Classroom teachers who volunteer for the program are required to attend an eight-hour training session conducted by NDOW educators and biologists. Once the tanks are received and set up in the classrooms, teachers receive approximately 250 fertile rainbow trout eggs that were produced at NDOW's Gallagher Hatchery. Within three to four weeks the eggs have hatched and the tiny, translucent fish are ready to be liberated into a stream or pond. In some instances they even name each of their fish. More importantly, the project serves as a powerful educational tool.
Youngsters learn the life cycles of fish, their anatomy and their senses and behaviors.
They also learn about watersheds, stream systems, entomology and physiology. Trout in the Classroom has been so well received in the town of Silver Springs that an aquatic education day is held each year for all elementary students at the Silver Stage School. Teachers like the project as well because of the variety of subjects that can be taught. It is a useful tool for teaching math, life science and biology, according to NDOW educators. One important lesson that students learn about is mortality since not all of the eggs hatch, and after hatching, some of the fish do not survive.