Science Comes to Life for Kunkel Students
Science literally came to life for Kunkel Elementary fourth graders this fall as part of the life cycles/direct development/metamorphosis science unit.
Thanks to an established partnership with the Penn State Extension and Dauphin County 4-H, students participated in the 4-H Embryology Project, an interactive life science activity that uses avian eggs to demonstrate the stages of embryonic development.
Each of the three fourth grade classes were responsible for the management and care of a classroom incubator, for a total of 47 eggs. Throughout the chicks’ 21 day incubation period, students observed and documented the stages of embryo development and were also tasked with ‘candling’ the eggs twice during the process. Candling is the process of using light to determine the quality and development of an egg and look for any ‘quitters’ (an embryo that stops growing) or ‘yolkers’ (an egg that is not fertile).
Finally, the big day came and a total of 32 healthy chicks hatched. As much as the students would have loved for the chicks to be a permanent part of their classroom, 4-H representatives took them to a Penn State owned farm and one Kunkel family even took a few chicks home.
We appreciate Penn State Extension and 4-H’s commitment to enhancing education with experienced-based learning and appreciate MASD teachers like Mrs. Aliza Kulina, Mrs. Mackenzie O’Donnell, and Mrs. Jenna Riggs who look for innovative ways to teach students!