OROVILLE — Oakdale Heights Elementary School students got a hands-on look at science Friday.
The 47 second and fourth graders participated in a field trip during which they went from station to station, all under tents, at Riverbend Park, learning about bugs and how to fly fish, for example. At one of the stations, students were able to release the tiny salmon they’d been caring for in their second grade classroom into the Feather River. Pacific States Marine Fishery Commission biologist Francisco Vargas instructed them to name their little buddies before releasing them to their new watery home.
The fish were raised for two months in an aquarium starting in November.
“The chinook salmon are spiritual and native to the Maidu tribe,” said Department of Water Resources biologist Jada-Simone White, who was at the event Friday. “It’s great to get the kids connected to the park.”
Vargas said the salmon live for about three to five years. They eventually return to spawn.
Second grader Claire King, 7, enjoyed learning about the salmon while they were living in her classroom.
“It was cool,” King said. “They lived off of their fat bellies.”
King said she enjoys learning about science.
“It’s cool,” she said.
Second graders learn the life cycles of the salmon and fourth graders learn about ecosystems and adaptation.
“They learn how salmon survive in the river,” said fourth grade teacher Brianne Stanley. “It’s very hands on. It’s important they learn how important salmon are to the community.”
“They are more engaged than if they were all waiting by the river to release the fish,” said White. “This way they are occupied with the different stations.”
Fourth grader Cordelia Lane, 10, also enjoyed learning science.
“I think it’s really cool,” Lane said. “We are learning new lessons and getting better at things.”
Lane said her favorite station was the fly fishing station.
“You don’t have to stand still and get to move around a lot,” she said. “It’s also really fun to see the fish in the tank.”
Josiah Houston, an 8-year-old second grader, learned a lot from the lessons.
“I like learning about salmon and their life cycles,” Houston said. “I got to feed them. I enjoyed releasing the salmon and the game we played.”
At one of the stations, the students played the game “Bear, Salmon, Mosquito” in which they acted out each animal. They then moved on to the fly fishing station, where they cast ropes into a hula hoop to catch a mousetrap, embarked on a nature walk, did a scavenger hunt and then finally the salmon release.
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