This One's For Scarlett: The Wonders of Kingdom Protista

Because God created a multitude of living things, scientists have devised a way of grouping them by similar characteristics. The classification scheme most widely used today is the Five-Kingdom System, which includes the Kingdoms...Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

If you remember my post, "Didn't Your Mom Tell You to Wash Your Hands?," you learned about the organisms (the fancy term for living things) in Kingdom Monera. Today, I want to share the glory of God through His creations in Kingdom Protista.

Kingdom Protista, with its numerous and diverse life forms, are split into to Sub kingdoms...Algae and Protozoa. The organisms in Sub kingdom Algae are more like plants (yet, not really plants) and the organisms in Sub kingdom Protozoa are more like animals (yet, not really animals).

The picture below was taken by me with that cool microscope, while I was looking at a drop of pond water.

My opinion is that the strand we are looking at is an example of an organism from Sub kingdom Algae from the Phylum Chlorophyta (a phylum is a smaller grouping of organisms with similar characteristics).

The clear square shaped objects may be examples of organisms known as diatoms, Sub kingdom Algae, Phylum Chrysophyta. Diatoms are responsible for the majority of oxygen in our atmosphere, not trees and other plants as most people think. Another interesting fact about diatoms is that their cell walls (the outside covering of the cell) are made of silicon dioxide, a principle component of glass. The bodies of diatoms stay around long after the actual organisms have died. Large deposits of diatom remains make up what is called diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth, among other things, is used as an abrasive in toothpaste!!! Think of that the next time you brush your teeth!!!!

The upper left corner shows a oval-shaped organism that I believe to be a paramecium...Sub kingdom Protozoa from the Phylum Ciliophora. This guy likes to eat algae, so my bet is that he's heading for lunch in the picture. He moves by hairlike extensions called cilia encircling his single-celled body. You really can't see them in this picture because they are clear and very small.

The next picture shows a prepared slide of Paramecia (plural of paramecium). Notice the pretty colors? That's not natural; these little guys were dyed so we could see them better. Notice the dark areas inside their bodies. They are organelles ("little organs") which help the cell performs the tasks needed in order to live.

This picture shows a paramecium that I saw with the "cool microscope." Several years ago, while teaching biology at Home Scholars, our class saw a paramecium eating algae. It was extremely cool!! We actually could see the green algae being swept into the oral grove (kind of like its mouth) of the paramecium. As it entered the body of the creature, we could still see the green algae as it moved throughout the animal-like cell. My students didn't want to leave when the class period was over; seeing God's creation do what it was created to do was AMAZING!!!! That should spark us to do and be who Jesus created us to be, because it glorifies Him!!!!

The next picture shows another example of algae.

The more we learn through science, the more we can actually see the glory of God through His Creation!!!!! That's why I'm a "Science Gal."

All photos are original.
You have permission to use them,

if you provide a link back to my site.
Also, please be aware that I am not a trained microbiologist.
The interpretations of the pictures listed

are the opinions of "Science Gal"

who holds a nursing degree, not a biology degree!
Thank you! :)