Salmon Hatchery

We had a wonderful time on our field trip to the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery this week! The kids looked great in their salmon-print t-shirts, the weather was gray but warm and dry, and the salmon were definitely jumping!


Room 241 posed for a class picture next to Gilda and Finley, two salmon statues in front of the hatchery. These 8-foot bronze statues' size is based on fossils of salmon from the Ice Age. 5-6 million years ago, “saber-tooth salmon” existed, measuring up to 10-feet long and weighing up to 500 pounds!


Anna, Grant, and Luke pose in front of the viewing window for the fish ladder.


One docent teaches the kids about the seven members of the Pacific Salmon family. We already knew about Chum, Sockeye, Chinook, Coho, and Pink, but we also learned about Steelhead and Cutthroat trout!

Another docent shows preserved specimens of eggs, eyed eggs, alevin, and fry.

Scientists on a Log: the kids wait patiently for the rest of the group to join us for our class photo.

What a fun day!!

Join the Clue Hunt!

I know that many of the readers in room 241 are enjoying this fun book series, which centers around two orphaned kids who have inherited a single clue that will lead them on a world-wide hunt for a secret buried deep inside their family's history. I love this series too - lots of action and excitement, with some great messages about friendship, forgiveness, and personal integrity.

Each book in the series comes with a card pack. The 6 cards in each pack feature clues that will help readers unlock the mystery alongside the main characters!

Last year the third grade teachers created an account at www.the39clues.com, where third graders could go to enter these clues and help solve the puzzle. If you would like to use the third grade account to go explore the site, here is the information you will need:

login: gr3grade
password: grizzly

Happy hunting, and remember - the website is fun, but the books are where the real excitement can be found!!