Science becomes exciting when it involves growing pets! Algae Research Supply's Brainy Briny Beaker Bag and Ready-To-Go Algae Beads provide hands on Science lessons while growing both brine shrimp and algae. Students complete experiments and collect data on their growing organisms while they learn about ecosystems, photosynthesis, and respiration, making this a fun hands-on addition to an elementary or middle grade life science course, or a high school level biology course.

The Brainy Briny Beaker Bag kit contains a re-closable beaker bag in which the student will grow algae and brine shrimp, an algae culture (Nannochloropsis), a packet of minerals and brine shrimp cysts, and a Secchi stick for measuring water clarity. The beaker bag is marked with 50ml graduations for measuring volume and a grid that aids the student in measuring the growth of the brine shrimp. Other items that the student will need include a 500mL bottle of drinking water and a light source (we used a table lamp). The kit costs $24.95, or $26.95 if you get it with two sets of ready-to go algae beads. The algae beads are used for additional experiments involving photosynthesis, but they are not required for growing the brine shrimp and algae in the beaker bag.

Instructions for using the Brainy Briny Beaker Bag are included in the kit and are available on the company's product page. Many free lessons are also available on the product page and under the lesson tab on the company's website. Some of the lessons include biomass measuring, estimating brine shrimp populations, and full lessons for teaching with algae beads. There are lessons for elementary, middle grade, and high school students, including lessons that can be used with an AP Biology course. There is also a downloadable workbook designed by Foss Waterway Seaport. The workbook was originally designed for Tacoma Public School fifth graders, but it could easily be used for any age student.

Algae Research and Supply provides several video lessons both on their website and on YouTube. The first video we watched, found on the product page, walked us through the set-up of our Brainy Briny Beaker Bag. Even though we had the written instructions in our kit, this 9-minute video was helpful. Several other video lessons are available under the resource tab on the company's website, and even more videos can be found on YouTube by searching "The Dirty Lab Coat" or "Algae Research Supply." There are videos explaining respiration, photosynthesis, and experiments that can be done with algae, brine shrimp, and algae beads. One YouTube video, titled "Brainy Briny Class," teaches about the ecosystem, algae, brine shrimp, and the measurements that the student will take as they learn. Foss Waterway Seaport also has videos that correlate with the downloadable workbook. These videos can be found at https://fosswaterwayseaport.org/brainy-briny/.

When we received our Brainy Briny Beaker Bag, my 10-year-old son and I read the included instructions, watched a few of the videos mentioned above, and set-up our ecosystem. We printed off the workbook that Foss Waterway Seaport designed, and we used it throughout our four weeks of experimenting with the algae and brine shrimp. Every day, we made observations. We watched the changes in the algae growth by using the Secchi stick. We watched the growth of the brine shrimp, learning to identify their different stages. We observed how the algae concentration and brine shrimp population affected each other, graphing, and recording the data. We also experimented with the algae beads, observing how temperature and light affect photosynthesis. Now, a month after completing the lessons, my son still enjoys observing the ecosystem he began.

Overall, the Brainy Briny Beaker bag provided a fun and engaging way to learn about ecosystems, respiration, and photosynthesis. The hands-on nature of this product, combined with the online videos and workbook to guide our learning, made this a great science project for my 10-year-old son. The sources on the company's website and product page provide the teacher materials to use this product with any age, making this a great add on science product for homeschool families with students in multiple grades. And, when your student is done experimenting with their algae and brine shrimp, they can continue observing the ecosystem they began.

-Product review by Sarah Roth, The Old Schoolhouse®, September 2021