I used to teach a science camp for ages 5 to 12 (what a combination) and I had
some of the best times with these kids. It was always so satisfying to see the
look in their eyes when they "made a discovery" or saw something in a
different light. I always did at least a week on sea critters and spent 2 days
on shells and snails. The first thing I would do was hold up a crusty shell
from Rehoboth Beach and ask them "if you saw this on the beach what would you
do" I always got great answers such as Throw it at my little brother" or Put
it on a sandcastle" and my personal favorite..." Well pick it up Duhhhh!!!" (
wanna guess which age group said that?)  The next question I would ask after
it calmed down a little would be " well where do shells  come from?"  I
actually did the math from the statistics I took over the years and always got
the same ration of answers... 83% said that they were made from Hermit Crabs,
12% said they were rocks, 3% didn't know, 1% didn't care and 1% said that
animals called mollusks made them but they didn't know how. I would then tell
them the basics in kid temr about shells and how they were made and asked them
some reasons as to why they would be helpful. I would get so many various
answers and still chuckle at them today. I don't have the time to write them
down at the moment.  I sometimes wish I still taught camps but  then I wake up
and find myself trying to jump out of a window.
 
Sarah Watson
Silver SPring MD
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Tidepool/8845