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Puxi Campus Grade 5: Snails in Science Class

October 19, 2020

For the fifth grade science project, students were assigned to bring home a snail and to try to keep it alive for at least three weeks. A lot of people might think snails are disgusting, but they contribute much to science through being observed as natural creatures.

In science class, students have learned about snail habitats, ecosystems, and how to recreate habitats for them. To take care of the snails, the students each got a box, added a dirt base, added lettuce, chose the perfect snail for themselves, and showed care for their land snails. As science homework, each was assigned to keep and observe their own little friend every 2 days, thereby discovering more facts along their journey with their snail in their own home.

Snail ancestors are one of the earliest known animals to move upon the Earth. The primitive gastropods date back to 500 million years ago and have developed into a wide diversity of species that have adapted to different terrestrial and aquatic habitats. There is a tremendously large and uniquely varied amount of different snail species due to the fact that they range from aquatic to terrestrial animals. In class, students have studied land snails adapting to terrestrial habitats.

The life expectancy of these land snails is from three to seven years in the wild, but while they are in captivity, their life expectancy is logically lower and they regrettably only last from one month to three years depending on their living conditions. We could never actually assess the genders of the snails as snails commonly change genders throughout their life cycle.

In conclusion, students learned many things in just one science class! They learned about land snails’ natural habitats, their ecosystems and how to recreate them, and also their history and biology. Students are now more interested in snails and are ready to take care of and observe their very own snails.

(Written by Lam Chloe, Directed by Shen Jingfeng, Pictures by G5 teachers)