Splish Splash
At a glance
Participants will learn about aquatic animals and their
adaptations through animal demonstrations, a hike, and a
craft.
Time requirement
1 hour
Group size and grade(s)
5-12 kids
Materials
Attendance sheet and nametags
Program animals
Program bin
o Tails
o Crayons
o Books
o Animal pictures
o Fishbowl
o Astroturf
o Snorkel
o Swim fins
o Goggles
Objective(s)
Be able to name at least one aquatic
adaptation
Be able to name 2 animals that spend
most of their time in the water.
Theme
Animals that live a primarily aquatic life
have special adaptations to help them
survive.
Splish Splash, April 2013
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Background
Aquatic adaptations are found in those
plants and animals that live in water
habitats: fresh water, brackish water, and
sea water. For example, fresh water
organisms develop features to prevent
the entry of excess water or processes to
drain excess water regularly. On the
contrary, marine organisms face scarcity
of water due to hypertonic (salt
concentration higher than that of body
fluid) sea water. So, they have
mechanisms to retain water and excrete
excess salts that enter in water intake.
Aquatic animals may be benthic,
occurring at the bottom of a water body,
or pelagic, occurring in the water body
itself. The animals may live partially or
permanently in water. Thus they may
range from non–specialized to very
highly specialized water dwellers.
Primarily aquatic animals (e.g., fishes)
show not a single terrestrial feature,
whereas secondarily aquatic animals
(e.g. whales, dolphins) possess terrestrial
respiration through lungs, and some
must visit land for laying eggs (e.g.,
turtle). Partially water dwelling animals
demonstrate amphibious adaptations
with double features both for land and
water (e.g., frogs, salamanders), or
mostly terrestrial features and only some
basic aquatic adaptations (e.g., duck).
Some characteristic aquatic adaptations
are:
Body contour is spindle shaped and
streamlined. For this, the head is
elongated into rostrum or similar
structure, neck is short, external ears
(pinnae) are reduced, and tail is
laterally or dorso–ventrally
compressed.
Usually marine animals are
excessively large (e.g., whale),
because of the buoyancy of the salt
water.
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Organs of locomotion and balancing
vary greatly among the aquatic
animals; fishes use paired and
unpaired fins, whales and turtles
have their limbs modified into
paddles, in some others, hands
and/or feet are webbed.
Skin of most aquatic forms is rich in
mucous glands to make it slippery.
Fishes are equipped with dermal
scales as well. Aquatic mammals
have reduced or absent hair and skin
glands (oil and sweat glands). In
compensation, they have a fatty layer
below the skin known as bubbler.
Besides insulating the body, it also
helps in flotation.
Dense fur helps streamline the
bodies of some aquatic mammals
and keeps them warm. Dense
waterproof feathers keep cold water
away from bird's skin and prevent
wetting of the feathers.
Primarily aquatic animals are
capable of utilizing dissolved oxygen
in the water for respiration through
general body surface, internal or
external gills, and so forth. However,
secondarily aquatic forms respire
atmospheric air through lungs;
nostrils are located at the apex of the
head.
In fish, the hollow outgrowth of the
alimentary canal, called air bladder,
functions as an organ of flotation and
accessory respiratory organ as it is
filled with air. In whales and other
mammals, extraordinarily massive
lungs and closable nostrils serve this
purpose.
Fishes have lateral line systems
extending the whole length of the
body. It contains neuromast organs,
which act as rheoreceptors (pressure
receptors
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Long legs and necks keep the bodies
of wading birds out of the water and
are thin, light, and easy to move, and
the long neck helps the birds to reach
the water, or below it, for food.
Strainers in the mouth filter food
particles from the water.
Eyes positioned on top of the head
allow animals to hide almost fully
submerged in water and still detect
predators or prey above the water.
Nostrils positioned near the top of
the head allow animals to come to
the surface to breathe while only a
small part of the body can be seen.
Nostrils close when the animal goes
under the water.
Transparent eyelids (nictitating
membrane) cover the eyes of animals
swimming underwater.
Vocabulary
Buoyant - the tendency to float in water
or other liquid
Counter-shading - a form of camouflage
in which an animal’s pigmentation is
darker dorsally.
Fusiform - Cigar-shaped; larger in the
middle and tapering at both ends.
Nictitating membrane - a thin
membrane, or inner or third eyelid,
present in many animals, capable of
being drawn across the eyeball, as for
protection
Streamlined - Body shape in the water
which offers the least possible
resistance.
Activity
Intro
Getting ready
Put out carpet squares or rug, puzzles
and books. Hide animal pictures under
carpet squares (one per square). Get
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demo animals. Stand in hallway and
hand out nametags and assign rooms.
Doing the activity
Go around the group and have the kids
introduce themselves and share one of
their favorite things to do in the water or
maybe their favorite thing to do at the
beach or pool.
Where Do I live?
You will need:
o Animal pictures
o A fishbowl and a piece of
Astroturf
How to play:
o Each child should check under
their carpet spot/square for an
animal picture.
o Now, they should decide if their
animal is an aquatic (manatee,
whale, otter, bullfrog, fish, sea
turtle, waterbug, hippo, flamingo,
polar bear, shark) or terrestrial
(giraffe, lion, kangaroo, tiger,
bat, gorilla, elephant, tarantula,
hummingbird) animal. If it is
aquatic, they should place it in
the fishbowl, terrestrial, and it
goes on the Astroturf.
o Pull all of the aquatic animal
pictures out and lay them on the
rug so that you can look at them
during the next activity.
How Do they Do it? Zoo’s Clues.
What do they have in common? Ask
the kids to find some things that all
of these aquatic animals have in
common (webbed feet, streamline
bodies, waterproof covering or little
to no covering, eat things that
live/grow in the water, gills or can
hold their breath for a long time,
etc.)
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Get out swim fins, a snorkel,
goggles. Talk about how we wear
these things when we go into the
water to help us to swim more
comfortably, but animals who spend
a lot of time in the water often have
these already built in!
Wrap-up
Great job! Now, let’s take a look at some
real, live animals that have these
adaptations. (Pack the goggles, fins, and
snorkel in your bag to bring along).
Zoo Hike
Getting ready
Doing the activity
Hike to see some aquatic animals around
the Zoo…
o Swan Lake
 Waterfowl
x Webbed feet help them
paddle underwater to swim.
x Use oil they produce to
spread on their feathers and
make them water repellant.
x Air trapped under feathers
and hollow bones make
them buoyant (they float)
x Have nictitating membrane
to use like diving goggles
when looking underwater
for food.
 Red Eared Slider turtles
x Webbed feet
x Camouflaged color matches
the muddy bottom
x Sun themselves on exposed
debris
x Eat aquatic plants and
vegetation
x Streamlined shell helps
them move through water.
Splish Splash, April 2013
o Little blue and African penguins
(CZ entrance)
 Their diet consists of fish and
crustaceans.
 Densely packed feathers keep
their skin warm (with trapped
air) and dry.
 Their bones are not hollow so
they are able to dive and swim
underwater more easily.
 They are camouflaged by
counter-shading (lighter belly,
from below, blends in with the
sky above water. Dark back,
from above, blends with the
water bottom).
 Tongue is covered with bristles
to help catch and trap their
slippery food – fish.
o Sea lion
 Opportunistic eaters, feeding
on squid, octopus, herring,
rockfish, mackerel, and small
sharks.
 Wing-like front flippers have a
bone structure similar to that in
our arms and hands. Swimming
with these flippers propels the
sea lion forward, while the hind
flippers steer.
 A California sea lion has a
“fusiform” body shape that is
sleek and streamlined.
 When relaxed, the nostrils are
closed. A sea lion voluntarily
opens its nostrils by contracting
its mystacial (cheek pad)
muscles
 California sea lions usually do
not need to dive very deeply,
since most of their food is
found in shallow waters, about
26 to 74 m (85–243 ft.) deep.
They can, however, dive to
depths of about 274 m (899 ft.).
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
 California sea lions usually
stay submerged three minutes
or less; however, they can
remain submerged for as long
as 10 minutes.
 California sea lions deposit
most of their body fat into a
thick layer of blubber just
under the skin. The blubber
layer insulates the California
sea lion and streamlines the
body.
o River Otters (IF THERE IS
TIME)
 While underwater, their ears
and nostrils close up tight to
keep out water.
 Can dive as deep as 60 feet.
 Can hold its breath underwater
for eight minutes.
 Streamlined body, webbed feet,
muscular tail, flexible body,
and waterproof fur are all
designed to aid with swimming
 Diet consists of fish, crayfish,
and other aquatic creatures
 Has a nictitating membrane
which coves the eyes while
swimming.
At each stop, you can ask participants
about which of the props (goggles, fins,
snorkel) the animals have parts on their
bodies to match.
Wrap-up
Head back to the classroom to see some
aquatic animals that we can touch!
Animal Demo
Getting ready
Have the kids sit back on their carpet
spots/squares. Tell them that you are
going to see some aquatic animals right
here in our classroom! Have them
Splish Splash, April 2013
remind you and each other about the
rules for when an animal is visiting us in
the classroom. (criss-cross applesauce,
stay seated, two-finger touch, raise
hands if there is a question). Thank them
for helping!
Doing the activity
Get out the animals one at a time. Share
some of their aquatic adaptations with
the participants and then ask them if they
have any additional questions about the
animals they have seen.
Demo animals will include:
Alligator
Nictitating membrane
Nasal openings and eyes on top of
head to see/breathe while the rest of
the animal is submerged.
Webbed feet
Camouflaged to match water/river
bottom/reflected light
Marine Toad
Once they reach adulthood, they can
spend their time in habitat with
varying degrees of wetness however,
they must return to water to lay eggs
and must live in water as tadpoles.
Eggs (up to 40,000) are generally
laid in shallow water. Eggs are laid
in strings (like a beaded necklace)
and can be free floating or wrapped
around debris or vegetation in the
water.
Eggs hatch into tadpoles at around
three days and the tadpoles
metamorphose to juvenile toads
around 45-55 days later at which
point they can leave the water.
Spotted Turtles
Diet consists of snails, worms, slugs,
and spiders.
Daylight hours are spent eating and
basking in the sun. In the evening,
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
spotted turtles submerge and spend
the night on the pond bottom.
Spotted turtles spend their lives in
marshy meadows, bogs, swamps,
ponds, ditches, or other small bodies
of still water
Most individuals live for at least 25
years
Females leave the water in search of
nesting areas. An open site, such as a
meadow, field, or the edge of a road,
is most often chosen for nesting.
Chinese Water Dragon
They are generally found on banks of
rivers in rainforests and swamps
where there is permanent, standing
freshwater nearby.
While they are good climbers, when
frightened or startles, they can drop
from tree branches into the water
where they will stay until the danger
passes.
They are strong swimmers and, if
necessary, can remain submerged for
as long as 25 minutes.
Wrap-up
Pass around Purell to each kid and thank
them for doing such a great job with
being great friends to the animals that
they just met.
Craft – Otter Tails
Getting ready
Tell them that you are going to make a
tail that would help them to swim if they
were an aquatic animal.
Hand out a craft mat to each participant
and place the crayons in the middle.]
Get out your demo tail and clip it to the
back of your shirt/pants to demonstrate.
them remember why the otter’s tail is
flattened? (To help them be streamlined
and move through the water/like a
rudder). Let them make their otter tails,
then clip them on to their shirts and let
them “swim” around the room.
Wrap-up
Collect craft mats and crayons.
Closing
Getting ready
Ask if there are any questions.
Doing the activity
Thank them for coming. Invite them
back next month (and for summer
camp!)
Wrap-up
Clean up and get ready for the next class
or, if you are the last class, put supplies
and animals away.
***In case of Bad Weather***
If it is simply raining, this is a great
opportunity to talk about the difference
between us and animals built to be wet!
In other words, if it is just raining, GO
ON HIKE!
In case of thunder and lightening, do not
go on hike, instead, I have checked out a
variety of underwater animal books to
look at in the classroom.
They can also do dramatic play with
their otter tails after they color them.
You could have them pretend to swim,
dive, belly slide into the water, etc.
Resources
BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/fa
ctfiles/369.shtml
Doing the activity
Go around the circle and hand an otter
tail out to each participant. Ask if any of
Splish Splash, April 2013
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Brandywine Zoo:
http://www.brandywinezoo.org/games/a
quatic_adaptations.pdf
Brookings School District, Turtle
Dissection Lab:
www.brookings.k12.sd.us/krscience/zool
ogy/reptiles/sp06%20turtle%20lab.doc
The Children’s Museum, CT:
http://www.thechildrensmuseumct.org/m
ississippi_map_turtle.asp
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden:
www.cincinnatizoo.org
SeaWorld:
http://www.seaworld.org/animalinfo/info-books/california-sealion/adaptations.htm
Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft.
Pierce:
http://www.sms.si.edu/irLspec/Lontra_c
anade.htm
http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Bufo_mar
inus.htm
Smithsonian National Zoo:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Reptile
sAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Asianwat
erdragon.cfm
Honolulu Zoo:
http://www.honoluluzoo.org/cattle_egret
.htm
International Crane Foundation:
http://www.savingcranes.org/sandhillcra
ne.html
Monterey Bay Aquarium:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/a
nimals/AnimalDetails.aspx?id=781853
New World Encyclopedia:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/e
ntry/Adaptation
New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7150.ht
ml
Oakland Zoo:
http://www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/bird
s/cattle-egret
Ornithology.com:
http://www.ornithology.com/lectures/Se
nses.html
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