Backyard Science: A child's path into paleontology

Can we really make scientific discoveries in our own backyards?  Scientists such as Mary Anning have been doing just that for centuries, revealing the stories of science and paving the way for future scientific discovery. 

Collecting fossils near her home with her family as a child eventually led to Mary finding some of the very first specimens of plesiosaurs (at age 11!), ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs and more!

Does this rhyme written about Mary Anning sound familiar?

 

She sells seashells on the seashore

The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure

So if she sells seashells on the seashore

Then I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

Selling fossils (ancient sea shells) to wealthy tourists, Mary is said to have worn an ammonite fossil on a cord around her neck.  Share Mary’s story with your little paleontologists, and then help them make their own fossil impression pendant:

1. Roll out some polymer clay and press some shells, leaves, or other natural materials into the clay to create an impression. [Make sure to first drill a hole in the pendant.]
2. After you create the perfect design, cook your ‘fossil’ in the oven at 275 degrees F for 15 minutes. 
3. Ask your paleontologists to hypothesize what will happen as a result of the heat (just as many rocks experience in the earth). 
4. Remove the fossil pendant and cool.
5. Have your paleontologists make observations about their creations…any changes?
6. Put a string through the hole and wear the fossil pendant like Mary Anning!
7. Discuss sedimentary rock and fossil formation! Visit http://www.amnh.org/ology/index.php?channel=paleontology for discussion ideas. 

Read more about this child paleontologist who paved the way for some BIG ideas, by getting her hands dirty and being persistent: Stone Girl Bone Girl (L. Anholt).

What discoveries are waiting to be found in your backyard?

Becoming Butterflies: Which came first- the butterfly or the egg?

With spring in full swing, there are signs and sightings of butterflies in their various stages of life everywhere...little hands and eyes are delighted by their finds and ready to learn about this amazing process of transformation that these creatures experience.

Children will remember the magic of metamorphosis forever after a Becoming Butterfly Relay:

1. Create an enclosure of some sort (a play tent, a tent of blankets, etc.) to be the egg.  Send your little butterflies-to-be inside, wearing a t-shirt that they can shed as caterpillars. Encourage the cycle to begin, chanting, 'hatch egg, hatch!'
2. Exiting the egg, encourage the little larva to 'crawl caterpillar, crawl' as they make their way towards the next stage of metamorphosis. Another fun addition are 'bug glasses' that allow children to see like some insects.
3. A play tunnel, or sleeping bag, or even a closet can serve as the chrysalis.  Remind children of the voracious appetite of caterpillars (often they eat their shedded skins), then encourage them to 'change pupa, change!" You can probably make a pair of butterfly wings and antennae for this stage, but many are available for purchase as well.
4. 'Fly butterfly, fly!' Have your little butterfly flutter to a cup of nectar (juice works well), where they can take a sip with a twisty straw (like the butterfly's proboscis).  After this brief stop, your butterfly can take an egg of some sort (a ball, sticker, etc.) and 'lay' it on the underside of a leaf (green fabric, paper, bowl, etc.).  

Participants can repeat the cycle over and over again, even going back and forth between egg laying and nectar sipping (as many butterflies do)! 

So which came first: the butterfly or the egg? 
Ask your little entomologists, they're such to be full of hypotheses!

 

More Fluttery Resources...

Fluttery Reading:  Bob and Otto (Buell), Waiting for Wings (Ehlert), The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle)

Fluttery Field Trips:  Cincinnati Krohn Conservatory's Butterflies of Brazil (through June 26, 2011); Cincinnati Zoo's Butterfly Room(insect house, year round); Cincinnati Natural History Museum's mounted specimens)

Fluttery Film:  Flutter Serenade: The Butterfly Movie (2008)

Fluttery Surfing:  http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/ 

                            http://butterflywebsite.com/

And, yes, there is a certain amount of carnage that goes with it...but, a butterfly net can provide hours of healthy,  happy outdoor exploration!!!

The Sun's Gift: Light, prisms, rainbows, and shadow

Tense little bodies relax and brighten as the thunder and lightning make way for a bright spring rainbow, the sun's gift to our eyes! Experimenting with the refraction of light is a joy that delights all, and is easy and very accessible. Using a crystal prism or a diamond wedding ring, children can break the white light into it's pretty colored pieces.

Flashlights also can cause light to dance through prisms of all types, and demonstrate how shadows are created. So can passing clouds and dancing, leaping bodies on sunny days!

Discussing favorite colors while creating them with water and food coloring (or in the bath with colored tablets!) is a great way to show how the colors blend together. What happens when they all mix together?!


Be creative with color: http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm

What is your favorite gift from the sun?

A Rainbow of Song: Birding by ear for little ones!

They come in all the colors of the spectrum- our chirpy neighbors are now filling the air with a rainbow of song! Birding by ear is quite popular with serious birders...and quite daunting for those new to the task. But, little ears are so quick to pick up the new sounds of human words and music- why not in the language of our feathered neighbors, as well?

Feathers come in every hue, and the songs do, too! Here are some common birds of southwest Ohio and some of their more memorable calls:

Northern Cardinal: "Cheer, cheer, cheer...birdy, birdy, birdy!"

American Robin: "Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio, cheerio!"

American Goldfinch: "Potato chip-chip-chip-chip!"

Mallard Duck: "QUACK!"

Blue Jay: "Jay, Jay, Jay!"

Common Grackle: "Readle-eeettt...swat..."

Birds do have many calls, accents, and songs...but these will get little (and big) ears started on the adventure of getting acquainted with our easily spotted (and heard!) local feathered friends.

For more lovely birdsong, visit: www.allaboutbirds.org

Chirpy reading: Birdsongs (Franco) and Birds (Henkes)

What songs are the birds in your backyard singing?