Sky Ranch Schools New Limnology Center
Limnology is the study of inland waters and the new Limnology Center at our Van, Texas site is on schedule for its grand opening in January 2007. The new center is located in the newly renovated horse barn and was made possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a donation from Ozarka Water and several individual donations from friends of the program. The two-story facility will host live collections of aquatic plants and animals that will help students understand environmental systems.
The first floor will house aquatic vertebrates and will be home to several species of fish. Zone 1 will include a fathead minnow hatchery will allow students to observe the life cycle of fish from egg to fry to adult. Students will also be able to observe coloration differences between males and females. Zone 2 will consist of a dual tank system designed to study animal adaptations according to ecological niche. The upper tank will consist of a 300 gallon tank where larger fish will be swimming in the open water. The lower 500 gallon tank will allow students to look down on top of a bed of lilly pads and then look under the pads to see smaller fish swimming beneath the plants. Zone 3 will consist of six large tanks containing separate species of fish. Students will observe differences in shape of each species and discuss the benefits and limitations of the adaptation.
The second floor will be home to the aquatic invertebrate and plant cultures. Students will study at least three macro-invertebrate cultures including Chironomus tentans (midge), Hyalella azteca (scud), and Daphnia magna (water flea). Students will be able to view complete lifecyles of each of these organisms as well as observe pond samples using microscopes that are connected to laptop computers. Students will be able to capture images of organisms on the computers and save them to a disk. They will also be able to study aquatic plants and amphibians using live cultures.
Outside the Limnology Center student will study water quality and water movement. Outdoor teaching areas have been created which are already in use by OE staff to teach concepts such as the water cycle, watershed systems, ground water, pollution, and water chemistry.
Upon completion, the new Limnology Center will provide students with one of the finest aquatics teaching facilities in the state.
Pictures from the Limnology Center in the construction phase:
