Market Science on 18 July was all about Water Quality! We had lots of great activities to share with Market-goers!
University of Minnesota researcher, Anika Bratt, brought water samples from 4 different lakes in the Twin Cities for people to look at up close under the microscopes. We were able to compare how clear the water was and how much algae was in the water. She also brought along some examples of insects that rely on the lakes for their life cycles. We had “toe-biters”, backswimmers, and caddisflies.
We had an activity on Ocean Acidification (OA) to help Market-goers learn more about how increases in Carbon Dioxide are affecting the Ocean and marine life in the ocean.
Ocean Acidification is the process that describes how increases in carbon dioxide in the water decreases the water pH. This has far-reaching implications for organisms, especially those that make shells.
Lastly, we talked about how scientists test for the presence of disease-causing germs in your water. Market-goers were able to see that the contaminated water glowed when viewed under a black-light due the presence of germs, but water from the faucet did not.
It was a great week at the market! Hope to see you there next week to learn all about bugs!