About This Lesson
Use this lesson when teaching animal structures and functions, adaptations, protection, marine animals, or Gulf of Mexico
ecosystems. Students will investigate why crabs have a hard outer covering by comparing an unprotected piece of soft fruit with a piece protected by an egg-carton cup. The activity models how a crab's hard exoskeleton supports and protects the softer parts of
its body. This lesson works especially well as an introduction to crabs and other crustaceans found in the Gulf of Mexico.
