Ecosystem Experiment

The students in Grade 2 have been learning about the scientific method by conducting an ecosystem experiment.  Our initial question was "Can we create a natural ecosystem that can survive all by itself?"  The children had already been doing research to figure out what an ecosystem is, how they are related to habitats, and what an animal's habitat needs.  Today we went to Yoyogi Park to find organisms to put into our ecosystem that consists of both a land and water habitat.  The students figured out what each organism needs to survive and made a hypothesis as to whether or not the animals would survive in our ecosystem after seal it up and let it be on it's own without feeding or adding additional water.  Here are some photos of the students finding organisms in the park and observing the ecosystem after it had been put together with the organisms inside.