Chesapeake Bay 

Activity Book
1 

 What is a watershed?

The Chesapeake Bay receives about half of its water from the Atlantic Ocean. 

The rest drains into the Bay from an enormous 64,000 square-mile drainage 

basin, or watershed. Fresh water from springs, streams, small creeks and rivers 

flows downhill into the Bay. The Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches across six 

states - New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia, 

as well as the District of Columbia. 

 How is a watershed different from a wetland? 

Watersheds are the land areas through which water flows and drains to the 

lowest point, in a stream, river, lake, or bay. Wetlands are the link between the 

water and the land. Wetlands can be marshes, swamps, or areas found between 

dry land and water along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and 

coastlines. Although most wetlands have standing or flowing water, many are dry 

for part of the year. Wetlands are important because they act as a filter and 

remove pollutants from the water. 

 Why is the Chesapeake Bay watershed important? 

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a nursery for several important species of 

fish, such as white perch, striped bass, and herring. Many fish come into the Bay 

and into the Bay’s streams and rivers to lay their eggs because it is a sheltered 

area. The Bay watershed also provides food for many marine species like 

flounder, bluefish, weakfish, menhaden, and spot that enter the Bay during the 

warmer months to feed on the rich food supply. 

 Did you know? 

Did you know that everyone in the watershed lives just a few minutes from one 

or more than 100,000 streams and rivers draining into the Chesapeake Bay? 

Did you know that the Chesapeake is shallow? A person six feet tall could wade 

over 700,000 acres of the Bay without becoming completely submerged. 

Did you know that during the 1600s, wolves, cougar, elk, and buffalo still 

inhabited the Bay watershed? 

Did you know that one drop of Bay water might contain thousands of 

phytoplankton? 

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Color Me! 

marsh periwinkle

Did you know that the marsh periwinkle can 

survive out of water for up to 42 days without 

being damaged, and can be placed in fresh water, 

which usually kills marine animals, for 11 days? 

2 
Connect the Dots 

Did you know that more than 350 species of fish 

are known to occur in the Chesapeake Bay region? 

Of these fish species, only 32 species are year-round 

residents of the Bay. The remaining species enter 

the Bay either from freshwater streams or the 

Atlantic Ocean to feed, reproduce, and find shelter. 

3 
Can you find these Chesapeake 

Bay words? 

The words are found down, across, and diagonally. 

C B U O Y S T E R S 

R H K Z B O A T S A 

T G E S T U A R Y L 

W F I S H S H A D I 

O S V M A R S H L N 

S H H C W P M U D I 

P E E R A P E B Q T 

R L R A T J E A N Y 

E L O B E J U Y K O 

Y S N S R I T I D E 

L I G H T H O U S E 

Chesapeake 

Bay 

Crabs 

Tide 

Salinity 

Fish 

Oysters 

Boats 

Marsh 

Osprey 

Mud 

Water 

Estuary 

Shells 

Shad 

Heron 

Lighthouse 

Buoy 

4 
Color Me! 

horseshoe crab 

Did you know that the horseshoe crab is one of the 

oldest living animals on the earth? It is called a 

living fossil because its appearance has not changed 

in 360 million years. 

5 
Chesapeake Bay “Mad Lib”

Directions: Fill in the mad lib list, and then copy your mad libs into 

the blanks in the story below. Once you have filled in all the blanks, 

read your completed story for a fun look at how animals and 

habitats depend on each other for survival. 

Mad Lib List: 

1. Family member _______________________________________ 

2. Somebody’s name _____________________________________ 

3. Animal _______________________________________________ 

4. Color _________________________________________________ 

5. Animal ________________________________________________ 

6. Things ________________________________________________ 

7. Animals _______________________________________________ 

I was swimming down the Chesapeake Bay one autumn 

day with my ___________________ and our friend 

____________________, who is a __________________________, 

very early in morning. A large _____________ ______________ 

started to chase us. I think he wanted to eat us for 

breakfast! We ran quickly to get away from it and hid in 

some _____________________ that were along the shore of the 

Bay. We sure were lucky they were there so we could get 

away. We found some ___________________ while we were 

there that we ate for lunch. 

6 
RECIPES 

FOR KIDS 

TUNA NUGGETS 

2 CANS TUNA (7 OZ) 

1 TBSP LEMON JUICE 

2 TSP HORSERADISH 

2 PACKAGES (3 OZ EA.) CREAM CHEESE 

1⁄4 TSP LIQUID HOT PEPPER SAUCE 

1 CUP CHOPPED PARSLEY 

DRAIN AND FLAKE TUNA. ADD CHEESE 

AND SEASONINGS. MIX THOROUGHLY. 

SHAPE TUNA INTO SMALL BALLS. ROLL 

IN PARSLEY AND CHILL. 

7 
Color Me! 

 Mussels can be found attached 

to rocks, stones, one another, or 

other items by releasing 

hundreds of threads that 

cement them to the rocks. 

Mussels can move very slowly, 

by abandoning the old threads 

and forming new ones a short 

distance away.

8 
Can you find these items in 

the picture? 

Tire 

Fishing Rod 

Shovel 

Comb 

Bottle 

Umbrella 

Pencil 

Boot 

9 
Can you help the Osprey find 

its nest? 

10
 Color Me! 

Oysters were once so abundant in the Chesapeake 

Bay that the population in the late 1800s could 

have filtered the bay’s entire water volume in just 

three days. Today’s population would take more 

than a year to accomplish the same task!

11
Name that Animal! 

Using the hints provided, can you name that animal? Your choices 

are: blue crab, oyster, egret, bluefish, winter flounder, hooked 

mussel, periwinkle, menhaden, blue heron, seagull, snapping turtle. 

Across: 

1. Crawl along rocks & seaweed, 

scraping off algae with their file-like 

tongues. 

2. Bury themselves in bottom mud or 

sand. 

3. Crustacean like its cousins the 

shrimp & crayfish; has 10 legs. 

4. White with S shaped neck. 

5. Once harvested in millions of 

bushels. 

6. Found in large schools near water’s 

surface, eating algae. 

Down: 

2. Found almost all over the world, 

nesting, hovering, & flying along 

shorelines. 

3. Predator with a jaw full of piranhalike teeth. 

7. Found attached to rocks. 

8. Blue, with wingspan over 6 feet. 

9. Flat, with two eyes on one side 

12
Color Me!

Rays, Skates, and Sharks are examples of primitive 

fish that do not have any bones. They have cartilage 

instead. Cownose rays and bluntnose stingrays are 

two types of rays that enter the Chesapeake Bay. 

Schools of young sandbar sharks enter into the Bay 

in the summer. 

13
Match the Fish

Draw a line from half a fish on the left to the other half on 

the right to see what Striped Bass, Eel, Founder, and 

Bluefish look like. 

14
Can you find your way through 

the maze to the fish? 

15
Color Me! 

The Chesapeake Bay serves as a home to thousands 

of different plants and animals that live in a 

variety of different places (habitats) including 

shallow or deep waters, sand or muddy bottoms, 

and seagrass or oyster beds. These habitats are all 

parts of the ecosystem, which provides food, 

protection, and shelter for animals. Each plant and 

animal is connected to others in the Bay. They 

depend on each other for survival, and even a little 

change can affect this system.

16
RECIPES 

FOR KIDS 

CRAB BALL 

1 LB CRAB MEAT 

2 PACKAGES (3 OZ) CREAM CHEESE 

2 OZ KETCHUP 

1⁄2 OZ HORSERADISH, OR TO TASTE 

PICK CRAB MEAT, TAKE OUT ANY SHELLS

MAKE SURE CREAM CHEESE IS AT ROOM 

TEMPERATURE 

MIX TOGETHER AND MAKE INTO A BALL. 

STORE IN REFRIGERATOR TIL READY TO 

EAT. 

MIX KETCHUP AND HORSERADISH 

TOGETHER (HAVE MOM TASTE SO IT’S 

NOT TOO SPICY). 

WHEN READY TO SERVE, POUR KETCHUP 

MIXTURE OVER THE CRAB BALL AND 

SERVE WITH CRACKERS. 

MOM & DAD WILL LOVE THIS TREAT.

17
Which two are the same?

Courtesy of the Magothy River Association 

(http://www.magothyriver.org/) 

18
Help Crabby find his home in 

the seagrasses! 

Courtesy of the Magothy River Association 

(http://www.magothyriver.org) 

19
Word Search 

Can you find the following words? 

Anemone Mussel 

Blenny Oyster 

Crab Pearl 

Eel Reef 

Goby Sea Squirt 

Magothy Skilletfish 

Mudworm Toadfish 

C R A B O C Y L S A T 

S J V M W B I K E S F 

O K G C O N L R A E P 

U E I G D R A S S N T 

Q E E L S A B X Q T G 

A M P S L N T G U O O 

M D Y N N E L B I A B 

R Y S O N M T H R D L 

O H Z A W O U F T F E 

W T H D V N X J I I R 

D O Y S T E R H W S B 

U G C N M Z E G O H H 

M A V Q R L E S S U M 

P M F H D A F R B Z A 

Courtesy of Magothy River Association 

(http://www.magothyriver.org) 

20
Blue Crab Life Cycle

Did you know that a single female blue crab can 

produce up to eight million eggs in one mating 

season? Of the many eggs that hatch, as few as two 

may live to reproduce, therefore it is very 

important to minimize capture of the female blue 

crab.

21
Answers 

22
More Answers 

Crabs 2 and 5 are the same 

23
Even more answers 

24
Regional Activity Books series: 

1. Coastal North Carolina Activity Book – 

http://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education/ncbook.pdf

2. Salish Sea Activity Book – http://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education/ssbook.pdf

3. Mobile Bay Activity Book – http://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education/mbbook.pdf

4. Why Is Hawaii’s Ocean Important? A Keiki Activity Book – 

http://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education/hibook.pdf

5. Coastal Louisiana Activity Book – 

http://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education/labook.pdf

Copies of this material can be downloaded from: 

http://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education/cbbook.pdf

Produced by: 

Dr. Susan Baker, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 

Seaberry Nachbar, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office 

Joyce Lowman, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office 

http://www.noaa.gov 

2002