston was beset by a plague—hordes of microscopic plants and animals swarmed so thickly through the water column that they noticeably reduced the water’s clarity. Emily told me that the previous week’s Secchi depth reading, a measure of water clarity, had been 3.5 to 4 meters; during the weeks I was at Piers Park, Secchi depth never exceeded 3.5 meters, and most often hovered around 3.0 meters. Half a meter might not seem like such a drastic reduction in visibility, but many algae blooms occur in the few meters below the water’s surface. The drop in Secchi depth that we observed could indicate increased concentrations of algae in the Harbor. While happy to have been able to observe such a far-reaching process in the Boston Harbor, neither our HarborExplorers nor I were happy about our hypothetical algae bloom.

Algae blooms, however, do more than just make it more difficult to see into the Harbor’s depths. Depending on the species of algae, algae blooms impart water with a slimy green or sickly, reddish-brown tinge. Blooms are unattractive and gross, even to an untrained observer. Some species of dinoflagellate algae produce toxic compounds, poisoning fish and making shellfish unsafe to eat. Fortunately, we have no evidence to suggest that the algae we observed were toxic enough to kill fish; they did, however, make the water unappealing enough to keep the fish from venturing close to our dock. Fishing in algae-infested water is pretty frustrating! Even using sea worms as bait, we only caught tiny butterfish.

Algal blooms occur when large amounts of nutrients enter the Boston Harbor, usually following a large storm. Nitrogen and phosphorous, two essential nutrients that allow algae to proliferate, wash into the harbor when rainwater dissolves fertilizers and other compounds. During extreme storms, some nutrient-containing waste enters the harbor through leaky sewer lines and combined sewage overflow pipes. Nutrient pollution in the harbor isn’t nearly as severe a problem as it was before the harbor was cleaned up, but there are still measures we can take to ensure that nutrient contamination in the harbor is kept to a minimum. Lawn fertilizers, for instance, contain exactly the mix of elements that algae need to bloom—keeping their use to a minimum, or stopping their use altogether, reduces the risk that they’ll end up polluting our harbor.

The Boston Harbor is a delicate system that human activity can easily disturb. Without human intervention, nitrogen and phosphorous move through living things in a complex and interconnected cycle. Even unintentional actions that humans undertake on land can have far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems, and algal blooms are just one of the unpleasant side effects of our careless mistakes. I can only hope that in every year to come Boston Harbor Explorers experience a harbor that’s even cleaner than it was the year before.

-Aaron

Harbor Exploring

I was the first of the Save the Harbor staff to arrive at Piers Park Sailing Center this morning. I got there just as the first campers were showing up. After Mark arrived I soon found out that we had to work the whole day without a Senior Marine Educator. At first I was a little bit worried but I knew Mark was up to the challenge so I manned up and got ready. We started off the day with a rousing game of sharks and minnows. Just as we were about to start another game I noticed that the kids were itching to get down to the dock. I grabbed the stuff while Mark led the kids down onto the dock. Although most people would say catching a striped bass from the dock at Piers Park, I beg to differ. Hooking a crab is nearly impossible, for unlike fish, the hook does not actually hook through the crab. The angler must reel in his/her line at an easy, constant rate so the crab does not fall off the hook. We lost multiple crabs today for that very reason.

After putting that disappointment behind us, Mark and I scooted on over to the Courageous Sailing Center at Charlestown. Mark and I set sail on the Green Boat with Kathleen the instructor, Norah, and Naomi, who are both Step 3 sailors. While we explored the Boston Harbor we ran some scientific tests on the water. To start things off we checked the temperature of the water. Our thermometer read 15 degrees Celcius, which, with the help of some speedy calculating on my part, we found out is approximately 49 degrees Fahrenheit. I can tell you earnestly that I had no plans to jump in the water after that. Next we checked the pH level of the harbor water in several different spots. Using simple pH strips, we found that the pH level was between 7 and 8, making it slightly basic. Usually, ocean water is about 8, which fit with our data. After these exhausting scientific experiments we decided to relax a bit and enjoy the breeze.

-Alex

"What happens to shells after the animal gets eaten?"

This question lead to a great conversation about the calcium cycle. Calcium is an element (like hydrogen, or oxygen): there's a certain amount of calcium on the planet--you can't really "make" new calcium, but animals can sequester it in different ways. You might know that one of the reasons kids are encouraged to drink their milk is because it contains calcium--which is the element that strengthens bones, especially for growing kids. Bones are a lot like shells--though our bones are on the inside of our body, they're made of similar stuff and serve a similar purpose--they provide "structural support" (which just means they keep us from being blobs:). While people get our calcium from our food, crabs and other animals with shells sequester little particles floating in the water column to build their shells with. Once a crab dies (or molts), the shell will decompose, releasing little calcium particles into the water to be sequestered by some other animal. The kids were fascinated with this cycle--"that's just like recycling!" one of them exclaimed. "I think the crabs are better at it then we are," observed one of the campers, gesturing at a plastic cup left on the beach. "I'm not gonna get beaten by a crab!" her friend replied, snatching the trash off the beach. Walking back, we talked about how different families and neighborhhods practice recyling, and the kids were eager to brainstorm ways to do an even better job--talk about learning from the environment!

~Emily

To learn more visit this link here.

Scavenger Hunts.... and Hunting for Scavengers!

Hello all! My first week at Blacks Creek and Camp Harbor View has been many things so far-- exciting, exhausting, fishy, crabby, sunny, sweltering, rainy, and, best of all... fun.

Starting a new rotation in Week 5 of the summer is really interesting. Everyone around me, including my Junior staff and the Harbor Explorers themselves, have already had the chance to establish themselves at the sites, and here I am, the rookie of the group! While I thought it might be weird or off-putting, it's actually a really great dynamic... the kids are so excited to share with me what they're learned already this summer, my Junior staff is exhibiting the leadership skills I've seen emerging since June, and Emily and Aaron have both laid an amazing path for me to just do what I love-- foster love for the Harbor!

In addition to some good, old-fashioned free-form fishing and exploration, it's been a week of structured games and experiments as well. We took part in our regularly scheduled Wednesday Crab Count on the rocky shore at Camp Harbor View; and our Harbor Explorers at Blacks Creek took got to analyze their environment through exciting and competitive scavenger hunts!

Here's our winning team from Tuesday's scavenger hunt at Blacks Creek! Items included a hermit crab without a shell, a minnow, an Green Crab that is orange in color, and many more interesting Harbor creatures! Great job, you three!

Wednesday brought my first crab count at Camp Harbor view, right as the tide was rapidly coming in on the rocky shore! Groups of six campers created three teams along the shoreline. Each team measured a two meter by two meter square, which one camper standing at each corner. The remaining two campers counted all the crabs they could find within the parameter. Turning over rocks quickly becoming submerged in the rising tide, their hands were soon overflowing with Asian Shore crabs! We recorded the numbers for Dr. Judy and our network of fellow citizen scientists in the Harbor- but I think the kids had the most fun turning over rocks and realizing the little crabs could scuttle across their skin with minimal pinching involved!

That's it from Blacks Creek and Camp Harbor View for now. Where is the summer going?! I'm not okay with this.

Lots of Harbor Love,

Michelle

"EEEWWWW-what's that piece of goo stuck to the lobster trap?!"

For a moment, I was just as mystified as the campers: the dark, slimy lump attached to the lobster trap looked very little anamone diagrams I've studied. We all examined the mysterious blob, and then I had it! The kids didn't believe me when I told them I thought the that the blob was in fact, a real-live SEA ANEMONE! Contracted becasue it was out of water, and being passed around by squeeling 12-year-olds. We put it in a seperate bucket while we went to pull up the rest of our traps and when we returned, our mysterious blob had unfurrled to reveal itself and confirm my hypothesis! We smiled in disbelief to watch the elegant tentacles waving gracefully in the water. Talk about tranformations...

~Emily

Crab Count Goes to Spectacle

Hi guys,

I wanted to update everyone on our weekly crab count from last week. For those of you who don't know, every Wednesday at STH/STB is crab count day. Each site conducts a quick count of the crabs in their area and reports back on their findings.

The idea behind this project is that everyone is a citizen scientist and can do something to better understand the environment we live in. A "citizen scientist" can be anyone-kids, adults, witty interns such as yours truly, everybody can learn more about Boston Harbor and then share what they find with others. My small contribution so far has been to set up a sample area when All Access arrives to either Georges or Spectacle Island, and then count the number of crabs I find in the "crab zone." I also measure them and note whether they're male or female.

While the kids love looking for crabs with me and the other interns, we had no luck the past week. Neither the kids nor I could find any crabs last Wednesday, which was a bit of a bummer. However, one of the best parts about science experiments is that even when you don't get the answer you're looking for, you ask yourself a bunch of new questions no matter what. So I didn't find any crabs-why? Was the sample are too small (it was 1 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 feet)? Was it because the tide was coming in? Should we try a different part of the beach, maybe a littler further away from the crowds? All this citizen scientist knows is, that over the next two weeks, I'll have a lot more questions to try to answer.

-Carolyn

Green Boat Discoveries: Arctic Terns in the Boston Harbor!!

After the lunch-hour madness (20+ kids power-walking—“we’re not running!” they assure me—up and down the dock, pulling up lobster traps, testing water quality, measuring and counting crabs, showing each other how to cast fishing lines, asking a million questions a minute!) at Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, we’re ready for a slightly calmer (though no less exciting) afternoon. And we’re all in for a treat, because afternoons at Courageous quickly became one of the best parts of my summer (and I a real highlight everyone on the boat). After lunch, the kids split up into teams, known as “steps”: step 2 for beginners, step 3 for more experienced sailors (these kids can sail without a counselor!); step 4 for competitive sailing and racing. Our partnership with the courageous has resulted in an in-depth environmental education component “step” integrated into the step 3 program: “step GREEN,” where we take a small group of campers aboard the “green boat”(no, it’s not literally green;)to explore the ecology of the harbor they spend their days sailing in.

This week, we searched for Arctic Terns – and watched them swooping down to capture herring from the water, then tracked them back to their nesting grounds. The kids were enchanted, eyes-glued to binoculars as we circled the nesting grounds. Once they became eye-witnesses, they were ravenous for information! Here’s a sampling of just a few of the questions we talked about:

How old do they get? Average of 20 years, but up to 30.

How far do they migrate? From the Arctic! Massachusetts is the southern-most end of their range.

Are they really endangered? What does that even mean? This question lead to a pretty sophisticated conservation discussion – we talked about how organisms are designated (as either endangered or threatened) under the Endangered Species Act, and the different kinds of protection that can provide. We compared federal and state-level protection (which is what the Arctic Terns have—they’re listed as a Massachusetts “species of concern”), and talked about local populations—what it means for Arctic terns to be “endangered” in Massachusetts but still plentiful in the arctic.

What will happen to the terns if the ice caps melt? While we’ve made tremendous strides to protect this species nesting grounds, habitat loss in their winter home is raising higher alarm bells—scientists are concerned that temperature changes associated with global warming may be the next big threat confronting this recovering species.

~Emily

You can find more information here.

This Week's Highlights

A great week overall—I felt like I’d really gotten into the swing of things for the Piers Park/

Courageous -Charlestown rotation, and it was great to be able to build on last week and enjoy the beautiful weather we had for most of the week with bright, enthusiastic campers!

A couple of highlights:

-Three lobsters at courageous!

-The Boston Fire Department’s FIREBOAT made a visit to Piers Park on Wednesday! Harbor Explorers joined the sailing campers to listen to the firefighters explain the workings of the boat, and talk about some of the fires they put out. The kids were excited to see the demo, and even more excited to get to try the salt-water fire hose!

-My first morning at the Children's Museum was a flying success -- as the morning progressed Connor and Timmy helped kids with rods and crab traps, quickly filling our touch tank with fish, crabs, mussels, & sea-squirts -- a huge hit with passing families!

-I got to practice my very rusty and VERY limited high school Spanish with some very patient campers at Piers Park; I remembered that fish is pez (pezcado, once it’s cooked) and learned that crab is cangerojo. These conversations got me thinking even more deliberately about how to communicate science most effectively, and reminded me to supplement my narratives with non-verbal teaching tools to better engage people from all back-grounds—native speakers included!

-We had several successful afternoons on the Green Boat @ Courageous – stay tuned for a post devoted to these adventures!

-A terrifically popular "Science Wednesday" collecting data on crabs and water quality!

I’m sad to leave these sites, but excited to experience the last two: Courageous-Dorchester and Southie!

Enjoy you’re weekend—and try to get out on the harbor!

Emily

Citizen Scientists at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

Many hands make for light work, as the saying goes—but in the case of researchers studying invasive species, the many hands and eyes they borrow from Citizen Scientists make it possible for a few researchers to study huge stretches of coastline. Dr. Judith Pederson, a professor with MIT’s Sea Grant College Program, has enlisted the help of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Boston Harbor Explorers togather data on the abundance, density, size and gender of invasive crabs in Boston Harbor. Dr. Judy and her fellow researchers put this data to use in several important ways, making our Boston Harbor Explorers part of a scientific pursuit that’s very important and widespread.

First, field observations by citizen scientists often yield new and unexpected observations. Citizen scientists, by virtue of the sheer volume of data they can collect, are a wonderful resource for tracking the spread of invasive organisms. In a study of invasive crabs conducted in 2005, a volunteer Citizen Scientist recorded a 40-mile northward range expansion by Asian Shore Crabs in Maine (Delaney et al. 2008). In layman’s terms, an amateur scientist discovered an Asian Shore Crab 40 miles farther north than anyone had ever seen one before! 40 miles is an incredible distance for a crab that rarely grows larger than a few inches across. The fact that Asian Shore Crabs were able to spread so quickly is a testament to how adaptable and prolific these invaders are.

Second, each additional Citizen Scientist gives researchers another pair of eyes and hands to observe and record new data. Scientists can then use the data that Citizen Scientists collect to produce models of how invasive organisms reproduce and establish themselves in their

new habitats; these detailed computer models take into account features like water temperature, salinity, and the direction of ocean currents to estimate how quickly an invasive species will establish itself in a new environment. Understanding the population dynamics of an invasive species is an essential step before the invader can be contained or eradicated.

Together, these two facets of Citizen Science—novel observations combined with data collection—make this approach ideally suited to tackling the challenges presented by invasive species. The earlier that scientists notice that an invasive species has spread to and established itself in an area, the easier it is to eradicate the invader. The longer that government agencies take to act on an invasive species threat, the more time the invader has to reproduce and expand its range. The fact that Citizen Scientists can be trained to recognize new invasive species means they can assist researchers and public agencies in stopping invaders before they become too plentiful in their new habitats. To that end, the “Hitchhikers” guide that MIT Sea Grant publishes includes several anticipated invaders in addition to the introduced species that are already commonplace on New England’s shores. Our Boston Harbor Explorers learn how to recognize not only the invaders that are already here, but also any new species that have yet to gain a foothold here in the Boston Harbor.

Knowledge is power. Learning how to recognize and prevent the spread of invasive species enables our Boston Harbor Explorers to take an active role in preserving the harbor’s native species for future generations.

Cheers and Calipers,

Aaron

For more information, you can check out the following papers and publications:

Delancy, DG et al. Marine invasive species: validation of citizen science and implications for national monitoring networks." Biological Invasions: V10, pp. 117-128, 2008.

You can also check out Dr. Judith Pederson's "Hitchhikers Guide to Exotic Species," available through the MIT Sea Grant Bioinvaders Page.

Kid-powered science!

Thanks Michelle for the project info--I too am very excited to work with Dr Judy on this citizen science project!

Our refractor seemed to have a bit of a grudge against us today: the line indicating salinity level simply refused to appear –though the kids were happy to pass it around peering in and trying to diagnose the problem (though I think we may need to seek expert advice).

Our secchi disk tests were a bit more successful; The kids were excited to help with a real-world project, and eager to take turns lowering the disk into the water. In fact, the later group got discouraged: why bother measuring the same thing again and again? This frustration turned into an unexpected opportunity to talk about the margin of error, and the power of multiple samples—a concept I wasn’t exposed to until college! But the kids got it instantly: if one of us is exaggerating, or needs glasses, or is impatient and stops too early—we could mess up the data! So having multiple samples helps us check each others accuracy.

The three groups got the following results:

Piers Park

Group 1: 4.5 (lengths)

Group 2: 4 (lengths)

Group 3: 4 (lengths)

Courageous

Group 1: 3.5 (lengths)

Group 2: 3.5 (lengths)

These measurements prompted some great questions: why would water clarity change from day to day? What are the human and environmental factors that influence water quality? Is everything that makes the water murky actually "bad"? I look forward to exploring these any many other questions as we continue with the project throughout the summer.

~Emily

Testing the Waters!

Hello from Week 3! To a Senior Marine Educator such as myself, the third week means that I'm at completely new sites in our biweekly rotation around the Harbor. And I couldn't have asked for a better farewell to my sites last week, nor a better start to the new week!

I wrapped up a phenomenal week at Piers Park with a great group of truly enthusiastic and engaged Harbor Explorers. We caught our first fish, took a field trip to a local pier to see our harbor habitat from a different angle, and really bonded as a group of people excited about the water and what it has to offer. They'll be on my mind for the rest of the summer. Thank you everyone!

At both Piers Park and Courageous Charlestown, we were charged with two special projects during our second week. Dr. Judy Peterson, a great friend of Save the Harbor / Save the Bay, came to us asking us to join a large network of "citizen scientists" across the area in a large-scale effort to better understand the Harbor and how it is changing. Piers Park and Charlestown are specifically measuring the water for clarity - how clear or not clear the water is-- and salinity - the amount of salt in the water. The tests were great hands-on tools for the kids at both locations to consider the water in our Harbor a little differently, and to see how its composition isn't the exact same every single day, for various reasons.

We used a Secchi Disk-- a fairly simple tool, in fact-- to measure the water's clarity. The Secchi Disk consists of a black and white disk on the end of a nylon line, along which little beads are placed every meter. All our citizen scientists (like our very enthusiastic explorers at Piers Park) needed to do was hold on the line and slowly drop the disk deeper and deeper into the water until they cannot see the white part of the disk any longer. However deep the disk is when the white goes out of sight, according to the beads along the line, was our measurement. At both Piers Park and Courageous, our measurements were falling between 3 meters and 4 meters all week, with much higher measurements (more clarity) as the week went on, which also happened to correspond with the rain half way through the week.

To measure salinity, we were privileged to use a portable refractometer provided to us by Dr. Judy. If we place a little drop of water on the lens of the refractometer, it measures the deflection of light through the drop of water, which is affected by the amount salt (measured in parts per thousand, or PPT) in the water. When we did the test at Courageous last week we got readings of 26 PPT on Tuesday (7/13), 27 PPT on Wednesday (7/14), and 21 PPT on Thursday (7/15-- again, after the rain!). Both tests were a great activity for everyone to gather together and do at both sites, not to mention a great effort to be a part of across the Harbor!

Lots of Harbor Love,

Michelle

Testing Theories: Lobster Discovered

After our visit to the Boston Children's Museum on Monday I started to question the seafloor in the Fort Point Channel. Is it too soft, muddy or is the habitat not optimal for lobsters? Well, first thing this morning Latoya, a young participant and myself had pulled up the lobster trap and behold a lobster! The lobster was above the regulation size of 3 1/4 inches from the eyes to the beginning of the tail (carapace) and could have been taken out of the ocean, but as an educator I prefer to practice catch and release. I was very pleased to have proven my theory

WRONG! There are lobsters, fish, crabs and sessile organisms that live in and around the Fort Point Channel.

After a successful day at the Boston Children's Museum the young boy who helped us bring the lobster in also helped us release the marine organisms back into the Fort Point Channel. Thank you to everyone who participated in Boston Harbor Explorers today. It was a lot of fun.

Jennifer Last

Mad Scientists!

The kids in Quincy this week had the opportunity to try their hand at some science experiments.  Everyone put on gloves and safety glasses before beginning our experiment.  Safety first!  We took the air and water temperature and recorded our information in our log book. 

Using the water quality testing kit, we were able to measure the pH of the water at Black's Creek as well as some puddles in the parking lot.  

We found that the rain found in the puddle was more acidic than the water in the creek!  Next, we used pH paper to test other liquids in the area.  The Gatorade turned the pH paper bright pink, showing that it was acidic.  On the other hand, the bleach turned the pH paper dark blue, proving that it is basic.  Everyone enjoyed comparing the pH of all the liquids.  I think we may be creating some scientists!!

~Aimee