Habitats of the Pond

A pond is a body of standing water so shallow that rooted plants grow over the entire bottom. A lake is usually larger than a pond, and the water is too deep for plants to grow, except around the shore. In and around both lakes and ponds, you can easily recognize five distinct areas: the water’s edge, the surface layer, the open water, the bottom, and the air above the pond. These five distinct areas are called habitats. A habitat is the place where an organism lives and where you would ordinarily go to find it.

In this activity, buddy teams investigate the different habitats of a pond and discover where different organisms live in a pond. After exploring the different areas, the group collaboratively develops a map of organisms on the pond.

Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) is an outdoor program that offers young people fun and challenging opportunities to investigate ecological relationships in their local environment. OBIS was developed in the 1970s at the Lawrence Hall of Science to help adults (teachers, parents, community leaders) take young people outdoors to experience ecological principles in their local area. We have made several of the original 97 OBIS activities available digitally. These activities, which increase environmental awareness, can be used individually or in combination. These simple experiences then act as a gateway for children and adults to explore and understand their local environment.