Download Spring 5th grade walk: Flowers and flower parts

GRADE 5 SPRING: PLANTS
Hastings 2010
GOALS:
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Learn to observe plant and flower parts by sketching a flower in detail
Learn about the purpose and function of plant parts
Learn to identify poison ivy, distinguish it from other plants with three leaves
Learn the stages of a plant's growth: from seed, to plant, to flower, to fruit/seed
MATERIALS:
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Station 1: paper , pencil and magnifying glass per student
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Station 1 variety of plants to observe, bunches of flowers with large visible parts to draw
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Station 2:dandelion drawings in different stages, (seedling, flower, seed head )
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Station 2: thermometer.
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Station 2 dandelions at different stages of growth
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Station 3:Laminated woodland flower treasure hunt sheet, 1 per group
LOGISTICS:
Get out before Science MCAS. Best to go out in early May when a lot of the woodland plants are in
bloom. Each group needs 1 hour.
*You can have chaperons bring the groups to stations staffed by a trained volunteer, or you can train
volunteers to lead their own group through each of the stations.
WALK OVERVIEW: INDOORS
Divide class into 4 groups and explain the rotation.
OUTDOOR WALK: (Described page 4-7)
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Two groups will go to Station #1 and sketch flowers and talk about plant parts. (30 minutes)
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The third group will go to Station #2 by the thermometer and near the pine tree to look at a
dandelion in different stages : (root, to leaves , to bud, to flower, to seed head.) and talk about how
weather and seasons affect plants. Can you name plant parts and find these parts on a tree.( 15
minutes)
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The fourth group will then go to Station #3 the woodland path to compare poison ivy with
other 3-leaved plants. (15 minutes total)
VOLUNTEERS MUST READ PAGES 4-7
Other pages in this guide are additional background and teacher resources..
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Pre-Walk Activities: To Be Led by Classroom Teacher
1. Looking at Function
Have each student observe a pencil (or another common object that consists of a number of parts, like
a door, window,). Ask: Are all the parts of this pencil exactly the same? (no) What are some of the
pencil’s parts? (wood, eraser, metal eraser holder, black “lead” (really graphite), paint, etc.)
What a pencil used for? (used for writing) This is called the pencil’s FUNCTION. A function is what a
thing is used for.
How does the shape, size or type of material that the pencil is made of help us to use it for writing. What
if the pencil were the shape of a basket ball, of the size of a telephone pole, or were made of Silly Putty?
What is the stuff in the middle was hard metal? What properties do the pencil parts have help them to
accomplish their FUNCTION?
Pencil part
Properties
Function
2. What is the function of parts of plants? We will be thinking about the purpose or function of each
plant part and using evidence to support our claims.
Can you guess what the function of a root is? (draw water and nutrients to plant)What properties
should a root have (tough to dig into soil, flexible to grown around rocks)
Each plants has adapted to grow under it's own particular conditions and to reproduce. Each
part of the plant has an important function,and there is incredible variety in the shapes and forms of plant
parts- each adapted to it's own living conditions. Each form has an important function and scientists try to
study what that is. We will think about that when you draw plants on the Big Backyard walk.
3. Photosynthesis. One very important plant part is the leaf. Describe a leaf: (shape, color, size,
location on plant etc.) Ask: What is the purpose or function of a leaf? (student ideas…..) If no one
brings up food making, mention that scientists tell us that leaves are like small food factories. They say
that leaves take in an invisible gas called carbon dioxide. When this combines with water in the
presence of sunlight, a green chemical in the leaf (chlorophyll) helps the plant to make a special sugar
(glucose). The plant can use this sugar as a source of energy. This is an amazing feat!! No other living
things can do this!! (Imagine if you never had to eat as long as you got some air, sunshine and water—of
course, you would have to be green!!)
In addition, one of the gases given off when plants make food is oxygen. Plants provide all the
oxygen we breathe!!! (Plants actually take in oxygen, too, when they need to burn the sugar to release
energy for life processes. But they take in less oxygen than they give off as a result of photosynthesis.)
This process is called: photosynthesis
Sometimes you can learn a lot about something by looking closely at the word that describes it.
Photosynthesis is one of those things. The word photosynthesis is made up of a prefix (photo—related to
light) and a root word (synthesis—meaning “make from parts”).
Ask: Why is this a good name for the process of food making in plants?
What might a recipe for photosynthesis look like?
Taken from: http://www.realtrees4kids.org/sixeight/letseat.htm
Ingredients:
Light energy from the sun
Water gathered from roots from the soil
carbon dioxide from the air
chlorophyll found in the cells of green plants
Steps:
The chlorophyll in the cells of the plant absorbs light from the sun.
The Sun's energy splits the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen
The hydrogen joins with carbon dioxide to make sugar
Sugar is carried to other parts of the plant. The extra oxygen is released.
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The recipe above is a very simple way to think about photosynthesis. It's really a very complicated
process and scientists are still learning exactly how it works
Say: So plants can take energy from the sun, and carbon dioxide gas which we can’t hold in our hands,
and liquid water in their leaves, and turn them into sugar, which we can hold and eat, AMAZING!
Does the ability to make food help a plant to survive? If so, it is an important plant adaptation? An
adaptation is a feature that helps a living thing to survive.
4. Other resources:
-Discovery Videostreaming:
Food: Energy from the Sun (Photosynthesis)
-Newton’s Apple: http://www.newtonsapple.tv/video.php?id=915
5. Review: Write the following on the board or chart paper:
producer, consumer, decomposer
Ask: Since plants can make their own food, in which group do they belong? (producers)
Ask: • Which organisms are consumers? (Animals)
When you look around the school grounds which do you think is easier to find producers or consumers?
(consumers = plants) One animal can eat many plants.
Say:When plants or animals die, there are organisms that help to break down the dead material, eventually
making them into soil. Examples are fungi (mushrooms), bacteria, worms, and some insects. Which group do
these organisms belong to? Decomposers.
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WALK TO BE LED BY BIG BACKYARD VOLUNTEERS
CLASS INTRODUCTION:
Today we will look at plants. We will divide the class into 4 groups. Two groups will go to station 1 for
1/2 hour, one to station two for 15 minutes and one to station three for 15 minutes. Everyone will rotate to
all the stations.
In the Winter walk, we talked about producers, consumers and decomposers. On this walk we will focus
on plants (producers). Producers need to reproduce and survive in larger numbers to support the
consumers. We will look at different plant parts to figure out what their purpose is.
STATION #1: Plant botany Station: (In the cafeteria or classroom) (30 minutes)
Set Up Two areas: Plant/Garden Display with a variety of plants and Sketching station with l
flowering plant for each student. Students will see a range of plants and then sit down and draw a
particular plant (strawberry in flower is recommended ) to observe each plant part.
A. Plant/Garden Display set up: Bring in in a wide range of plants with two main goals:
1. provide example of a wide range of plant "parts" - especially leaves and flowers - so students could
understand the parts as categories & avoid falling into the trap of expecting all leaves to look the same
2. provide examples of stages of plant development so students could understand where the fruit
"comes from" / how it develops. Strawberry (in flower) is a good choice, Asiatic lilies, or tulips have
large, visible flowering parts..
B. Introduction to Plant Display
You will see a great variety of plants here, but they all have to accomplish the same thing, survival,
growth and reproduction. Each plant does it a little differently but they have a lot in common.
We will spend a short time with looking at different plants to review parts and then you will get to draw a
plant so you can take a close look at one plant.
C. Review plant parts show examples as you talk-First...a seed puts out roots to draw up water and nutrients from the soil.
A shoot grows up toward light and -- turns into stem (like a straw) to support the weight of leaves.
Leaves produce sugars through photosynthesis. The sugars feed the plant,
The plant develops a bud, which grows into a flower blossom with colorful petals.
In the center of the flower you can find a reproductive organ called ovules or ovary. This is hard to see. It
needs pollen to grow.
The flower also has pollen producing parts, you can see the dusty pollen.
The flower's colors, smell and the sweet nectar attract insects that are accidently covered in pollen from
other flowers to crawl inside the flower. If it is the right kind of pollen it travels inside to the ovary and
pollination begins chemical changes in the plant. After pollinated the flower dies and the same parts
develop into a seed, or a fruit with seeds inside..
D. Observe variety: Invite the students to stand and walk in line back through the plant museum
As you walk past, you can take time to notice some of the details. The details help you distinguish between
plants. Correct identification can be a safety skill (hold up the sketch of the 3-leaf plants & say: You will
want to know 3 leaved raspberries or strawberries from 3 leaved poison ivy!!!-Most of these plants have flowers but they are each very different!
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Point to a leaf, ask what is this part? find different plant / same part "what is this?" -- "Wait? Both are
leaves, are you sure??")
After all the students have been allowed to walk through museum they move to sketching area.
E. Sketching area -- pencils & paper are set out with a magnifier-- The focus is on observation, not on a
pretty drawing. We will make diagrams to record information, not artist's drawings. Children can draw
different features, different views to record their observations. Challenge them to label the parts.
Plants are set out between pairs or 3/4 students. Strawberries are out of their soil -- massive roots on
display & each plant has a flower (or more than one). Provide others as comparison...
Each child will have a sheet, which shows a flower with labeled parts (below) to shows how complex a
flower is. Ask them to sketch the plant and label the parts in their sketch. You can walk among them
once they are settled into drawing to ask them questions:
-Label on your drawings the different parts you think you can find on the plant- the leaves, the roots, the
stems, the flower, any seed or fruit
- What do you notice about this plant structure? Where is it strong, where is it delicate. I
· How is this part’s structure adapted to its function? Is it wide to catch light, thin to let the wind slip past?
· Can you remember what function the parts play in the life of the plant?
Can you see inside the flower to where the pollen is produced? Where does the pollen need to go if your
plant is going to make a seed?
While the children are sketching you can read "LOOK AT THE FISH" (page 11 of this guide) to help
them focus and reinforce why drawing is important to science.
(OPTIONAL INFORMATION- this vocabulary isn't important in 5th grade They need to know that
pollen must reach the ovary for the plant to produce a seed or fruit, but the rest of the vocabulary is not
required):
The parts of a flower are arranged in whorls.
The outer whorl of Sepals; typically these are green, but
are petal-like in some species. to protect the bud..
the whorl of Petals, which are usually thin, soft and
colored to attract insects that help the process of
pollination. Some colors we can't see (ultraviolet)
One or two whorls of Stamens, each a filament topped
by an anther , to produce pollen.
One or more Pistils. The sticky tip of the pistil, (the
stigma), is to collect the pollen. The supportive stalk
(the style) becomes the pathway for pollen tubes. If
pollen travels to the ovary, pollination occurs, to
begin growing a seed or fruit.
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STATION #2: Plants Stages and Weather Station (15 minutes)
with a thermometer near any tree.
A Dandelion in Stages -Spread out the laminated water color paintings of a dandelion at different stages and see if the kids can
put them in order. If they disagree talk it through.
Gather dandelion at each stage (seedling, adult w/ buds, flower, dead flower, seed).
and lay them out in order so students could see the flowers parts and the range of development of plant to
flower to seed, to plant again.
Lay the black/white line drawing to show how field guides use drawings to capture the main features to
help distinguish between species. Drawings simplify and can exaggerate observation and are considered
more useful than photographs as recording technique - a picture is worth 1000 words.
B) Look at a Tree. Can you name the parts of the tree and the function of each tree part?
Discuss the role each has in the photosynthesis (food making) process:
Leaves: place where food making takes place
Roots: bring water to leaves
Stem (trunk): holds up leaves to sun
Bark layer:: You can see that the tree has an outer protection
Living tissue: Look where the tree has been injured. You can see that there is a 1 inch layer of living
tissue. (In trees this is the cadmium layer, but the term isn't important)
Dead wood: - inside structure stiff to provide strength, but it is not living and insects can tunnel in it
without hurting the tree.
C) Hours of Daylight and Temperature
The number of daylight hours has changed from the winter walk .Longest day in 2010 will be June 18,
over 15 hrs of sunlight, Shortest day Dec. 19 . about 9 hrs. The changes the air temperature and melt water
signals plants to grow.
Seasons affect both plants and animals. A tree adapts to winter. (Loosing leaves and sealing off the
place where leaf drops so as not to loose fluid, dormant without growth).
Farmers know how important weather is and need to know when to put in seeds, when to water, when to
harvest. In earlier times they used many clues from nature to predict weather changes. Do you know any?
You can mention changes in weather patterns (touching on global warming) and how animals have
evolved together with plants. Birds sometimes change their migration times in response to weather and
temperature changes and they may not arrive at the right time for their food source.
Plants can't move but have different strategies to disperse their seeds in different areas to survive..
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Station #3 Poison Ivy and Look Alikes Station: (15 minutes)
Meet children at the entrance to the woods and ask the kids what they know about poison ivy. Respond to
their ideas, clarify, and caution them that not all features are reliable (Leaves are not always shiny or red,
although they are when young). You can laminate a raspberry leaf (which grows in full sun and won't be
on the wood path) to compare with poison ivy. Try to elicit the following information in the conversation:
• 3 leaves coming from one stem, BUT NOTE how the middle leaf is separated from the other two
leaves (jack-in-the-pulpit leaves all touch each other)
• Can be a low plant, vine or bush
• Leaves are reddish in early spring or late fall, green other times
• Can have green flowers in spring, white berries in summer
• Other plants have leaves of three also so details important to tell them apart.
• Leaf can have irregular notches, but are NOT serrated
• Oil from plant causes skin reaction (small bumps which are very itchy)
• Rash occurs (1 week) after the 1st exposure. Subsequent exposure results in a rash 12-48 hrs later
• Oil can be removed by quickly washing skin with soap and water (within 15 min.)
• Some people are more sensitive to poison ivy than others. You get more sensitive with more
exposure. If you have a very bad case of poison ivy, doctor can prescribe medication
Take children into the wood path and ask: Should I worry about this plant? Is it poison ivy? Why not?Do
you see anything here that is poison ivy?
Note look-a-likes such as:
-Virginia creeper with shiny leaves of 5 growing on a vine
- Other plants with leaves of three to show them the difference between poison ivy, jack in the
pulpit, trillium and raspberry.
- Red leaves of young plants such as maple trees.
They may point out other plants and ask if it is poison ivy. Repeat the key identifying features
(leaves of 3, long stem in middle leaf, smooth edges with random notching).
Woodland Plant Identification Sheet : Each group will have a laminated sheet of the woodland flower
sketch shown below. If you have time use the sheet to find these plants, using close observation of leaf
shape and pointing out the different plants that have 3 leaves.
Why aren't all plants in flower? Woodland flowers typically bloom before the trees leaf out, while the
sunlight can still reach them. Skunk cabbage is the first to bloom in early April. Bloodroot, (used by
Native Americans for body paint) flowers come in April, and is gone by June leaving it's seed pod.
Trillium blooms in May. Taller plants such as Solomon seal and Jewel Weed flower in August.
Post-Walk Activities (To be done by teacher):
Review plant parts and their function; plant adaptations:
Discovery Videostreaming:
Parts of a Plant [03:34]
Roots [00:45]
Stem [01:21]
Leaves [01:05]
What Is a Flower? [02:08]
Where Do Seeds Come From? [00:52]
How Plants Reproduce [01:21]
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WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF PLANT PARTS? *:
--LEAVES:
Leaves are the plant's food factory.
In photosynthesis chlorophyll, a green substance, captures energy from the sun. The energy is used
to combine water from the soil and carbon dioxide gas from the air to make sugar. Oxygen is
released during the process. During respiration the plant burns sugar to nourish itself. Carbon
dioxide is released during the process.
PLANTS sweat.
Water coming up from the roots is released into the air in the form of water vapor in a process
called transpiration. Plants sweat only on the undersides of their leaves.
--STEMS
Stems are the plant's support system.
Stems hold leaves up to the light and keep fruits and flowers attached. They grow straight up, trail
along the ground, climb fences and trees, or stay underground.
Stems are also a food and water highway.
Water and minerals from the soil are transferred upward from the roots (through the xylem tissues
in the stem) to leaves and other plant parts. Food made in the leaves is transported (through the
phloem tissues in the stem) to the growing parts of the plant. The pumping of water and minerals is
called capillary action.
Some stems are food storage sites.
White potatoes are really a type of underground storage stem called a tuber.
--ROOTS:
Roots are the plant's anchors
Roots hold the plant firmly in the ground.
Roots are also absorbers.
Tiny hairs take in water and minerals from the soil.
Roots provide storage.
Plants transport sugars and starches to the root for storage. Carrots, beets, and radishes are some of
hte root foods we eat.
--FLOWERS: for reproduction
--BARK: for outside protection
--WOOD: internal supporting structure
*Language taken from Scholastic Homework Reference: Everything you Need to Know About Science
Homework. MCAS State standards require 5th graders to also know plant parts and also the way a plant
accomplishes:
Food production (leaves)
Support (stem)
Water transport (roots)
growth (from the roots and tips)
protection (bark)
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WHILE DRAWING: It is useful to read to the children while they draw their flowers, to focus and to
explain why this drawing exercise is science: The following is loosely paraphrased from LOOK AT YOUR
FISH written by Samuel H. Scudder in 1874 . (The original has rich Victorian language suitable for older
children)
While you are drawing your plants, I am going to tell you a story.
If you have questions, you can raise your hand and I will pause in the story as soon as I can to help you.
Your job, again, is to start sketching the plant and to include lots of details so you can label the plant –
and, hopefully, remember this particular plant. You will probably get to know this plant very well.
Before you put your pencil on the paper, try to plan out your space. If you start the leaves way down on
the paper, you will probably run out of space before you get down to the roots. So, figure that out first!
Now, everyone looks like they are about to draw – and I will start to tell you the story written in 1874 by
Samuel Scudder who went to a college called Harvard University with high hopes of studying with very
famous scientist named Louis Agassiz. Mr. Scudder had been a boy about your age, or maybe a little bit
younger, when he realized that he was very interested in science. He liked to find out how things grew &
he liked to wonder what would happen if he changed something in a small way. Over time, he became
especially interested in insects and he applied to Harvard with the hope of studying with Agassiz.
It was his very first day at school – and when I tell you he was excited to meet Agassiz, you need to
understand that he was basically jumping up and down excited. But, of course, this was college, so he
tried to be very formal, grown-up and dignified.
He went into the lab and looked around. It was very quiet – so he could hear everything. Finally, there
were footsteps and he looked up as Agassiz approached. “Wow!” he thought, “This is it!” Professor
Agassiz shook the young man’s hand and greeted him. He said, “So, you’ve come to study with me?”
The young man grinned (he couldn’t help it!) and said, “Yes! Yes Sir!” Agassiz said, “well, I need to go
see about something important – and you need to get started. I have set out a jar and I want you to draw
what you see.” The young man practically wilted, “draw? Sir? You want me to draw a picture?”
Professor Agassiz simply replied, “Draw? yes! But, most important – look! Look at the fish!” And, with
that, Agassiz left the lab.
The young man opened the jar and took out the fish. He laid it on the table – it didn’t smell very good
since it was preserved in formaldehyde. He quickly took out up the pencil and drew the outline of the
fish. He put the fish away and left for the day.
[Draw a basic outline of a fish – head, top & bottom fin & tail – like a goldfish cracker sort of – then I
hold it up and say, “His sketch looked sort of like this…”]
The next day, he returned to the lab. No Agassiz. Only the same jar with the same fish. His drawing was
laying on the table – with the same pencil. The only difference was a small note taped on the jar. The
note said, “LOOK at the fish!”
The young man was confused. He stared at the fish. He stared at his drawing. He didn’t know what to
do. He stared and stared. Finally he noticed that there was a side fin on the fish. He added a quick curved
line to his original drawing, put the fish away and left.
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[Pause and ask, “Are you all starting to notice some details about your plant? Do you noticed the….”]
The next day, he returned to the lab. No Agassiz. The same jar was on the lab table – with the same fish.
His drawing was there again. And a pencil. The same note was even taped to the jar. This time, the word
“LOOK” was underlined – so it said “LOOK at the fish!”
Well, I don’t have to tell you that the young man was deeply frustrated. He felt disappointed beyond
description. How could it be that Professor Agassiz had so little for him to learn? To do? To draw?!
He opened the jar, took out the fish and stared at it. He looked. He squinted his eyes. He stared. He
looked at his drawing. He looked. He squinted his eyes. He stared. He took a deep breath. He noticed
that the fish had scales. He started to draw the scales – at first he just made a curvy line – but then he
erased it and tried to draw the scales exactly as he saw them. First he saw seven side by side at about the
same angle. Then they were touched by eleven which spun out in a bit of a spiral. He continued on until
the clock struck 2:00 – when he realized he was about late for his next class.
[Pause and ask, “What are you all noticing about your drawing? Are you noticing the patterns in the
leaves? Do you notice they are jagged, not smooth? Do you notice anything about the roots? Are there
any little pieces coming off the roots? What do you think they might be called? Etc.]
The next day he arrived at the lab ten minutes early. He didn’t even expect to see Agassiz (which is good,
because he didn’t!). He took out the fish and continued to try to draw every scale he saw. He noticed the
scales weren’t all curved. Some had a flat top, some were curved. Some were more of a circle shape.
Some were more of an oval shape. He drew and drew. He was so focused on his work that he did not
hear Professor Agassiz’s footsteps as they drew close.
Professor Agassiz looked over the young man’s shoulders and nodded approvingly at the sketch. Finally
the young man sense that someone was with him. He looked up at Agassiz. Agassiz smiled and said,
“Well, now I can see that you have learned to truly look at the fish. You are ready to study science.
Welcome!”
Talk about the story & ask what it means to them – I ask if they noticed things as they were drawing… etc.
Talk about the less “major” plant parts and point out how it is easier to remember the parts if you can
find them- some are hard to see!
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This version is closer to the original Victorian language by Samuel Scudder in 1874:
It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I
had enrolled my name in the Scientific School as a student of natural history. He asked me a few
questions about reasons for coming, my training and how I wanted to use the knowledge that I
might acquire, and, whether I wished to study any special branch of science. I replied that, while I
wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I wanted to devote myself especially to
insects. "When do you wish to begin?" he asked. "Now," I replied.
This seemed to please him, and with an energetic "Very well!" he reached from a shelf a huge jar
of specimens in yellow alcohol. "Take this fish," he said,"and look at it"; We call it a haemulon; by
and by I will ask what you have seen." With that he left me, but in a moment returned with
instructions on how to care for the object he had entrusted to me.
"No man is fit to be a naturalist," he said, "who does not know how to take care of specimens."
I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol
from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Although the Professor did not
hesitate to plunge his hand to the bottom of the jar to reach the fish, which was infected, the
alcohol had a"very ancient and fishy smell," I really dared not to show any disgust within these
sacred halls so I treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. I had a passing feeling of
disappointment, for staring at a fish did not please a man with a burning interest in insects. My
friends at home,too, were annoyed when they discovered that no amount of Cologne would drown
the fish smell which haunted me like a shadow.
In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the Professor-who had, however, left the Museum; and when I returned, after looking over some of the odd
animals stored in the laboratory, my fish specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish
as if to save the beast from a fainting fit. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but to
return to a stare again at my fishy companion. Half an hour passed --- an hour --- another hour; the
fish began to look disgusting. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face --- ghastly; from
behind,beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters' view --- just as ghastly. I was getting
desperate, and decided an early lunch was necessary; so, with great relief, the fish was carefully
replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free.
On my return, I learned that Professor Agassiz had been at the Museum, but had left and would not
return for several hours. Everyone else was busy so again I brought out that hideous fish, and with
a feeling of desperation again looked at it. It seemed a very dull thing to gaze on. I pushed my
finger down its throat to feel how sharp the teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different
rows, until I was convinced that that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me --- I would
draw the fish; and now with surprise I began to discover new features in the creature.
Just then the Professor returned.
"That is right," said he; "a pencil is one of the best of eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep
your specimen wet, and your bottle corked."
After these encouraging words, he asked: "Well, what is it like?"
He listened to my brief description of the parts whose names were still unknown to me; the fringed
gill,the holes of the head, fleshy lips and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the fins and forked tail; the
compressed and arched body. When I finished,he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air
of disappointment: "You have not looked very carefully; why you haven't even seen one of the
most obvious features of the animal, which is as a plainly before your eyes as the fish itself; look
again, look again!" and he left me to my misery.
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I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish!
I got back to to my task with a determined will. Strangely, I discovered one new thing after another
and the afternoon passed quickly; and when, towards its close, the Professor inquired:
"Do you see it yet?"
"No," I replied, "I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before."
"That is next best," said he, earnestly, "but don't tell me now; put away your fish and go home;
perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will talk with you before you look
at the fish."
This was nerve wracking. Not only must I think of my fish all night, studying with nothing in front
of me, trying to discover what this unknown but "most obvious" feature might be; but also, I must
describe the beast the next morning without looking at it again.. I had a bad memory; so I walked
home by the river in a worried state.
The Professor greeting me warmly the next morning. Here was a man who wanted me to see for
myself what he saw.
"Do you perhaps mean," I asked, "that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs?"
"Of course! Of course!" he replied and explained the importance of my observation. I asked him
what I should do next.
"Look at your fish!" he said, and left me again on my own. In a little more than an hour he
returned, and heard my new list of features.
"That is good, that is good" he repeated; "but that is not all; go on;" For three long. torturous days
he placed that fish before my eyes, forbidding me to look at anything else. "Look, look, look," was
his repeated command.
This was the best lesson I ever had --- a lesson I never forgot.
On the fourth day, a second fish of the same group was placed beside the first and I was bidden to
point out the resemblances and differences between the two;another and another followed, until the
entire family lay before me, and a whole army of jars covered the table and surrounding shelves.
By now the fishy odor had become a pleasant perfume.
In time I studied the whole group of haemulons and whether I was dissecting of the internal
organs, studying their bony framework or describomg the various parts, Professor Agassiz trained
me to carefully observe facts but to never be content with them.
"Facts are stupid things," he would say, "until brought into connection with some bigger idea." At
the end of eight months, I was sad to leave my fish studying friends and turn back to insects; but
what I had gained by this one experience has been of greater value than my many years of later
investigation.
A year afterward, some of us were fooling around with chalking silly beasts on the Museum
blackboard. We drew prancing starfishes; frogs in deadly combat; many-headed worms;
crawfishes, standing on their tails carrying umbrellas; and grotesque fishes. The Professor came in
soon after, smiled at our drawings and looked at the fishes.
"Haemulons, every one of them," he said; :"I know who drew them."
Hastings 2010 Draft
14
BBY Spring walk