When I was a little kid, I always looked forward to the summertime because I knew my family would be spending plenty of time by the water.  Whether it was a swimming pool, the beach or a lake never mattered much to me, I just loved getting wet and splashing about.  I also loved the change of scenery and especially the change of living things that were present around beaches and lakes.

Educational Insights, manufacturer of playful products with serious educational value, has found a terrific way for your little scientist to explore the bodies of water you visit this summer. The GeoSafari Plankton Net allows them to get up close and personal with microscopic aquatic specimens. Keep reading to learn more!

The GeoSafari Plankton Net is the perfect tool to capture and observe tiny underwater creatures in both fresh and saltwater.  Explore oceans, ponds, streams, lakes, tide pools - any natural body of water - and then identify the tiny creatures that live there.

Plankton are small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or freshwater.  They are an important part of the food chain because many animals eat plankton.  They consist of bacteria, protozoa, certain algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans and many other organisms.  Plankton are divided into two groups: zooplankton (animals) and phytoplankton (plants).  The GeoSafari Plankton Net is designed to catch zooplankton.

Getting started with the GeoSafari Plankton Net from Educational Insights is really quick and easy.  Simply screw the specimen bottle into the tapered end of the net.  Then submerge the attached specimen bottle into the water along with the plankton net.  The net's opening should be about a foot below the surface of the water.

Drag the Plankton Net with the netting and the attached specimen bottle behind it for at least two minutes.  The longer you drag, the more plankton you will collect.

Once all the plankton have settled down into the bottle, disconnect it carefully from the net and cap it.  The specimen bottle includes three magnification lenses embedded into the side of the bottle so that your child can automatically view their "treasure" without needing any additional tools.

What's more, the GeoSafari Plankton Net can be tied securely to a rope using the tow rope attachment ring.  This way, you can lower the net into the water from a boat or dock and walk back and forth, collecting plankton.  If you'd like, the GeoSafari Plankton Net can even be tied to the boat itself while the boat moves across the water making it possible to collect a super-concentrated plankton sample.

Once your child has collected their bounty, it's time to identify what was found.  Plankton are easiest to see when viewed with a dark surface placed behind the specimen bottle which is why there's a solid black area on the included specimen identification card.

Plankton will only survive about 20-30 minutes in the specimen bottle because after that, they will have used up all of the oxygen contained in the water sample.  So please be sure to identify quickly and then release them back into the water.

If you're going to be traveling to any bodies of natural water this summer, then be sure to turn your vacation into an instant learning experience with the GeoSafari Plankton Net.  They say you should never swim alone and now with this Plankton Net from Educational Insights, your child will find millions of living things to keep them company!