Learning more about math, science in a fun way

    The Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy, Inc. (CLIC) in Orient sponsored a classroom math and science project at Hodgdon’s Mill Pond School and Houlton Southside School. The organization, along with Maine biologists have stocked salmon and trout in East Grand Lake.
    The organization supplied salmon eggs to the school and the children to monitored their growth.
    “It was math estimation,” said Hodgdon teacher Brenda Griffin. “We had to set the tank water between 36 and 51 degrees before adding the eggs, and then the children had to keep the water at certain temperature for the eggs development.”
    Griffin said teachers used the project to enhance math and science activities, as the eggs hatched into allevins and then into fry.
    “We counted the fry before we released them,” she said. “We had 241. We also learned about the life cycle of a salmon — how they mature, their environment to what they ate.”
    The Houlton and Hodgdon students released the fry into East Grand Lake.
    The students had a bonus while on their field trip to Fosterville, N.B. They toured the U.S. and Canadian Customs office, as well as had a demonstration by U.S. Customs agents with their drug dogs. After the demonstration, the students were given collector’s cards of the agency’s drug dogs, similar to a baseball card.
    Before students were bused back to town, they were treated to a hotdog roast at Donald “Bones” Ellis’ camp.