Plankton are the base of the marine food web and supply much of the world’s oxygen. In this activity, students will use microscopes to examine and draw planktonic organisms from Long Island Sound. Students will compare different types of plankton, and discuss the role of plankton in the food web. For lab programs taught at Project O only, students will then participate in an engineering challenge in which they design their own planktonic organisms. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate and compare their designs during a plankton race (sinking rate challenge) – slowest plankton wins!

In-school does not include plankton engineering challenge, and requires access to dissecting microscopes.