Classroom lesson · Wildlife · 🇵🇼 Palau

Jellyfish Lake

A hidden lake where millions of golden jellyfish drift every day

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Jellyfish Lake is a small, still lake hidden inside one of the Rock Islands of Palau. Every single day, millions of golden jellyfish make a slow journey across the lake — following the sunlight from one side to the other. These jellyfish have lost their sting over thousands of years, so people can swim right among them!

Tell me more

The lake is cut off from the main ocean, which means the jellyfish inside it have been living separately for a very long time. With no predators hunting them, they no longer needed their sting to protect themselves, so it gradually became so mild that humans cannot feel it at all. They are perfectly safe to swim alongside.

The golden jellyfish follow the sun because tiny plants called algae live inside their bodies. Those algae use sunlight to make food — and the jellyfish get some of that food too. So the jellyfish swim towards the light all morning, then turn around and swim back in the afternoon. They do this every single day like clockwork.

Snorkellers who visit Jellyfish Lake describe it as one of the most magical experiences in the world — floating in warm, still water surrounded by millions of softly pulsing golden blobs. The lake also has a second species, the moon jellyfish, which is translucent white and almost see-through.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01The jellyfish lost their sting because they no longer needed it. Can you think of other animals that have features they might not need any more?
  2. 02Why do you think the jellyfish follow the sun all day? What other living things turn towards sunlight?
  3. 03How would you feel swimming among millions of jellyfish? What words describe that feeling?
Try this

Classroom activity

Make a model jellyfish! Cut a circle from a plastic bag or tissue paper for the bell, then attach strips of yellow or orange tissue paper as tentacles. Hang them from the ceiling at different heights so your classroom looks like Jellyfish Lake from the inside.