[Bus honking]
Scientists, are you ready for a Virtual Field Trip from sunny Los Angeles?
Let's go to the California Science Center!
[Children cheering]
[Children cheering] With your hosts
Mariela
and Monica
with a special appearance from
Dr. Chuck Kopczak!
Let's go to the California Science Center!
[Children cheering]
Hi scientists, welcome to Virtual Field Trips at the California Science Center!
Before we get started, there are a few things we need to go over.
[Music]
All Virtual Field Trips will have a Question of the Day and today's question is...
[Computer beeping] How do organisms fuel themselves to survive?
Pause the video now to write down the Question of the Day in your notebooks and don't forget
to write or draw things you observe in the video to help you answer the question.
[Music]
All Virtual Field Trips will also have a buzzword!
Today's buzzword is...
[Magical sound]
Energy!
Any time you hear this word be sure to make check marks or tally marks somewhere in your notebook.
to keep track of how many times you hear the buzzword!
Before I forget, there may be times we might ask you to pause to think about a question
You'll see this sign and hear this sound [Ding] to remind you to pause.
Okay, I think we're ready for a Virtual Field Trip. Let's go!
[Music]
Let's start our field trip in the Rose Garden!
Scientists, this is a radiometer. It looks a little bit like a light bulb,
but when you zoom in, it's a little bit different. Can you figure out how it works?
What do you notice about my surroundings? Is the radiometer moving?
As I start walking out from the shade and towards the sunlight, what do you notice? Is the radiometer moving now?
[Ding] Pause the video now to think about how the radiometer is working.
The radiometer uses energy from the sun to move.
That energy heats up the black paints inside the radiometer faster than white paint, because black absorbs more heat.
As the heat builds up around the black paints, the pressure also increases.
To equalize this pressure, the cooler air around the white paints moves towards the black paints, causing the radiometer to spin.
So the radiometer uses energy from the sun in order to move,
but we're talking about how organisms get energy from other places.
Can you think of any organisms behind me that might use energy from the sun to survive?
Did you guess plants use energy from the sun?
Then you're right!
Plants use a process called photosynthesis to make food to fuel themselves.
Plants absorb the energy of the sun through their leaves, but that's not the only thing they absorb.
Plants also absorb carbon dioxide through their leaves and water through their root system.
Once plants have all they need - sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water - they use the energy from the sun
to convert the water and carbon dioxide into a sugar called glucose, which they use to survive.
I know that plants get energy from the sun, but there are other organisms in this Rose Garden.
How do they get their energy?
[Music]
Did you see the ants on the tree? Take a closer look.
What do you think the fly is looking for?
How do spider webs help a spider to survive?
How does this moth get the nectar out of the plant?
What is this bee doing?
What could this June bug be looking for?
What is this bird doing in the water? How else do birds use water?
Why is this squirrel hiding its food?
Now that we've explored the Rose Garden and the organisms that live here, let's check out the animals and organisms that live in our kelp forest.
Oh wait, what was the Question of the Day?
Do you have it in your notes? 'How do organisms fuel themselves to survive?' Okay just check
[Computer beeping] How do organisms fuel themselves to survive?
Okay, just checking!
[Music]
Hi Dr. Chuck! Scientists, this is Dr. Chuck, Curator of Life Sciences here at the California Science Center,
and he's going to be talking to us a little bit about the food web in our kelp forest.
So just like plants on the land that need sunlight to survive and make their own food and grow,
Plants or algae, really, that are found in the ocean, like giant kelp, have that same need.
They actually grow from the bottom of the ocean to the surface in order to get the sunlight that they need to grow.
By doing that, they create these complex forests that then support entire food webs of animals.
The kelp itself doesn't usually get eaten by too much, but a lot of things crawl across it,
eating other smaller things that live on it as well. There are animals, of course, like snails, abalone snails,
giant keyhole limpet snails, all kinds of snails that spend their time grazing on algae.
They actually have special tongues that help them scrape algae off the rocks.
Then of course, we have animals that will eat those snails or eat other animals! Things like crabs, lobsters, some fish,
and then as we move up the food chain farther, eventually we get to animals like sea otters.
Now we don't have sea otters here in Southern California right now, but maybe someday they'll come back.
But sea otters are considered to be the sort of the top of the natural food chain in kelp forests
and they'll eat, like I said, they'll eat crabs, they'll eat sea stars, they'll eat fish,
they'll eat almost anything and they're very good at controlling
other populations of animals that are all part of the complex food web in the kelp forest
[Music]
Scientists, today we are going to play Algae Says! Have you ever played Algae Says?
You haven't?! Well, no problem! Monica and I are gonna teach you how to play,
so make sure you stand up and have enough space around you to play along!
Now before we start, we actually need to go underwater and find some algae! Let's go!
Okay, Monica will model each part of the algae with movements. Make sure you follow along!
Our first part is 'blade'. The blade is the same as a leaf on a land plant.
The purpose of the blade is to absorb as much of the sunlight shining down from above! It needs that energy!
Next, we have the 'stipe'. The stipe looks similar to the stem of a land plant.
The purpose of the stipe in algae is to hold the structure together, which is different from a land plant,
because in a land plant, the purpose of the stem is to allow nutrients to travel through it.
Now, we have the 'air bladder'. The air bladder is special to algae.
Algae has these round bulb-like structures full of air.
That air helps to keep the plant stay buoyant so that it can reach as close as it can to the surface of the ocean
Finally, we have the 'holdfast'. The holdfast may remind you of the roots of a land plant, but they work differently.
In algae, the holdfast's purpose is to keep the plant anchored to the bottom of the ocean.
In a land plant, the roots are a way for the plant to get nutrients from the soil.
Alright, now we know all of the parts! Let's review! blade stipe air bladder
Blade, stipe, air bladder, holdfast!
Ready to play? The purpose of the game is to quickly turn your body into the part of algae when you hear me say,
Algae Says! For example, Algae Says 'blade'!
If I just name the part of algae without saying Algae Says, don't change the position your body is in.
For example,
Stipe!
I didn't say Algae Says, so stay in the position that you're in.
Monica will play along with you this round to help you out! Hey scientist, round one! Make sure you're listening closely!
Algae Says... holdfast!
Algae Says... stipe!
Blade!
Oh, good job don't move!
Algae Says... blade!
Algae Says... air bladder!
Stipe!
Algae Says... holdfast!
Blade!
Algae Says... blade!
Oh! I think maybe Monica made a mistake! That's okay! We can keep playing!
Algae Says... stipe!
Algae Says... blade!
Algae Says... holdfast!
Algae Says... air bladder!
Alright, you completed round one! Good job, scientists!
This time, we're going to make it a little bit harder.
I will be saying what Algae Says, but Monica will be doing a different movement.
So pay close attention to what I'm saying and not what Monica is doing.
And just like last time, don't move your body if algae doesn't say!
Here we go!
Algae Says... stipe!
Algae Says... blade!
Algae Says... air bladder!
Stipe!
Uh oh! Make sure you don't move!
Algae doesn't say!
Algae Says... air bladder!
Algae Says... holdfast!
Algae Says... stipe!
Algae Says... air bladder!
Alright, scientists! How'd you do? Not too bad?
Well scientists, we hope you had fun playing and learning with us! Let's head back to the Discovery Room!
[Bubbles gurling]
Now that we're back in the Discovery Room, let's talk about some of the things that we learned today.
In the Rose Garden, we learned how plants use the energy from the sun to grow through a process called photosynthesis.
In addition to using sunlight energy, they also use air and water.
We also learned about the organisms in the Rose Garden and how they get their energy from plants and other living things.
Next, we visited our kelp forest with Dr. Chuck.
He talked about the food web in our kelp forest and how algae and animals get their energy there.
Finally, we played Algae Says to compare and contrast structures between land plants and algae.
Do you remember the Question of the Day? Can you use the buzzword to answer the Question of the Day?
[Ding] Pause the video now to try to answer the Question of the Day using the buzzword!
Okay scientists, it's time to count our check marks! How many times did you hear the buzzword?
[Ding] Pause the video now to count your check marks or tally marks.
Drum roll, please! And the answer is...
Drum roll, please! And the answer is... 12!
We hope you had fun on this Virtual Field Trip at the California Science Center
and we look forward to seeing you next time!
[Bus honking]
For more Virtual Field Trip fun, visit our website!