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Hi Charlee!! Great observations and tank drawing! Your baby salmon's giant yolk sac belly is perfect (and super cute). The tank is in a building where all of the science stuff is kept. It's called the Science Resource Center, it's close to Saddle Rock! Thank you for sharing!

Charlee

Hi Elsie! I agree, I think the salmon are so cute, I watch them a lot! The salmon in our tank do look happy, they have lots of rocks to dig into and hide. When they are so small, good hiding places are very important! Here's a question for you... Do you think the water temperature in the tank is the same as it is in nature? Thank you so much for sharing, I will definitely answer your other question about what they eat as babies and adults in one of the Salmon Science Friday videos!

Elsie

Hey Mason! I am so impressed that you remembered that these fish are called coho! That is really tricky for a lot of students to remember since it's not a word we use a lot. You have a perfect scientist brain! :) Keep up the great observations and thank you for sharing

Mason

Another great response from Sunnyslope’s AM classes! Dylan and Chloe your observations were top-notch and very scientific. It is so impressive that you mentioned the alevin are ABSORBING their yolk sacs! We usually think of eating as something that is done by gulping or chewing and takes a great mind and knowledge of science to understand how the alevin are getting their food! Thank you all for sharing and I can’t wait to answer Caden’s question on one of the next Salmon Science Fridays!

Dylan, Chloe, Caden & Mrs. Dalbeck’s AM class

Awesome work Kyra! I am so impressed that you were able to label so much, especially the yolk sac. It's not something we see on animals in everyday life... imagine if puppies and baby humans had giant yolk sacs for bellies! That would look crazy :)

You have a great brain for science, keep up the really good work and thank you for sharing!

kyra

Khloe! What a super cute journal you have for your observations... I found a panda cupcake sticker like the cover to keep your face private, I hope you like it! :)

Your observations and labels for the things you see in the tank are really great. I am VERY impressed with your use of color, it creates a very realistic image of what things looked like today. When you do great drawings like that, it will make it fun to look back at and see how things change over the next bunch of months! Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing! see you next time!

khloe

Saaaalmon CELEBRATION!!!! wOw! Great observations Emily & Jackson and nice job everyone with your drawings, I am so impressed everyone was up for the challenge of labeling what they see! Scientists create and use a lot of what are called diagrams, and that is what you have created with your labeled sketches! Having notes and labels to add to your drawings will make it a lot easier and more fun to compare during the next bunch of months as the salmon grow up. Juan I am SO excited to answer your question on one of the next Salmon Science Fridays, you have shown that you have a great brain for scientific thinking! I think I know the answer, but as I scientist I want to make sure my answer is fact before I tell others. SO what I am going to do is research a little bit to make sure I give you all a good answer that other scientists would agree with! HUGE thanks for giving me a challenging question that forces me to learn more :) even as an oldie grown up, we never stop learning new things. That's why science is the best. FANTASTIC WORK SALMON SQUAD! …and sick dance moves Jason!! :)

Emily, jackson, juan and mrs. dalbeck’s pm class

Hi Alexander! You are showing me that you have a great understanding of the salmon life cycle by using the names for salmon as they grow to different stages like fry and parr. You knowing that salmon can’t survive without clean cold water is so important because, believe it or not, humans can actually do things that change the temperature of rivers we live by! I agree, sockeye salmon are very delicious, I also think they’re one of my favorites because of their beautiful spawning colors and funny hook noses… you should look up pink salmon if you haven’t already, they also look really cool during spawning! You should be extremely proud of that drawing, having artistic skills like that will help you to go far in science. It’s a great way to share information, art and science are best buddies!

alexander

Charlee back for week 3!!! I am so happy your favorite part is being able to make Flipgrids on Salmon Science Friday, it is my favorite part of the week since I get to see and hear from my pals in the Salmon Squad! You have asked more FANTASTIC questions that I am so excited to answer. Your drawing of the alevin scattering when I moved stuff around is really good, it looks like they’re maybe having a dance party! :) Thanks for sharing, see you next week and keep up the great work!

charlee

Hi Giavanna! I am so happy that I got to teach you something you didn’t know about salmon, it is my favorite part of my job! The salmon are so tiny right now and don’t move very much, but like you said, it’s so interesting to watch them dig into the rocks. We usually see fish swimming around, so it’s so cool to see that they do unexpected things! Thank you so much for sharing and keep sharing these great observations!

giavanna

Hi Zander, it’s great to meet you this week! I was just as surprised as you are the first time I watched salmon grow, they do get bigger very quickly! I will have so much fun answering your question on a future Salmon Science Friday! Thank you so much for sharing your observations, keep up the great work!

zander

Hooray, Lauren!!! You are our FIRST scientist to figure out that the warmer air temperature around our tank might be making the water temperature in the tank go up while the chiller is trying to make it go down!!! To answer your questions about where the mom is and where they get the the red color from it is because the female salmon mom ate a lot of food in the ocean that has red pigments in it. So when the mom salmon is making her eggs, she takes the nutrients from that food and gives it all to her babies since after she spawns she runs out of energy and dies. It’s a hard life for a salmon, but they are amazing and extra special!

lauren

Hi Austyn!! Thank you for sharing your observations and water temperature measurement with me! You had it right, it’s the males that turn red. Their bodies do this as a way to show how healthy they are. The red color comes from the food they eat, so if a female salmon sees a bright red male, she knows he ate a lot of healthy foods and will help her make strong baby salmon! Also big time thank you for giving us a great name to add to the list! Keep up the great work!

austyn

Hi Emiliano! Thanks for the question! It’s hard to say when all salmon lives start and end, but our salmon started hatching in January and if they conquer all the obstacles in their lives they may live for up to another 4 years or more!

Emiliano

Awesome job labeling your scientific drawing Samantha!! The bubbler is my favorite place to look for salmon in the tank, they like to bury themselves in the rocks with their tails sticking out like you drew but they also will hide under the blue bubble strip! Great drawing and thanks for sharing!

Samantha

Welcome back Charlee! I will walk around for hours with my hair in a towel, so you feel free to rock that look :) You asked a really interesting question, I still have NO CLUE why those alevin like to hang out in the pools at the bottom of the tank. Usually, alevin find comfort being tucked into rocks but for some reason every year some banana heads like to swim to the top or swirl around in the pools! I wish I could tell you why, maybe it’s fun, like a salmon dancefloor!!! Added your new names to the list, let me know if I spelled Zuri wrong!

charlee

Hey Lauren! I think you are correct, the fish swimming at the top would be in danger if they did that in the wild. You bring up a really good point when you say that you want them to learn to work together. It’s going to be really important for their survival that they trust their instincts and with fish in nature, there are a lot of benefits to sticking together. What are some reasons you think they need each other’s help for?

Lauren

Hi Jane, I am super jazzed that you’re having fun!! Salmon bring out the best in all of us :) You said something VERY interesting, you told me that you think that in the wild the water might be much colder than what our tank is. I think in some places you are correct! Thank you for sharing, you really did a great job thinking about last week’s challenge! Keep up the great work!

Jane

Hi Ava! I hope you don’t mind, I found some sunglasses to match your owl friend :) You asked a seriously cool question, if a baby salmon was in the ocean it would be an extra hard life! First, salmon have to grow up A LOT before their bodies are ready to live in salt water, so that would make survival almost impossible. If they were able to adapt to saltwater before they become smolts, they would also have a hard time finding the grasses and hiding spot like you mentioned our tank is missing. The river is a perfect place for babies since there’s lots of places to hide. Thank you SOOOO much for asking such a creative question!

Ava

Great observations Grant! It's crazy how many salmon hatched and you did a fantastic job with your drawing! Alevin are fun to draw, huh? :) Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work!

Grant

Thank you Charly and to the rest of your class at Sunnyslope Elementary for showing me your scientific drawings of the tanks! Charly did a GREAT job identifying the stones and alevin in the tank. Alevin is a new word and we don't use it very often, so she has shown me that she has a great brain & memory for science! I'm excited to answer your question in a future Salmon Science Friday when we can start talking about what they eat after the yolk sacs have been absorbed! ... EXPERT BIOLOGIST CHALLENGE: anyone know what I mean by alevin "absorbing" instead of "eating" their yolk sacs? ;)

Charly and Ms McNamee’s AM class

Hi again Charlee! It's so great to see you again and with even more fantastic questions and observations! You are really thinking like a scientist! I'm excited to answer your questions for one of the future Salmon Science Fridays! Keep up the great work!

charlee

WOW! Lauren, your scientific drawing of the tank is really fantastic. It reminds me of the kinds of drawings or diagrams I would see in my science textbooks when I was in college. It is VERY impressive that you were able to talk me through the salmon life cycle already, you have everything it takes to be a great scientist! Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing!

lauren

Wow Salmon Squad! I am seeing some fantastic drawings that are full of details and what I find most interesting is that you all are observing things in different ways. The fun part about having this be a class project is that we can learn from each other and not miss out on anything! Alexander, you’re right about the water being very very very very cold and your question is going to be so much fun to answer for a future Salmon Science Friday when we start talking about what our salmon eat. I challenged the morning class and since you asked a similar question I will hit you with an EXPERT BIOLOGIST CHALLENGE: you asked what they eat while they're in the tank... and I will tell you what they eat AFTER the alevin are done "absorbing" their yolk sacs. anyone know what I mean by alevin "absorbing" instead of "eating" their yolk sacs? ;) Thank you for sharing!!!

Alexander and Ms McNamee’s PM class

Great job Samantha! Your labels and drawing work really well to show me what was most interesting to you and what you wanted to remember. As the weeks go on you will see a lot of changes with the fish and maybe with the tank. Having this kind of drawing will let you compare how things change. Sometimes our memory doesn't let us remember all the little things we found interesting so for scientists it VERY important to write down and draw as much as possible! Keep up the good work! You have exactly what it takes to be a great scientist!

samantha

You are a science all-star! The observation you made about the salmon wanting to swim into the cold water coming out of the chiller is spot on! When they grow into fry and are strong swimmers, in the wild they like to swim facing the flow of the river and in our tank they will spend a lot of time right where the cold water comes out of the hose. Great work and thank you for sharing with us!

Lauren

Hi Lilia! Isn’t it so cool how they blend in with the rocks?! Even without the speckles or camouflage colors, being clear and so tiny like you said helps them hide in the gravel . Great observations and thank you for sharing!

lilia

Hey Kyra! Thank you for coming back this week and sharing again! I LOVE your drawing of the little tails peeking out of the gravel, they’re such funny little critters. It’s amazing to see that even if they are not in the wild they still behave like wild salmon! ALSO… I was too excited and could not wait for another Salmon Science Friday to answer your questions… yes we will set the free in the Wenatchee River and YES you can name them! I will work on making a list of all the names I get from students and tell everyone this Friday that you let me know it’s time to start thinking of names!!

Kyra

Fantastic comparison between what the salmon looked like first and then how they look now! You really captured the change from blob to noodle alien :) Thank you for the salmon names! Our list is off to a great start!

charlee

Good observations Kyra! Just like we get in the wintertime, slow and steady because it’s cold , and wiggly and energetic in the summer, salmon will move around a little more during warmer times as long as that temperature is still safe. Our salmon’s water temperature is safe, lower than 9 degrees Celsius so we know they are just feeling a little spunky and fun and are in no danger :)

Kyra

Hey Ryder! Great question, that one has not come up yet!! Our salmon started to hatch in January so some of them will only be about 5 months old when they go to live in the river this May. Thank you for asking!

Ryder

Such a fun question, Jake!!! It’s crazy to think that there’s a good reason why salmon would swim thousands of miles and through thousands of obstacles but the reason they do this is if they only lived in rivers, there would not be enough food for them to get big and survive like there is in the ocean. If they only lived in the ocean, they would not be able to find the great spawning habitat they need to lay their eggs in and keep their young safe in the river gravel and hiding spots like logs and underwater tree roots.

Jake

Hey Jackson! Your question is something I think about a lot when I make my observations! I’m not 100% sure, but I think they like to pile on top of each other for safety. They can sort of look out for the group better and hey… if you see your friend/sister/brother/cousin has found a nice place to chill out, you’d probably want to join too right? :) There are a lot of benefits for animals to stick together in the wild, typically for fish they school together and look a lot more intimidating to predators plus it makes it crazy hard for a hungry critter to make up their mind if they are looking at a whole buffet … gives the fish some time to scatter and run! Thank yo for sharing your great question!

Jackson

Austyn, I LOVE silly predictions (if you couldn’t tell from mine last week). My number one goal for this project is for you all to have FUN! Your prediction was so funny and really makes me incredibly happy that you are making great observations and being silly! Keep up all your great work and thank you for sharing again!!!

Austyn

Wow Wow WOW! This is one science-packed Flipgrid, Emma!!! First, I love that you love watching Salmon Science Friday! Next, I am so impressed that your are using what you know about salmon jumping in the wild to explain why the little salmon in the …

Wow Wow WOW! This is one science-packed Flipgrid, Emma!!! First, I love that you love watching Salmon Science Friday! Next, I am so impressed that your are using what you know about salmon jumping in the wild to explain why the little salmon in the tank may be up at the surface of the water. Your labeled drawing of the salmon’s anatomy (or body parts) is fantastic and it’s so cool that yo were able to predict how the salmon were going to look this week! To answer your question (have I mentioned how impressed I am with your science brain yet?!?!), these salmon are very special and even though they are hatchery fish they will keep their adipose fins. I am DEFINITELY going to answer your question on a Salmon Science Friday, so stay tuned for the answer! Thank you soooooo much for sharing!

Emma

Great to see you Kyra! You have seen how some of the alevin look like they’ve become fry! You have a great eye, they’re so tiny and hard to see so way to go! I REALLLLLLLY hope your prediction is right for next week, I would LOVE to see a salmon do a split!!! :)

Kyra