Adaptations help animals survive in their environment.

These adaptations can be physical or behavioral. Students will become students who have just discovered a new creature – the Desert Sponge. Now they must study the sponge to learn what adaptations it has to survive and keep moist in the hot and arid deserts of Arizona. They will create a model of the sponge by using natural materials to see what works best to help retain water.

The lesson is available as a downloadable PDF that includes ideas to extend and modify the lesson for different audiences.

For a different version of this activity, check out the related Focus Wild activity.

This lesson is a modification of an activity originally written for NatureWorks from New Hampshire Public Television.