The World is your Oyster, it is up to you to find the pearls.
The children at Shissler Recreation Center looked at real life oyster shells. They analyzed the color variations and sizes. It was explained that oyster shells turn black over time. We talked about how an oyster creates a pearl. It’s said when a piece of sand or other irritant (like a parasite) makes its way into the oyster, a defense mechanism kicks in to protect itself from the annoyance. Their internal organ called the mantle, uses minerals from the oyster’s food to produce a substance called nacre, which coats the irritant over and over again. Layer upon layer of this coating is deposited until a lustrous pearl is formed. Oysters are the main mollusk to produce a pearl, but other mollusks like clams and mussels can occasionally create pearls as well.
The group was given a paper oyster shell shape to color and design how they wished. They were encouraged to write something positive on the inside or color it. Next, they took turns with green permanent markers to color the “world” onto a blue golf ball. I asked the group to name all the continents – 7! After the golf balls and paper shells were complete, we placed a small tape roll inside the paper shell to prevent the golf ball from rolling.
The World is (quite literally) in their Oyster!
