Students use tracking website to learn about sharks
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Students in the sixth grade at Sand Creek Intermediate in Fishers helped raise $2,500 to adopt a Tiger Shark they named Fin.
The students finally collected the money by selling T-shirts and wrist bands. Fin’s travels are now online. More than 1,200 teachers and students who attend the school have access to the site to track it.
They will learn more about the shark in science class with the help of the monitoring system placed on its fin.
The Tiger Shark was spotted and tagged in Key Biscayne, Florida March 15. Students can track Fin by pulling up a Google Earth map online.
“Fin started in Miami, then went to the Bahamas. I hope I can learn what tiger sharks eat. I also want to know if they move around when the seasons change. It seemed like it took forever to adopt him. At first we thought that isn’t a lot but then we realized it adds up slowly,” said student Shea Koley.
Sand Creek Intermediate Principal Brent Farrell says this project is helping students learn a lot, including the value of a dollar, because they raised the majority of the funds.
The tracking system should stay in place for about a year, according to scientists with the University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation program. They tagged Fin and are also helping the students track the shark.