Axolotls in education

Hello from an older member who has kept axolotls since the early 1970's!
I was looking at my axies the other day and thinking of the eggs I have hatched ove rthe years in various schools and how useful they were in educating young people in lots of topics. I wondered what other people think about keeping axies in schools? I know some think it isn't a good environment, personally I think they make an excellent introduction to development, care, ecology, biology etc etc. and have the advantage of being relatively easy to keep and very easy to feed. The only issue I have ever had is in transporting them for the longer holidays so I can take them home but that isn't too difficult to solve. One of the most useful educational aspects is hatching eggs and setting up daphnia cultures and brine shrimp hatcheries to feed the hatchlings which gives valuable lessons in different environmental needs for different organisms.
Anyone have any other ideas on having axolotls (or any other species) in schools?
Linda W

If they receive a good standard of care I cant really see a problem if they are kept in schools and if they help educate the kids that is a bonus.

I think that animals/class pets are wonderful learning opportunities for students provided that the animals are properly cared for. The fact that you shared your love for Axies with your students is commendable. I am sure that many of your former students have lasting memories about the lifecycle and unique qualities of axolotls. What better way to learn than to see something firsthand?

As a teacher in training, I highly recommend them as an excellent classroom companion. In my last prac setting, I introduced some larvae into the classroom, and they (and the students!) flourished. The kids were all under 5, and once the rules were established (We came up with them together) they were wonderful about ensuring everyone followed them- if someone went to do something, they would quickly remind each other about the impact they were having on their pets. Additionally, we were able to explore a bit about evolution, biology and ecosystems in a concrete way that the students could easily relate to.
I'd further add that adults are also fascinated by them. For an assignment, I took Whatsit The Very Educated Axolotl into uni (Yes, that is how he got his name ) as a demonstration class on endangered animals. Having an ambassador in the classroom once again made engaging with the subject much easier than had it be a subjective lesson.

I think it's a great idea. My mum is a teacher and she has had hamsters in her classroom in the past. Kids could learn so much from axolotls. They would really be a great example of evolution and adaptation. I know I'd be looking forward to going to school each day if there was an axolotl to go see!

Many colleges around here use axolotls in low level biology courses and labwork. My own college mostly focuses on fruit flies, unfortunately. Most of our educational tools are various types of insects or geckos. As long as the axolotls are well cared for to provide a good example, I think they're a great classroom pet. Not the kind I would let a kid take home to watch over winter break, though. When I was younger the local science center had them, and probably still do. One of the biology classrooms in high school had one as well, though I don't recall hearing about it being incorporated into any lessons.

Personally, I think education on all kinds of animals is extremely lacking. Some of the greatest examples of biodiversity come in caudata, such as lungless sals and neotenic ambystomids. I wish I had learned more about biology rather than getting the same lessons in plate tectonics, gravity, and the light spectrum every single year in middle school and high school.

I know of a number of teachers who have kept axolotls or newts in classrooms (elementary, middle, high school). I've provided animals to a number of them. The critical thing is that the teacher has to have a good understanding of aquarium water quality and be willing to deal with various "slimy things". If this kind of care is something the teacher enjoys, the animals are a great educational tool for any age level. This will always be a small subset of teachers though, as most of them don't go into the teaching profession with a love for dirt and slimy things.

Thanks for all your replies. I have always thought that animals in labs are a good idea as long as the right ones are chosen and the teacher or technician knows how to care for them. I once worked in a rural school which not only had amphibians but also pigs! (and chickens).
I thought the comment about most teachers not going into the profession cos they like slimy things was interesting, I have found, over the years, a number of biology teachers who like nothing better than pond dipping and searching under rotten wood with their students - who also love getting mucky finding 'creepy crawlies'. Last time I hatched some axie eggs in the lab, the students were fascinated and checked tghem carefully every day as well as doing some very interesting work researching and writing about them. It really started lost of useful learning on ecology, evolution, reproduction, development, conservation etc. I have also hatched chicken eggs in the classroom in the past (also quite useful) but these take a lot more specialised equipment and I have not had such good results, last lot of axies had 95% hatch rate and 90% managed to survive.

I've just started rearing some axolotls in my school. It's been a really interesting project so far and we have one class taking a "special interest", which has been great. We have cultured brine shrimp and daphnia and studied the development of the hatchlings, discussed thier preditory nature - eyes front etc. The axolotls are now just over 2 months old, around 2- 3 inches, back legs devloping and we are thinking about setting up a tank, so discussing the nitrogen cycle etc.

As the technician I'm having to do most of the rearing and have been bringing them home at weekends to keep up the feeding regime etc but am thinking that I could maybe now risk leaving them in the school for the weekend. Currently feeding them live blood worm but going to try ween them on to frozen.

What stage do you reckon I'd be safe leaving them over the weekend?