Science Guys: Praying Mantis

Egg case at the bottom and some nymphs 

 When our caterpillars were delivered we also received a praying mantis egg case.

It wasn't exactly interesting to observe, and we missed the actual hatching since the estimated time frame given for hatching is 4-10 weeks so it is kinda impossible to time their arrival and be around to observe.  We were away when they hatched and came home to LOTS of babies, both alive and dead.

Hans and the egg case

It's recommended the praying mantis be released immediately since the stronger nymphs will kill off the weaker nymphs.  Unfortunately we missed the hatching and there was a big pile of dead nymphs. This was fairly upsetting to Freddie.  He covered my mouth if I tried to mention the dead nymphs to anyone.  I think he felt a little guilty and embarrassed about not taking such good care of them, but it really wasn't his fault.  I tried to explain this to him, but the guy is pretty sensitive.

We quickly got the survivors into the garden.  Neither boy was interested in holding them, but they did watch them for a while after we released them.

I'm not sure if we'll do this again, although it was a nice way to introduce more discussions about science, and death I suppose.

Caterpillars, again

We've had painted lady caterpillars the past three years and I almost didn't order caterpillars this year, but  decided it's kinda a symbol of the transition to spring for us.  

Watching the metamorphosis never gets old, not matter how many times you've seen it or how old you are.  It's pretty amazing.

Hans really didn't remember them from last year, so I'm especially glad we got them.

All five of the caterpillars made the metamorphosis and they made for an interesting centerpiece on the table.  We had lots of conversations about the caterpillars, chrysalis, and butterflies.

We released the butterflies in the backyard of our building.  In previous years they'd hang out in the garden for quite some time, but that wasn't the case this year.  A couple butterflies took off as soon as their habitat was opened, and the others didn't waste much time getting out into the world beyond our building.

Next year I won't hesitate to order our annual caterpillars.  I love the boys observing and discussing.  I love listening to their ideas and questions.  I love seeking out books and more information on what their asking about.  Learning never gets old.

Science Guy: Xylem and Phloem

Freddie always points out the artificially colored daisies in buckets outside corner bodegas.  We always have a brief chat about how they do not occur in nature like that and have been dyed, but this doesn't sway his opinion of their being the most beautiful of the bunch.  That gave me an idea to color our own daisies, but sadly I can't find white daisies, so we settled for celery. 

Celery ended up being better because it gave us an opportunity to talk about xylem and phloem.

 We observed the celery, especially the leaves, for a few days before slicing it to see the colored tubes.  Science Guy liked this activity quite a bit. 

Science Guy: The Any Farm

Ant observation over cinnamon toast breakfast

The ant farm is up and running.  All of us love watching the ants at work.  It is so interesting.  There's no queen so this will only last about 3 weeks but I think we'll have to find another batch of ants to set up shop.  Both boys visit the ant farm several times a day and just watch for extended periods of time.

Thankfully the batch of ants consists of only 12-15 workers because I still fear the little caps on the ends, meant to connect multiple farms, will mysteriously disappear and we'll end up with guests at the table for breakfast.  It hasn't been a problem but there's still time for anything to happen.

I've loved having the farm.  It's provided lots of opportunities to look up facts about ants and make observations and predictions.

Science Guy: Ladybugs

This year we decided to observe the metamorphosis of a ladybug.  We've had painted lady caterpillars the past two years, so this was something new.

A tube of 10 ladybug larvae arrived with food, and we placed them in the habitat with some water.  The metamorphosis took about two weeks, a bit longer than the caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis.

Releasing the ladybugs in the garden

The boys checked on them each day, observing their changes, and reminding me when they needed water.  I was concerned *someone* would lift the lid of the habitat and they'd be all over the house, but they all went from larvae to adult in the habitat.

I'm a little disappointed to not have had caterpillars this year.  It is such an amazing metamorphosis for the kids to observe.  Now that the weather's warmed I'm hopeful we'll find a few caterpillars to bring home and observe. 

Next science experience:  Ant Farm.

Science guy: Crystals

Dada's not the only scientist growing crystals in our family. 

Freddie has been growing sugar crystals the past few weeks.

We used a pipe cleaner, and the process was slow.  I'd recommend using cotton string instead.  Actually using cotton string and a pipe cleaner would be best so comparisons can be made, but I need bigger counter tops for such experiments!

Science Guy: Owl Pellets

Freddie is interested in all things science and he has a particular interest in animals.  We read lots of nonfiction books about animals, and he has a particular liking for birds.  We do lots of "experiments," making observations, forming hypothesises, and the like.  Yep, the guys geek out quite a bit. 

This week we pulled out some owl pellets I had ordered for the big guys to dissect as a special project while Hans was napping.  Owl pellets are what an owl is unable to digest after a meal and is sent back up in the form of a little pellet.  It's a little ball of vomit.  Gross, right?  Well, if you're a four year old science guy it is totally cool and fascinating. 

Dissecting owl pellets is a pretty common elementary school classroom science project when learning about food chains and webs, ecosystems, migration patterns, and I'm sure many other things.  While we're not discussing those things in depth with Freddie, he does get lots of exposure to those topics in books and through asking questions about the world. 

Freddie was pretty excited to pull apart the pellet and dig out little rodent bones, especially the skull pieces that included teeth.  We were able to look at a little chart and try to identify which type of rodent each bone came from.  Interesting stuff. 

Our rodent bone collection that I'm not sure he'll ever part with.

Sorry, only pictures of the start and finish.  Mama was at Costco during this special project.  Get your owl pellets from amazon!

Botanist

Sprouting seeds is an exciting event for this science guy.  We've got a little window garden going.  Freddie selected peas and zinnias to plant, as well as some cilantro for Dada.  A few red beans were added because they grow so quickly.  We'll pull up the beans in a few days so we can investigate the root system.  I love how enthusiastic he is about watching the seedlings grow.  Well, he's actually that enthusiastic about everything and it's contagious.  

Fly away home

7 days from arrival we had chrysalises and 11 days after that we had 5 butterflies.  Freddie liked examining the empty chrysalises after we released the butterflies.  Perfect spring science lesson.  We're now onto rooting some seeds.  The teacher in me is coming out.  Poor, poor Freddie.