A Highly Accessible Classroom Aquaculture Rig

Abstract

Embryology can be a rich component of early scientific experiences, and the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an outstanding model for the study of life science. Most often, the production and maintenance of embryos is left to professional scientists. In this work, we describe a set of experiments performed together by all of the students of Lincoln K-8 Choice School in Rochester, MN. The experimental hypothesis is that larger aquarium volumes will yield higher reproductive success for zebrafish. Over 5 weeks of experiments, students demonstrated that larger clutch sizes were produced by zebrafish in 29-gallon tanks than 20-gallon tanks. Moreover, the experiment addressed the safety concerns and preparation necessary to do zebrafish science in K-8 classrooms.

Making a Difference: Education at the 10th International Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics

“…One of the foremost challenges associated with using zebrafish in a K-12 classroom is, not surprisingly, housing, and one of the most useful ideas to date from this collaboration is a simplified fish rack with adaptations for raising embryos which allows teachers to implement hands-on zebrafish experiments in their classrooms. 2 While this program does not exclusively employ zebrafish in all of its science modules, zebrafish are clearly one of its greatest strengths.…”