Subject

life science

Objective

The objective of this lesson is to have the students be able to get some energy out while learning about the obstacles that salmon go through on their journey to and from the ocean.

Materials

• Ropes or cones to mark boundaries (all the blue lines)
• Two containers full of poker chips
• 8 orange vests for predators and fisherman
• 2 jump ropes

Background

Salmon are an anadromous fish species, this means that they spawn in freshwater streams and live the majority of their lives in the ocean. While salmon migrate to the ocean as Fry and back to their spawning grounds as spawners there are many obstacles that they encounter. Salmon are an essential food source for many predators such as Eagles, bears, great blue herons, orcas, otters and sea lions. They are also an important food source for humans and indigenous cultures. These predators and fisherman are not the only obstacles that salmon encounter on their way to and from the ocean. One of the biggest obstacles is dams. These dams could be small dams that create a fishing hole, or large hydroelectric dams. Salmon will not spawn without making it back to their headwaters, so it is imperative for them to make it back through the dams. Humans have come up with many different ways for salmon to make it through dams. The most popular one is a fish ladder, this is like steps made of water. Salmon can jump six feet so they are able to use the ladder to get over the dam. Some other inventions are, the fish cannon, and catching the fish and transporting them by car or barge.

Most salmon do not survive these obstacles to make it back to the headwaters to spawn. An average female salmon lays 3,000 eggs. On average only 3 of the 3,000 make it back. This is the perfect amount to keep the population the same or even increase it a little. The rest of the 3,000 that didn’t make it serve an extremely important role, they feed the ecosystem. From the bears and eagles to the bugs and the plants, salmon are nutrients that are essential for thriving ecosystems throughout the ocean and the entire watershed.

This game will demonstrate to the kids why so many of the salmon do not make it back, and why in some cases it is important that they don’t.

Procedure

1. Set up the game before the students show up.
2. Review the salmon life cycle with the student
   1. Where do salmon hatch?
      1. Freshwater stream
   2. What stage do salmon transition to the ocean?
      1. Smolt – they hang out in the estuary to get used to salt water
   3. How long do they live in the ocean?
      1. 2-8 years
   4. What stage do they travel back to the headwaters
      1. Spawners
   5. Discuss predators with the students. Be sure to discuss predators in the ocean as well as the stream.
      1. Ask them if human fisherman count as predators too
   6. Discuss with them other impacts that are human caused
      1. Dams! Talk a little about why we have dams and fish ladders (fish cannon can be a fun thing to talk about here)
   7. Bring the students outside and run them through the game. Have them follow you as you pretend to be a student playing the game
      1. The boundaries are a watershed, the far end is the ocean, the right side is the river as salmon go downstream as fry and the left is the river as the salmon travel upstream as spawners. (They will travel in a U shape)
      2. The students all will start at the start line as fry in the headwaters
      3. They will begin to move downstream to make it to the ocean, but along the way they encounter some obstacles
         1. There will be a student acting as a river predator of their choice, wearing orange vest
         2. There will be two adults swinging the jump ropes double-dutch style to act as dam turbines
      4. If a student gets tagged by a predator, dam or fisherman, they must stop on the spot and sit on the ground. They are now a boulder in the stream and a new obstacle for other living salmon.
      5. Once they make it to the ocean they must live there for 4 years
         1. There will be two buckets with poker chips in them, each chip is worth 6 months, they need 8 chips.
         2. The students will run back and forth between the two buckets picking up one chip each time until they have 8 to hand to the teacher and begin the next journey

• The students will have to avoid some obstacles in the ocean too!
  1. There is a fisherman in the ocean! But the student acting as a fisherman has to hop on one foot to tag people because the boat is not fast
  2. There is also an ocean predator, the student will get to pick what they would like to be

1. Once the students are now spawning salmon they are trying to get back to the headwaters. But of course there are some obstacles
   1. The students must avoid predators (of their choice) and the dam (teachers acting as dam will move to the other side after the last kid gets through the first side)
2. Once they get past the dam, the last obstacle to get over is the waterfall! They must jump over the whole thing and then they are safely home.
3. Run through the game a few times, then stop and discuss
   1. What did they learn?
   2. Why do they think salmon lay so many eggs?
   3. What can we do to help salmon populations?