Quadrat studies are used by Ecologists everyday. Children also love this type of science because it’s so fun! Quadrat studies are done outdoors in a small square area chosen at random and marked. You can use a wire coat hanger bent into a square, a meter square made with pvc piping (very easy) or use pipe cleaner wire to make a square. Officially, meter squares are used but use whatever size is best for you. Let your child toss it into the back yard. In this square you will get on your knees and find every living thing in the square, grass, leaves, ants, bugs, worm, and any non-living; rocks, sand, dirt, etc. The discovering is fun but to make it scientific and to work on those processing skills, make a lab report.

Don’t forget to include a hypothesis:

What do you think you will find in our quadrat?

List materials

List procedure

Make a table with 2 columns, in one they write the thing they find, in the second, they make hash marks every time they find one, tallying. You can also pre-write some items to help get them excited about things to look for.