Gather up your bucket and shovel, and head for the beach! On the way,
be sure to pay attention to your environment.
Can you identify the plants and trees that you see? If you are out in the
country away from people and you walk along quietly, you will see birds
and maybe some animals, too. Taking a camera along is always a good idea.
When you get to the lake shore, look around for the best mud you can find.
What mud is good mud? Well, pond scum in the vicinity is a good sign that
things are living there. When you dig in with the shovel, take a sniff
for that nice rotten egg smell that means sulfur is present. Smelly, slimey
mud is what we're after...
Now, fill your bucket with mud (be sure to get some water, too). Try to
avoid getting plants, roots, or other large stuff in the bucket, because
it will just be in the way. Make sure that you have more mud and water
in your bucket than you will need to fill your soda bottle, then you can
pack up and head home with your bucket of muck.
This activity has been copied, with permission, from Alaska's
Poker Flat Research Range server to ours, to allow faster access from
our web site.
We encourage you to explore the original site.