SPSSEG partners with elementary schools in Mason, Thurston, and Pierce counties to raise salmon in school classrooms! SPSSEG provides all tanks, supplies, fish egg coordination with WDFW, lessons, and a fish release event. Participation in the SITS program is subject to our funding availability (e.g. grants and donations).

Students will

  • learn about Pacific salmon life history,
  • predict egg hatch date,
  • learn the species of Pacific salmon,
  • explore what makes good salmon habitat,
  • test water quality,
  • dissect fish,
  • write salmon haiku poems,
  • create a salmon bookmark,
  • get hands-on experience identifying stream bugs,
  • play games to learn about salmon survival, and
  • release the fish they’ve raised from egg to fry into a local stream.

 

Videos of our lessons are linked below.

 

Explore our page or feel free to contact us to find out more.

 

SPSSEG is happy to present in-person salmon lessons to schools in our SITS program. We also have video lessons (linked below) available to everyone regardless of whether you are part of our official program or not.

 

Students follow along the presentations in their Salmon Science Journal

 

Teacher Curriculum Resources

 

(Optional) Salmon Spawning

 

Unit 1: Salmon Life Cycle

 

Unit 2: Egg Delivery

 

Unit 3: Salmon Species

 

Unit 4: Fish Dissection

 

Unit 5: Salmon Habitat

 

Unit 6: Salmon Survival

 

KCST Field Trip

 

Fish Release Field Trip

 

Here is a video of the salmon eggs arriving at the schools in January:

 

Here is a video of salmon being released as fry in March (no student field trip allowed this year):

 

Here is another video of salmon being released as fry in March (weekend student field trip):