A dynamic collaboration recently united lower and middle school science students for the Great Plankton Race challenge, centered around ocean ecosystems and buoyant design.

The collaboration kicked off with a knowledge exchange that laid the foundation for the challenge: third graders took the lead, teaching their seventh grade partners about the critical role of quahogs as ocean filter feeders. This naturally tied into the older students' coastal Rhode Island unit, establishing a shared context.

Following the initial exchange, the focus immediately shifted to the hands-on challenge.

• Model Introduction: Seventh graders shared their pre-developed plankton models with their younger partners to provide essential background and spark initial ideas.

• Design & Build: Teams of students then worked together to design and construct a novel plankton organism from various materials, including foam and wire.

• The Objective: The ultimate goal of the Great Plankton Race was to create a plankton model that could achieve the slowest sinking time possible when dropped in a classroom environment, emphasizing the adaptations needed for real plankton to remain near the surface.

It was a perfect blend of scientific communication, engineering, and a little friendly competition to see whose plankton could really defy gravity!