Desert Ecosystems for Kids

Desert Ecosystems for Kids
••• Giovanni Allievi/iStock/Getty Images

An ecosystem involves all the living and non-living aspects of the area. Desert ecosystems are unusual because they are very dry and have specifically evolved plants and animals that can survive the local climate. Learning about desert ecosystems can be fun when doing educational activities and projects about their different aspects.

Keep reading to learn more about the desert for kids and adults alike!

Describe Desert Climate

Deserts are hot during the day and cool at night.
••• Fuse/Fuse/Getty Images

If we are going to define desert, you look at the amount rainfall. Deserts are often hot during the day and cool at night, but there is some variation.

A fun way to learn about the desert for kids is to do a temperature and rainfall map. Start with a map of the world with the desert areas outlined. Have kids research the temperatures of each of the deserts and categorize them by temperature. Color code the deserts according to temperature.

Give them a clear sheet such as an overhead projector page and have them do patterns over the deserts based on the average yearly rainfall.

Animals

Desert animals are adapted to their environments.
••• Jean-marc Strydom/Hemera/Getty Images

The animals that live in the desert are specifically adapted to the environment. One desert ecosystem learning activity involves animal projects. You can tell kids about the adaptations of different animals for the desert or have them read and research them on their own. Then ask them to design their own desert dwelling animal. Kids can apply the information they learned to create their animal and then explain why their animal would do well in the desert environment.

Plants

Certain plants are adapted for desert life.
••• malven57/iStock/Getty Images

Certain plants are also adapted for desert life. They have evolved to live on very little water in very hot climates. Learning about the desert for kids can start with desert caring for a desert plant like a cactus. This can be a project for an entire class or just one kid.

Extensively research the requirements for the plant, and set up an area for it that has the right amount of sun or light. Have children make a calendar for watering the plant, describe desert plant needs, and the amount of water needed. The most important part of this project is the planning. You can then compare the needs of the desert plant to that of a rain forest plant.

Sand

Sand and soil is a big part of a desert ecosystem.
••• gkuna/iStock/Getty Images

A desert ecosystem not only includes the climate and living things, but the soil and sand as well. For kids, learning about soil can be very boring, because it's all about the types of materials in the soil.

One way to make this more interesting is to create small bowls of different things that can be found in the desert soil such as sand and small amounts of dead plant matter. You can set it up in proportions so that they can see how much of one material there is compared to another.

Have kids describe desert soil/sand vs. forest soil. They can then see what's in the soil and feel the materials. After looking at them individually, kids can combine the materials to create their own desert soil.

Related Articles

How to Make a Desert Biome in a Shoe Box
Animal Habitat Lessons for Kindergarten
How to Make a Diorama of an Ecosystem
Rainforest Ecosystem School Projects
Ecosystem Science Projects
3D Grassland School Projects
Activities for Teaching Hot & Cold Temperature
How to Make a Shoebox Biome for School
How to Teach Geometric Volume to Kids
Activities for Measuring Capacity in Kindergarten
How Do You Make an Ecosystem Project?
Science Concepts for Kids
Topics for Experiments in Ecology
Classroom Activities on the Scientific Method
How to Make Math Fun for Kids
Types of Soil & Their Uses
What are the Different Kinds of Land Called?
How to Explain Relative Humidity to Children
Abiotic Factors of a Desert Ecosystem
Biome Activities for Middle School