Water Bears!

Hey guys... its Mrs. Stein here... this summer I spent a few days at a teacher workshop in New York where I met some interesting people and learned a lot of new stuff!!!  One of the teachers at the workshop told about these organisms called Water Bears.  Has anyone ever heard of them???  So, apparently they are quite abundant in moss, so we should be able to find them anywhere... they are microscopic and they can survive being frozen for years!  They go into a dormant state to survive extreme temperatures.  This is something that is seen in simpler organisms, but in an actual animal, it is rare... and pretty cool!  And what else is cool about these critters... they don't really fit in with other groupings of invertbrates. 


They are not insects... not worms... they just don't fit.  Cool eh?  I am hoping to find some moss and see if in fact we really do have these little guys running around in Glenview too!  Want more info on Water Bears? 

Check out this interesting article on them.

Or watch this video. 





Aren't they soooo cute???  And weird too!!! 
What's interesting to you??? Please share!  Feel free to comment on my post too!

What am I MOST excited about?
I really love watching the transformations in freshman... I look forward to seeing the learning and growth that will happen in each of you this year... (OK...i know, a little cheesy)

What am I LEAST excited about?
Waking up early, traffic, and grading papers!