Vivarium

Making vivariums is a fun way to combine art and science in the classroom. You can choose to have everyone make their own little vivarium or have each child bring something to contribute to a classroom vivarium. Thanks to Whitney Gasser for this great project!

Materials

• glass fishbowl 
• dirt 
• rocks 
• plants 
• insects and other local critters 
• shovel

1. Start by finding a support for the ground and medium. A fishbowl (or fish tank if it is a classroom vivarium) gives a 3D view, allowing the students to get the essence of the vivarium from all angles.
 


2. Prepare the ground by filling the bowl with dirt and rocks from the actual environment.






3. Do research and find out what kind of critters are natural and common to the area that you are capturing the essence of. If possible, collect a few critters to help create the essence of the environment.
 

(For Utah Valley, critters like the common grass spiders would be an excellent choice, as they are very abundant and not harmful to people.)

4.  Materials can be gathered from some place that hasn’t been tampered with by humans. Another approach is to research the plants that are natural to an area and then collect samples of them for your vivarium.