Custom Fishing Lures

thingiverse

In this project, students put their knowledge of animal behavior and ecology into practice by designing a custom fishing lure that's tailored to attract and catch a specific type of fish. This lesson is perfect for teaching and assessing proficiency in NGSS standards such as MS.LS1.8 and MS.LS2.2. The Next Generation Science Standards cover topics like ecology, food chains, trophic levels, energy transfer through ecosystems, structure/function of organisms, information processing, and animal behavior. By working on this project, students get to see how their understanding of a food chain and species behavior can impact recreational or commercial activities like fishing. Learning Benchmarks: 1. Students will be able to identify which species of fish live in (or are likely to inhabit) a nearby body of water. 2. Students will understand aquatic ecology concepts, including details about a single species of fish such as habitat, behavior, food type, and more. 3. Students will create a digital design for a fishing lure that's specifically targeted at one of the individual fish species they've studied. 4. Students will be able to 3D print their custom fishing lure, including post-print processing and finishing steps.