Middle Gate Science Lab Pets

By Emily Notaro and

Ashley Calero

Science is filled with many amazing and wonderful things. Middle Gate School is lucky to be able to experience hands-on science in our lab. The science lab is filled with many animals including a snake, rabbit, guinea pig, turtle and a newt along with ladybugs, annoles, African frogs, cockroaches, guppies, tree frogs, hermit crabs and firebelly frogs.

A new addition to our science lab is crayfish which the 5th grade had the opportunity to explore. All of the many animals are special because they are all different and unique.

“It is special to have animals at our school so all children can enjoy them,” said the science teacher Mrs Fagan.

As we know, just like people, animals change. Every two weeks Spot, the snake, sheds and Shelly, our turtle, also sheds. The annoles shed because they are in the reptile family. The variety of animals means there are a variety of habitats. Some of the animals including the snake and guinea pig are land living, while the crayfish live in water.

Middle Gate has a lab assistant program. The Lab assistants are children from the 4th and 5th grade who enjoy helping the animals. Their job is to feed the animals, clean their habitats, and replace the water in the tank. Our school is quite a jungle, isn’t it?