Kingston Middle School

Temperatures measured by Kingston Middle School Students with a SeaState sensor in the pond by their school.

Kevin Eyer, Kingston Middle School

The 7^th grade class at Kingston Middle School are embarking on a mission to better understand the ecological relationships of organisms within our local pond. Along the way they will be developing skills in building sensors capable of measuring a variety of parameters including temperature, motion, humidity and more.

This year our 7^th graders investigated cells and examined microorganisms from their pond under a microscope. They studied how energy and matter flow through ecosystems and how environmental factors influence population dynamics.  This past month our students were introduced to the sensors and the basic skills necessary to prepare the sensors for temperature reading. As shown in our pictures students practiced wiring the microcomputer as well as internal and external sensors to their breadboards. For practice, and to get students minds thinking about science questions for this next year, we deployed a prepared sensor in the pond. Questions asked were, “How do temperatures at night fluctuate?” “How do temperatures on land differ from temperatures under water?” The sensor took temperature readings both within the sensor housing, which was set near the edge of the pond, and under about 3” of water. We took hourly readings for 4 days. Now we are back in the classroom and discussing our results. Classroom teacher, Aaron Evans, is excited to be continuing this next year. “I’m excited to see the student involvement on this project,” says Evans.

Temperatures measured by Kingston Middle School Students with a SeaState sensor in the pond by their school.