Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program 
& Geography Educators' Network of Indiana

Here's a snapshot of some fantastic exotic aquatics activities that are underway !!!  

v A simulation of an underwater environment invaded by exotic species located at a school entrance. Classes can study the bulletin board displays, read posted information, and gather handouts to take back to the classroom. It is like taking a field trip in their own school! The facility also contains a pre-school so younger students will be able to have a memorable, multi-sensory introduction to exotic species. Students who have already seen the display have commented that it is a “nuisance” to walk through the area; it is filled with heavy string suspended from the ceiling and reaching the floor containing plant material and pictures of exotic animals. The teacher’s response: “Yes, you’re right! It is a nuisance, just as these exotic species are a nuisance in our lakes and rivers.”

v Bumper stickers to increase community awareness of exotic species issues.

v An Internet search and  a brochure on exotic species. These brochures will be part of a large world map display posted in the school.

v Letters from students to the editor of the local newspaper to describe the experience in the exotic species underwater environment.

v  Exotic species information flyers using Printmaster to be generated by students and distributed to other classrooms and perhaps outside the community.

v A play in Spanish about purple loosestrife including full-scale pictures of the nuisance plant. Students learned the meringe, and used the pictures in a dance the teacher choreographed to demonstrate the spread of purple loosestrife. As part of a grant for parents who do not speak English, a videotape of the play will be shown to Spanish-speaking parents to help them understand the danger of using purple loosestrife as an ornamental plant.

v Monitoring the Wabash River for signs of zebra mussel infestation. Students will research this species, collect data from frequent site visits, put together a complete information packet of their activity and results, and send this information to other schools along the river to encourage establishing more student-monitoring centers. Students will present their data in a creative way such as a brochure, poster, or video newscast, and they might post flyers for the general public at boating ramps.

v  A biology teacher is working with a geography teacher at her school to coordinate research of exotic species and development of  UNwanted posters. The study of exotic species is being brought into the curriculum in each unit since each unit targets different animal classifications. Students are encouraged to bring articles they discover related to exotic species, and one article a student found that reported cholera being found in ballast water made a very strong impact on her students. Later in the spring students will be using the new software for the Internet to communicate with other students and share the knowledge they gained about exotic species.

v  When the class studies wetlands, one of the teachers plans to have his students make a wetland mural showing it before and after exotic species invasion. His class will take a field trip to an area with wild mustard, and they will contribute an hour of time toward pulling out these plants. His school also has their own television station, so he plans to create a segment on the activities and projects associated with exotic species.