Hobbies in the dorm room

So you are away from home in a strange place where you are supposed to be focused on your studies and, oh yes, your whole future! Does that mean you should give up your hobbies that you enjoyed from the comfort of your own home? Would it be a distraction from your performance as a student? NO, not necessarily!

Staying current with your outside hobbies and interests only enriches your college experience as long as you do not become obsessed with it. In some cases a hobby may relate to your educational interests and have aspects of science, mathematics, or history. If you can tie your hobby into your studies, your pastime becomes a tool and a passion reflective of your studies.

One such hobby is aquariums. When keeping aquariums you are putting to use principals of biology, marine biology, water chemistry and other science. It is an opportunity to observe animal behavior, reproduction and other aspects of the hobby that may directly correlate to your classes. Freshwater planted aquariums open you up to subjects of photosynthesis, plant nutrient uptake, the affect of aquatic plants in the Eco system, and various environmental issues.

Web sites such as Aqua Botanic provide much of the information one needs to know to get started in the hobby and an introduction to the science behind it that could be applied to your studies. Here are some examples:

Rhizomes and Tubers

The Role of Photosynthesis in the Aquarium

Water Plants 101


What to consider


When considering bringing a hobby into the dorm room, think about how it would affect the comfort of your room mate, and how much time and resources it would take.

An aquarium takes up space, may create some noise from equipment, and needs a source of water and power. Depending on the type of aquarium set up and approach, it requires a certain number of hours per week of maintenance. This can be your time to enjoy and observe the aquarium as well, but you may want to consider researching various low maintenance approaches to keeping an aquarium or planted aquarium. Also consider the cost of bringing your hobby to the dorm: equipment, materials, and supplies.

Take notes!

A hobby that involves science is particularly useful to school if you take notes! Create a diary of your hobby where you can write observations, daily activity, problems or issues that required resolution and how you fixed the issues. This can be valuable information for not only improving your hobby, but to learn wonderful lessons- hands on experience that may help you in how to choose a career. Just do not blow up the dorm in a mad scientist experiment!