By IGDVS Staff

Take a peek into the science classroom, and you’ll find the 5th and 6th graders huddled around their tables trying to clean up an oil spill that contaminated their constructed habitats. 

The lesson began with students forming groups to read various articles about oil spills. Each group then summarized their respective article and presented its main points to the rest of the class. Equipped with a deeper understanding of the detrimental consequences of oil spills on the environment, the students were ready to dive into an oil spill simulation.

In the following class session, students gathered feathers, lichen, sticks, rocks, and leaves to create a habitat around a body of water. They then carefully poured a small amount of oil into their tray, saturating everything in and around the water with the oily substance.

“Imagine that you’ve been recruited to clean up an oil spill in a nearby lake. The local wildlife and plant life are suffering, and your assistance is needed. Your initial task is to observe how the materials react to the oil. Record your observations.”

Students worked attentively, recording their observations and using tweezers to closely examine items from their tray.

The next step involved utilizing a set of tools provided, including string, cotton swabs, dishwashing soap, tweezers, a plastic knife, a pipette, and a sponge to clean up the materials affected by the oil spill. The students were tasked with describing the pros and cons of each tool.

The feather was slimy and hard to hold. The dish soap got rid of the oil but then you would need water to get rid of the dish soap. I understood what oil spills could do to plants and animals.

Iris Heimberg, 5th grade

This activity helped me learn how hard it is to clean up oil spills and the animals that are suffering. The Q-tip cleaned the rocks well but it got dirty very fast. We had to use a lot of Q-tips and it is kind of wasteful. The effect of the oil spill is that it is damaging for the environment.

Sherry Wu, 6th grade

The feather got coated with oil and it was hard to clean. A tool that we used was a pipette. The pipette did suck up the oil but the pipette was so small so you had to use precision. Also, it was hard to get the oil back out. It helped me understand how real oil spills affect the environment.

Bayelle Blanc, 5th grade

Our oil spill was small, yet it was difficult to clean up. A real oil spill could be a million times bigger and could do more damage. The pipette was great for cleaning oil out of the the water but did not do much to the habitat materials. The spill happened extremely fast while the clean up process was hard and slow.

Celeste Zhou, 6th grade

The bird (pom pom) got all wet and greasy. It was hard to get the oil off of it. We need to be more careful with oil because these spills are extremely bad and it kills a lot of animals. The oil was easy to spill but the clean up was very hard to clean up. The spoon could scoop up the oil from the dirty water well but it was slow and not a good help when trying to get the oil off the bird (pom pom).

Zacari Obenyah, 5th grade

The student reflections highlight a crucial takeaway from the simulated oil spill activity – despite its small scale, the effort required for the cleanup was significant. By engaging in the cleanup process for their constructed habitats, students gained insights into the consequences of human activities on the natural world. The effort involved in the cleanup left a lasting impression on the students, emphasizing the importance of responsible environmental stewardship.