On May 9thNCCOS’s Dr. Matt Kendall engaged 16 kindergartners at Seneca Academy in Darnestown, MD by demonstrating his scuba gear and talking about what it was like working underwater. Dr. Kendall showed short videos of squid locomotion, squids changing color and shooting ink to protect themselves.
The children then dissected real squid and studied major external features. They removed the ink sac, wrote their names with the ink, and drew squid pictures. Last was making a model squid out of paper and, using a balloon, shooting it across the room to see jet propulsion in action.
Everything was integrated with the children’s learning-unit on observation and keeping journals. The excited children sent Dr. Kendall detailed drawings of what they learned to show their appreciation.