It was worm week in eighth grade! As part of their evolution unit, eighth graders investigated earthworms in order to understand how these organisms are uniquely suited to their subterranean environment. They began their investigation with a dissection, in order to examine the gut, gizzard, clitellum and five hearts of preserved earthworm specimens. Then they set up a composting worm bin in the lab, with the expectation that they will be able to observe their 1,000 red wiggler worms turn a bin full of paper and food scraps into rich and fertile soil. As they read in the book, “The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms,” by Amy Stewart, earthworms are largely responsible for the creation of the earth’s topsoil and “the power of earthworms come not from the individual, but from their collective strength.”