Exploring Our Fluid Earth

I just did this lesson, after doing the M&M sampling design activity which I thought was helpful because they could apply the knowledge gained to this activity. However, I don't think that they were as engaged. I set up a mock tide pool in my classroom, which isn't very big, so I think in the future I would try to do something out side with more space. Also this lesson look a very long time, I even had an extended period and used all the time possible. Any suggestions on how to reduce the amount of time and make it more engaging?