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High Tide, Low Tide

Activity

Adaptations at the Shoreline

You’re in the intertidal zone! Pretend you’re a marine animal [crab, oyster, sea starm, or shorebird], arrange yourselves around the pond (pretending it is the seashore), and act out your adaptations for high tide and low tide! What do you do when submerged in water? How do you stay alive in open air?

Science Seed

The intertidal zone is the area along the ocean’s coast that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged under water at high tide, creating a dynamic environment for various marine organisms. Pretending at Hines Lake in Memorial Park, we can imagine how animals like crabs, oysters, and shorebirds adapt to changing water levels in the ocean. Crabs might scuttle quickly between wet and dry spots to find food or shelter when the tide goes out, just like how the water level in the pond changes. Oysters, like the ones in the Gulf, stay in one place and close their shells tightly when the water recedes to keep from drying out. Sea stars may find small pools of water to stay submerged in. Shorebirds, on the other hand, can walk along the edge of the pond and search for food in the shallow water when it’s low, just like they would in the mudflats or beaches of the intertidal zone.

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earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore the Memorial Park Conservancy

The mission of Memorial Park Conservancy is to preserve, restore, and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow.

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.

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