Microplastics Lab (Microscopic Analysis, Chemical Isolation, Food)

This is one of my favorite labs to do with my Environmental Science kids! It has 3 parts: Microscopic analysis of beach sand (you can substitute with any substrate you think might have microplastics!), microscopic analysis of everyday objects (I have my students look at food/snacks that they bring in, and do a dissection of clams/mussels from the grocery store), and chemical isolation/digestion of microplastic-containing samples of muck (we get ours from a pond and a beach). For the chemical digestion portion, you will need safety goggles, a fume hood, hot plate, hydrogen peroxide, and iron chloride solution. My kids love the diversity of this lab and feel "like real scientists" when they use the microscopes and fume hood! I USUALLY ASSIGN THE MICROPLASTICS QUESTIONS WORKSHEET AND GO OVER THE BRIEF MICROPLASTICS SLIDES (BOTH ON MY TpT STORE) FIRST!