Creative Classroom Science Kits #1: Hatch Aquatic Insects with Mayfly in the Classroom

Make affordable classroom science kits for aquatic biology – simply by upcycling plastic drinks bottles and creating ultra-low-tech aquaria for coldwater aquatic invertebrates. Bringing freshwater ecology to life in the classroom, students learn about the importance of clean water, good habitat and diverse aquatic ecosystems (as well as understanding impacts of how we use the land surrounding rivers and streams).

• Mayfly in the Classroom is an educational concept that has been proven to excite and inspire many different age-groups of children, across diverse subject areas of school curricula.
• Mayfly in the Classroom science kits are relevant to a wide range of topic areas from basic biology, insect lifecycles and metamorphosis, through gas solubility vs. temperature to citizenship and conservation – right up to ecosystem functions and services that benefit human society.
• Activities are easy to differentiate for each age-group and ability-level. Painting/collage creation sits at the most inclusive level, with options for role-playing ethical debates – or even original scientific research – available for the highest levels of ability.
• As well as bringing rivers into the classroom – Mayfly in the Classroom is also an opportunity to take kids to the outdoor classroom of our rivers and streams.

All these benefits - and obvious links to multiple curricula - come at a much lower cost and greatly reduced technical complexity compared to “trout/salmon in the classroom” activities. High equipment costs and technical demands of keeping salmonid fish can often put such projects beyond many schools.

Mayfly in the Classroom science kits solve those problems – while supporting the same learning objectives.

This book provides step-by-step instructions on constructing and using simple, affordable kits to collect, hatch and release aquatic invertebrates. It also introduces essential biological information on the Ephemeroptera (mayflies) and provides lesson ideas to help you get the most out of the core activities.

Website links to supporting information and printable resources are also provided for convenience.