You've Had Worse Last days of School

Ok, so it was your last day of school and you had to work your poor little fingers to the bone. You've had worse days, right? I thought it was great fun. I am so glad you were able to come and have fun cleaning and feeding critters. I am so proud of you all for the hard work you put in on the toads this year.
THANK YOU!
Have a great summer everyone. If you can come to the aquarium this summer, bring your friends. Then you can wow them with all of the great things you learned while you were here today. Dazzle them with what you know about quarantine, diving and how big Moon jellies can get.
Thanks again for all you've done. I have REALLY enjoyed it!!! I hope you did. Remember to take care of our wetlands to protect all of those frogs, toads, fish and all of the many other animals you have learned about during this project.

Husbandry Contest Winners

Husbandry Contest Winners

Release

Well everyone, you did it. Our little toads are on their way to having a happy, hoppy, healthy life in their new home. We saw so much diversity in plants, birds, fishes, frogs...it looks like the perfect place for them. Good Job. You gave them a great head start in life.

Mrs. Ussary's class at Mary C. Williams is the winner of the husbandry contest. Her class gets to come to the aquarium and do my job one day. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
It was a really hard decision! There were other classes that had perfect scores on their tanks, so we had to decide who had gone above and beyond to award some bonus points. Mrs. Ussary was the winner.
Again, Congratulations!!!
When they are here working away as aquariusts, I will take more pictures and post a slideshow, so be sure to watch.

Release

Release Day 2010

other critters

some other critters being raised in classrooms right now are Painted lady butterflies. They have morphed nicely and are ready to be released. You guys are such animal people...It's fantastic to see. Good work!

toads

: )

Almost everyone has toadlets now. Those of you who didn't have this morning will tonight or tomorrow morning, it looks like.
GREAT job everyone! I am really excited about how well this is going. Before you know it, it will be time to release those little guys.

TOADLETS

I got an e-mail today from Chuck gore at CBES. He has toadlets! Congratulations!!

TOADLETS

Critter Care

I can hardly believe how big some of those tadpoles have gotten! Cyndi O'Brien has HUGE tadpoles. I can't believe they have gotten that big and not sprouted all 4 legs yet. It won't be long.
The toad tanks will be delievered to your rooms next week. Many of the tadpoles have sprouted their first set of legs, so things are moving right along. CONGRATULATIONS!!
Be sure those little guys have food available 24/7. They need it to keep growing so well!
GREAT JOB EVERYONE!

toadpoles

The tadpoles looked great when went to all of the classes yesterday. The tanks also looked fantastic. How in the world are we going to pick a winner next month if all of the tanks stay this great looking? I guess I am going to have to be REALLY picky from now on as I am grading them.
I will say that one class in particular stood out for the best looking tadpoles...Chuck Gore and his class at CBES have the fattest of the tadpoles. They really do appear to be fat and happy. None looked bad and I don't know what the difference is but his are the largest so far.
Keep up the good work everyone!
I will see you Tuesday.

HATCHING

Well, we have tadpoles (toadpoles?) here at the aquarium. They started hatching last night.

pics of classroom stuff

YAHOO!!!

Let me just begin by apologizing to Mother Nature.
WE HAVE TOAD EGGS!
I just got back to the aquarium after collecting them. I will be there to pick up your newts and leave eggs in your tanks tomorrow.

Sigh

Well, Here we are on another Monday morning and are still eggless. I have been looking, as have a lot of my co-workers, for eggs. I plan to go out again this afternoon. I had had hopes of getting eggs into classroom tanks tomorrow.
If all else fails, I guess this will be a good opportunity to teach about how unpredictable Mother Nature can be. I believe the quote is "You can't fool Mother Nature" and here we were planning to get thru this amphibian project a little earlier than usual this year. I think Mother Nature may be saying Ppppbbbsssttt!
Well, it isn't over yet. The males have been calling the last few days and as I was out riding around last night listening, I saw toads moving around. Maybe it was the females headed to the ponds and there will be eggs later today. Keep your fingers crossed!

Calling

I have really been listening for those male toads to start calling. Every time it rains, I have my fingers crossed. Well, I got word yesterday, during the day, that the males were really loud at Wade Park. I was so excited! I headed out there yesterday afternoon to check things out.
Well, they were calling, but... The males were hiding in the grasses and calling (along with a bullfrog and a few others) but there was no other sign of them. There were no females moving toward the ponds (SIGH!) and the males were just singing, not swimming around looking for females.
Keep your fingers crossed. I will go out again this afternoon to see if the females are heading for the ponds. If they are, I will go out to collect eggs tomorrow.

A Toad Slideshow

Amphibians in the Classroom Has Begun!

Fourteen teachers, 11 classrooms and over 250 students in New Hanover County are to helping raise thousands of Southern toads. For the third year, the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher offered “Amphibians in the Classroom” to foster a sense of environmental stewardship among students, while creating a better understanding of amphibians and the environment we share.

Select classrooms at Carolina Beach Elementary, Rachel Freeman Elementary, Mary C. Williams Elementary, and Cape Fear Center for Inquiry eagerly watch and actively participate in the care needed to morph Southern toads from toad eggs to adults. Toad eggs will be delivered to the classrooms in late March or early April and will soon hatch into tadpoles. With their teacher’s assistance and an extensive 40-page binder from the aquarium; students learn more about amphibians and their growth.

In May, students will release their Southern toads in ponds around New Hanover County, back into the habitat from which the toad eggs were collected. Funding for this program was generously supported by the Cherbec Foundation.