Let's look inside a polyp to see how it helps build a reef. It takes carbon from algae and seawater, turns it into calcium carbonate, and uses this chalky substance to build an internal skeleton.

This visualization showing the interior of the polyp during the skeletonbuilding process will change your understanding of how hard corals construct entire reefs!

View more free educational resources at https://www.calacademy.org/educators



The California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution dedicated to exploring, explaining, and sustaining life on Earth. Based in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, it's the only place in the world to house an aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, and natural history museum—plus cuttingedge research programs—all under one living roof.

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