Science Sunday: Sea Monkeys

I bought some Sea Monkeys for the kids at Christmas and they sat on the shelf, forgotten, until the kids found them and asked me what they were.  That was about 8 weeks ago and I am proud to report that our Sea Monkeys are still alive and reproducing!

We started by getting our water ready and letting it sit for 24 hours~ this was extremely hard for the kids because they wanted to dump the packet of Sea Monkey eggs in right away. 

The next day we opened our package of Sea Monkey eggs and took a closer look. The kids could not believe that this powder could possible contain something living.   

How can they live with out water and survive in this little packet?  Sea Monkeys produce a substance called trehalose, which protects the eggs from extreme temperatures and lack of water.  Once the eggs are coated they are called cysts and they can live for many years like this. 

I added the water and the kids watched and waited.  We soon saw little particles moving in the water ~ baby Sea Monkeys.

I found some really great websites that have information about Sea Monkeys.  My favorite was Sea Monkey Worship ~ lots of great information!  Discover This had an interesting fact page and some  coloring sheets.

Some interesting facts we have learned about Sea Monkeys:

• Sea Monkeys are really brine shrimp.
• They breathe through their feet.
• They are attracted to light so you can teach them tricks with a flashlight.
• Sea Monkeys don’t have brains; they have groupings of nerves called ganglia.
• You can tell if you Sea Monkey is eating by looking at the line that runs down the Sea Monkey’s body; this is the digestive tract. If they are full, the line will be black.  If not ~ feed them!

Here is a sheet I created for Emily to write down some information about the Sea Monkeys and draw them as she observed them.

Click the document above to download.

Our Sea Monkeys at 8 weeks.

We have enjoyed watching the Sea Monkeys and they have been easy to take care of.  You don’t need to clean the tank and they only have to be feed once every 5 days.

For more fun with science, check out Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.

~Cindy