Diversity of Life
Discovery Center
Overview: Students are presented with multiple packages filled with diverse materials (paperclips, band-aids, beans, straws,). In their groups students will count and classify the items, then write their findings in their journals.

Time: 20 minutes

Location: Indoors

Learner Outcomes:

1. Students will be able to be able to categorize objects with similar characteristics.
2. Students will be able to differentiate between abundant and diverse.
3. Students will be able to identify difference among species.

Materials

1. Paper clips of different color or shape.
2. Multiple types of beans.
3. Multiple types and kinds of bandaids.
4. Multiple types and kinds of straws.

Find. . .

• The box with multiple objects: Band-aids, paper clips, beans, and straws.

Do . . .

1. Categorize all the objects in the box into groups that are similar.
2. Count & record each object in each group. Count and record the different kinds of objects within each group. For example:
   • 13 small paper clips
   • 20 large paper clips

Read. . .

• Diversity- Within a group the number of DIFFERENT KINDS. In the paperclip example above there are two different kinds of paperclips so diversity would be two.
• Abundance- The group with the MOST objects.
• Species- Objects that are the same but have small differences.

Answer . .

1. Which group of objects is the most ABUNDANT?
2. Which group of objects are the most DIVERSE?
3. How do you separate objects that are of the same SPECIES?
   

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