- Oh, hey guys, I have someone to introduce to you today.

This is my son's pet turtle, turtoe Say hi, turtoe.

Turtoe is here in his natural habitat or the place where he lives and grows.

What do you notice about turtoe's habitat?

I notice that he has rocks in his tank.

He's got some plant life here.

And there's water.

You see turtles is a reptile, that's a cold blooded animal that breathes air and has scaly skin.

And reptiles like turtoe, like warmth.

Turtoe loves to swim and dive in his warm water.

So what do you think might happen if we took turtoe, and placed him in a cold, snowy environment?

He probably wouldn't like that very much.

Don't you think?

See turtoe loves his warm water because it helps him survive.

Organisms have traits like that, that help them survive.

And when their habitat changes so do the organisms.

Let's take a look at a special kind of environment.

These are two pictures of the same river.

One picture was taken long ago and the other picture was taken recently.

Obviously the river has changed.

So the habitats of the organisms that live in or near the river have also changed.

What do you think happened to all those organisms?

Well, there are some different things that can happen when the environment changes.

Some organisms just leave.

Other organisms, stay and finish out their life cycles.

Other organisms stay and they survive and they have offspring.

Those offspring usually have adaptations that make them better suited to the new environment.

And still other organisms sometimes move in to the area when the environment changes.

So you can see how environments and habitats are essential to the way that organisms grow and develop.

Here is your investigative assignment for today scientists.

I want you to think of your favorite organism and I want you to draw a picture of that organism in its natural habitat.

Then I want you to draw a second picture of that same organism in a totally different habitat.

What do you think might happen to that organism when its environment changes?

Well, that is all for today.

You've done a great job scientists.

I'll see you next time, but until then, remember, never stop exploring and never stop discovering.