Science & Nature Activity Kit 2025

Q & A about gills with Dr. Kassie Ford!

Q: Why are the gills right next to the mouth?

A: The gills are next to the mouth so the water doesn’t have to travel very far to get to its destination.

Q: What does extract mean?

A: Extract means to take out of or remove

Q: Can we (humans) get oxygen from water like fishes do?

A: We cannot get oxygen from the water like fishes do. We can only breathe air and get oxygen from gasses. We extract oxygen from the air using our lungs.

Q: Why do animals need oxygen?

A: Animals need oxygen for cells to work correctly. Without oxygen, our muscles wouldn’t move and our brains wouldn’t work

Q: Do you think the gills ever get clogged? Why or why not?

A: Gills don’t usually clog because the fish can push more or less water through the gills. This can prevent clogging, kind of like a plunger!

Q: What difference would it make if the gill filaments were thicker or thinner?

A: Thicker gill filaments would have a smaller surface area for oxygen extraction and wouldn’t be very efficient. Thinner gill filaments have a larger surface area and allow for more oxygen extraction

Q: What difference would it make if the gill rakers were thicker or thinner?

A: Thicker gill rakers wouldn’t be as good at sifting out food items so usually fishes that eat large things have thicker gill rakers (think of a pasta strainer with really large holes). Thinner gill rakers are better at sifting out food items and are usually found in fishes that eat smaller things (a pasta strainer with smaller holes).

More about Dr. Kassandra “Kassie” Ford!

Transplanting: A few weeks after your seedlings have grown you may consider transplanting them to a new home. These seedlings can be replanted in an outside garden, or they can continue to grow inside. Basil is an easy plant to grow indoors with a couple maintenance tips to keep it healthy!

1. When your seedlings have grown enough that they’ve got what look like full leaves on them, or they’re starting to look crowded in the growbox, they can be moved to a larger container. 
2. Basil plants don’t need a ton of space, but they will want some deeper soil. You can reuse an old household plant pot, a bucket, or even a few plastic cups and fill them with soil, feel free to reuse the soil in your growbox and mix in additional soil. (Make sure there are some small holes on the bottom to allow water to drain through!)
3. Push your finger into the soil in the new pots to create spots for the seedlings to be moved to. You can add multiple plants per pot.
4. Gently loosen the soil around each seedling  with your fingers (you can also use a regular spoon to help with this, and lift the plant out of the box, ideally with a fair amount of soil still surrounding its roots. 
5. Put the seedling into its new home in the prepared pot and gently push/pat down the soil around its base to make sure it nice and secure. 
6. Spray the plants with water after they’ve all been moved. Now that there roots have room to keep growing you’ll notice each seedling starting to grow bigger until they’re size plants!

Additional resources

Harvesting:

Harvesting basil is easy and if done regularly can help ensure your plant continues to produce healthy basil leaves for harvesting for several months. Check out this video from SchoolYard Gardens to learn when and how to harvest your basil!

Recipes:

Eating what you grow is so satisfying! Here are a couple super simple ways to use the leaves harvested from your basil plant:

Tomato Basil Soup

Spruce up any bowl of tomato soup with some basil! It doesn’t matter if you grew the tomatoes yourself or are cracking open a can of Campbell’s), the basil will bring the soup to another level. 

Instructions: 

1. 1. 1. Chop up a few basil leaves and stir it into the soup while it simmers. 
      2. When the soup is ready add a couple of torn basil leaves as a delicious garnish. 
      3. Enjoy!

Quick Tomato Basil Snack

This recipe is perfect if you have got some fresh tomatoes to use up. Depending on what’s in the cupboard, feel free to add fresh garlic, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar to turn this snack into a caprese salad, or chop it all up and use it as a topper on grilled or toasted slices of baguette for a quick bruschetta!

Instructions: 

1. 1. 1. Cut a tomato into thick slices
      2. Place a basil leaf or two onto each slice of tomato
      3. Sprinkle with a little salt (to taste)
      4. Drizzle a little olive oil on top. 
      5. Enjoy!

Nut-free Pesto Pasta

This is a fun recipe for kids that requires few ingredients, can be used with any type of noodle, and makes for a great bright green meal! All you need is basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, & olive oil.

Ingredients:

• • • Fresh basil leaves (about 2 cups packed, stems removed)
    • Parmesan cheese (¼ to ⅓ cup)
    • Garlic (1-2 cloves, or ~1 tsp minced)
    • Olive oil (¼ cp)
    • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. 1. 1. Add basil leaves, parmesan cheese, and garlic to a blender or food processor. Pulse/blend until its finely chopped and combined together. 
      2. Scrape down the sides so everything is at the bottom and add the olive oil. 
      3. Blend until the pesto is nearly smooth (you might need to scrape the sides again).
      4. Taste it and then season with salt and pepper until it tastes right for you.
      5. Combine with prepared noodles and serve!