"Nikki Casali" wrote in message
...


Margolis wrote:
"Nikki Casali" wrote in message
...




Just go and buy a few shrimp, stick 'em in a jar and have done with
it. Eco-Jar. Cheaper. Doh!

Nikki




Not quite. If you stick them in jar you still have to feed them. The
idea of the eco sphere is that it is a completely balanced ecosystem
in there. No outside intervention such as feeding is needed.


I thought I'd mention it as I remember a childrens' science programme -
I think BBC's Science Shack - where they housed a few woodlice in a jar
with soil, air and a few plants. The jar was sealed and never opened.
The only thing the ecosystem needed to sustain it was light and heat.

Nikki

Once a year, I used to get a parade of parents (moms) with kids trailing
behind them, ready to buy some fish and plants to put into a sealed jar
for their class science experiment. It was an annual event for us,
talking them out of putting several Guppies into a 1 litre jar. I
usually send them off with a variety of plant cuttings, a newborn fry or
shrimp (which they can return to me after the experiment is over), and
instructions to use a larger container, keep it away from heat sources,
etc etc. For the most part, the parents where quite sympathetic and
willing to follow the instructions, so I'd like to think that the
greatest influence on our moral compass is knowledge ).
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