Deborah A. Werner, St. Catherine School, Seattle, WA
SALMON HOMING INSTINCTS
Appropriate for grades 3-9.
OVERVIEW: In studying the life cycle of salmon, students are most
curious as to how salmon can find their way back to the stream in
which they were hatched. They are especially amazed that they can
find their home stream after being out in the open ocean as many
as six years.
Scientists have conducted research in this area, and it seems
almost certain that salmon use the smell of the water to find
their home stream.
PURPOSE: In this activity students can experience first hand what
it is like to be a returning salmon attempting to find its home by
smell. This activity provides for the entire class to participate
in the life cycle of the Pacific salmon and the hazards of their
journey.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
1. Experience first hand what it would be like to be a returning
salmon attempting to identify a home stream by smell.
2. List hazards that a salmon encounters in its journey to sea
and back to its home stream.
3. Identify the stages of the salmon life cycle.
ACTIVITIES:
1. Pass out the salmon name tags to students who will play the
parts.
2. Punch holes as uniformly as possible in the bottom of the
cups and place around the room. Let students become
acquainted with their streams.
3. Have them identify their stream by looking on the bottom of
the cup. Locate the streams on an area map and discuss any
limiting factors they might encounter.
4. Send the salmon out to sea to feed and grow. While the
salmon are feeding, change all the stream positions. As
small feeding salmon, they encounter many hazards en route.
They could get caught in turbines. This could be simulated
by having them run through a rope being turned. If caught,
they are eliminated. Or feeding salmon could be caught in
gill nets or by other predators. This can be done by having
extra students draw numbers for the fish they will take. In
their journey home, they might encounter impassible fish
ladders or high dams. To represent this place several
streams on a high shelf or block the way to the stream. Then
call all of the surviving salmon back to locate their stream.
When they feel they identified their stream, let them check
the stream name.
5. With a new group of salmon, proceed with the above mentioned
activities, but alter a stream(s) by polluting it. You can
spray room deodorant on the cup, both heavily and lightly.
Be sure to leave one or two streams unpolluted. Mix the
positions of the streams again. It will be difficult for
them to identify the heavily polluted streams.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS NEEDED: In setting up this activity, the
following are needed:
Styrofoam cups, masking tape, pencil, paper towels, salmon species
cards, and an assortment of smells (i.e. cloves, vanilla,
peppermint, etc.). It is best to use smells that the students
can't easily identify, so sometimes I mix the scents.
Optional Materials: Jump rope, numbered cards for salmon removal.
To construct the salmon's home stream, crumple a paper towel and
sprinkle a smell on it. Then stuff the scented paper towel into
one end of the cup. Invert the other cup over cup containing the
towel and tape the two cups together. Write the name of a stream
on the bottom of the cup. You will probably want to construct 5-6
streams. As you assemble these, avoid any visual differences.
Finally in setting up this activity, construct salmon name tags
(Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Pink, Chum). The number of tags you make
depends on the number of students in your class.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: As you can see, this activity lends itself
to many options and ideas. You can make it simple or more
complex. Students are actively involved and are very enthusiastic
throughout the activity. They begin to realize a few of the
problems of being a Pacific salmon.
Adapted through the source of "Sniffin' Salmon" by Dr. Richard
Dudley, Fisheries Biologists, Oregon State University and Bill
Hastie, Marine Consultant, Oregon Department of Education.
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