Pierce Elementary 2nd Grade Hatches Eggs
Pierce Elementary 2nd Grade
by Stacy Ziems
The Pierce Elementary 2nd grade class set out about 36 chicken eggs on March 25th. They had to patiently wait 21 days for the chicks to develop and hatch. Each day they opened a model egg to see what the chicks looked like on that day. They also read information each day about the development of the chicks. On day 14 (April 8th), they candled the eggs to see which ones had chicks in them. They only had one egg that didn't have a chick in it. In all of the other eggs, they got to see the air pocket, blood vessels, and the chick moving around. They weren't even sure the eggs were going to hatch this year because Pierce lost electricity for about three hours on day 18 (April 12th). They didn't know if the chicks were able to stay warm enough since they were without heat for that long. The 2nd graders got a surprise on day 20 when they came to school and found six of the eggs with pip holes in them! By the end of day 21 (April 15th), they had 19 chicks that hatched and 3 more that had pip holes. On hatching day, they made chicken hats, made chickens out of fake eggs, danced the Chicken Dance and got to hold the chicks. The students get to take their chicks home if they have parent permission. A HUGE thanks goes to Scott and Jenn Fritz. This project would not be possible without the equipment borrowed from them and the eggs that they provide to hatch. Jenn taught the 2nd graders so much about the eggs, the chicks, the hatching, and how to take care of them once they get home. Also, thanks to Wireless Internet of Nebraska for the use of one of their surveillance cameras. It was an amazing experience for the students and a very successful hatching year!
