TERRARIUMS

Microcosmos
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you
love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was,
lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident
religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero
and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant,
every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and
explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every
"supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on
a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam Carl Sagan







Memo: Sent From Captain Armadillidiidae
Create Your Own Microcosmos:
Objective: You are tasked with creating a new world. It is vital that this world
contain both biotic and abiotic factors. If we are to migrate, we need a place where
we can physically survive. Your skills are needed. Your knowledge is needed. Your
terrarium is needed.
Materials Needed:
Plastic Container Gravel
Leaf Litter Soil
Moss Worms/ Pill bugs/ Millipedes
Assortment of vegetation
Rocks
Squirt Bottle
Laboratory Procedure Packet
Verneir Sensors
Tasks to Accomplish:
I. Obtain a plastic container.
II. Place gravel along the bottom of the container.
III. Place soil on top of the gravel layer.
IV. Place leaf litter on top of the soil layer.
V. Place moss on top of the leaf litter layer.
VI. Add any vegetation that has been brought in.
VII. Provide the terrarium with its inhabitants: Worms, pill bugs and millipedes.
You are also required to keep an observation journal. This journal is crucial for the
development of a new microclimate. You will be required to address certain aspects of
your microclimate:
A. A name
B. Biotic developments
C. Abiotic developments Using abiotic sensors
D. Sensory observation chart Sight, smell, touch
E. Pictorial representations


Day 1: Terrarium Name
Biotic Factors: Address any changes that have occurred with the plants or organisms in
your terrarium. Please be precise and deep thinking. Just describing your terrarium will
not earn you points. You need to describe the because ofs, whys, effects,
etc. We need to know all we can about your microcosm.
Abiotic Factors: Temperature, Oxygen gas concentration, Carbon dioxide concentration, UVA
radiation, UVB radiation. You will be identifying the abiotic factors of your microcosm
and analyzing the effects of these factors and how they contribute to your microcosm.
Pictorial Representations: Draw, chart, record your findings using data charts, pictures,
or any other graphic organizing technique.


Elements to Identify to Help with Your Log:
1. Describe the process of the water cycle in your terrarium:
2. Identify all Biotic and Abiotic factors:
3. Explain the soils role in your terrarium:
4. Explain the worms role in your terrarium:
5. Explain the plants role in your terrarium:
6. Explain the leaf litters role in your terrarium: