The alevin are 3 centimeters long. That is 30 milimeters. The pictures in the screen above show me measuring the trout. ~ Anna C.
A big thank you to Anna, our guest blogger from the Environmental Club! 
Mrs. Austen
Trout Update – from Anna
Jan 26th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
Day 2 of Lego Engineering
Jan 25th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
Do you know that there is a Lego language?
Well, maybe not a Lego language, but there are definite vocabulary terms that are used to name and describe the different pieces. Today our third graders played a game to identify the specific vocabulary we will use as Lego engineers and began building zipline runners.
For more about our Lego adventure, please see our earlier post.
Third Graders Join our Engineering Community
Jan 24th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
Our third graders began a Lego engineering unit this week. During our first lesson, students examined the building elements that we will be using and described their properties. Although many of us have used classic Legos at home, we may not be familiar with some of the plates, axles, gears, and connectors that will be used as we become engineers. In the photos below, you will see students using the document camera to share how they sorted their Legos.
By identifying the properties of the blocks, we were able to come up with a logical way to organize our blocks for the first design challenge – building a zipline runner!
Enjoy these photos of our first day, and check back for updates as we continue our Lego journey …
Keep the Comments Coming!
Jan 24th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
We love hearing from students and families who visit the blog. It’s always exciting to share our learning with others.
A gentle reminder – when you comment, please remember to share your first name. This is part of the genuine conversation that we have on our blog. I preview all comments before they are posted, and I cannot post your comment if you are using a name that is not your own.
If you commented recently, and have not seen your comment posted, it is probably because you did not include your real name. Please submit your comment again. We’d love to hear from you!
For other tips about posting comments, see the sidebar to the right.
Thanks for being part of our learning community … Mrs. Austen
For Fifth Graders, Engineering is Elementary
Jan 19th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
This bulletin board in the intermediate hallway shows photos of our fifth graders as they applied the engineering design process to create windmill blades. You can also see several examples of the blades that were built.
Enjoy this slideshow that showcases the many parts of our learning experience.
Fifth graders, can you add your comments as you reflect on this unit? What did you learn? What challenges did you face? What was the most successful design? Did you like this type of learning? Why? We’d love to get a conversation going about engineering.
If you cannot view the slide show above, try this link:
http://voicethread.com/share/2632247/
Lutherville is in the News … Again!
Jan 18th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
We made the “What’s Trending” segment of the BCPS Education Channel again! Check out the video about our Trout in the Classroom program below.
This segment will also air on Comcast channel 73 and Verizon channel 34 at the following times: Mon – Sun – 12:30 am, 5:30 am, 8:30am, 6:30 pm, 9:30pm. 10:00pm.
You Outta Be in Pictures!
Jan 17th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
Students from the Environmental Club joined our morning announcement crew to congratulate the classrooms that found the correct total of trout that had hatched by 9 AM last Thursday. The answer was 211 trout. Our club members sported their original trout hat designs – very fashionable!
Here is a photo of our trout from this morning. They’re changing colors and beginning to look more like fish. Our grand total of trout is 217. We had one egg that did not hatch and one alevin that did not survive.
If you have questions about our trout, you can post them here on the blog or write the questions on the poster that is hanging outside the iLab. Members of the Environmental Club will respond within a week.
Trout Update – January 12
Jan 12th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
When we arrived at school this morning, we saw that we only had 8 eggs left to hatch … that means we have 211 alevin so far! At I type this post, there are 2 eggs remaining. We think that they may hatch overnight.
The Trout Are Here!!
Jan 11th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
Last Friday, 219 trout eggs were delivered to the Lutherville iLab. This is all part of our school’s participation in Trout in the Classroom, a partnership between Trout Unlimited, the Department of Natural Resources, and schools. Through Trout in the Classroom, students observe the rainbow trout life cycle, learn about water quality, and eventually release the trout in local rivers.
Students in our after-school Environmental Club take a leadership role in this program as they check water quality and feed the trout daily. You’ll also hear our club members on the morning announcements sharing trout updates with the school. All grade levels stop by the iLab to check on our fishy friends. In the spring, the fourth grade classes release the trout on an all-day field trip that focuses upon environmental stewardship.
If you’d like to learn more about this exciting program, please visit http://www.troutintheclassroom.org/ . You can also post questions here, and one of our students will get back to you with a response.
The photos below show our Environmental Club students preparing the 55-gallon tank for our egg arrival. Tank set-up had to be complete by Thanksgiving in order to allow the chemicals and bacteria in the habitat to stabilize.
The next set of photos were taken on January 6 when the eggs were delivered. Notice the metal temperature probe that is helping us check the temperature of the eggs and water. The first photo shows the tempering process – gradually warming the frozen eggs to the water temperature of the tank. This avoids any shock to the eggs themselves.
Here you see students estimating the number of eggs we received. They are using an image captured by a document camera and counting a sample of the image to make an estimate. Our estimate was 228 eggs. When we counted the eggs, we found our estimate was very close – the actual number was 219 eggs.
Finally, you see the students transferring the eggs to the tank. As we completed this final step, one of our eggs hatched! The students named the newest member of the Lutherville family Lucky and sang him Happy Birthday.
We love it when students stop by the iLab to visit the trout!
Kindergarteners Investigate Magnets with Discovery Bottles
Jan 10th, 2012 by Deidre Austen
Lutherville’s youngest scientists used their observation skills to test which materials were attracted to magnets. We discovered that magnets can attract objects made of metal right through the plastic wall of a soda bottle!
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