Young Naturalists: Visit to UMASS "Bug Wall"

 Yesterday the Young Naturalists visited the Plant, Soil and Insect Science building at UMASS. A graduate student named Matt had a presentation for us, all about what makes an insect an insect plus who the other arthropods are. He showed us some awesome pictures of insects, and told us some amazing facts, such as: Insects are more numerous than any other animal on the planet, and every third animal on Earth is a beetle! We also talked about how important insects are to humans, animals and other insects. Campers were amazed that some people like to EAT insects!

After the slide show, campers had a look at a honeybee hive up close.

It was easy to spot the queen, who had been marked with a dot. (Plus, she was the biggest!)

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Then campers visited the “Bug Wall,” a magnificent collection of insects on display.

There are more than twenty insects in this case – can you spot them?

Afterwards campers met some live insects up close. They had a chance to hold a Madagascar hissing cockroach.

This is a cool beetle that plays dead as a defense strategy!

Which one is a boy and which one is a girl?

The male has horns on its head for fighting and defense (left). The female has a smoother head (right).

Tarantulas are not insects, but arachnids. The tarantula’s hairs are an adaptation. When attacked, the tarantula can “kick off” its irritating hairs at its predator.

Teaching Creatures

On Friday, the Explorers met some of the live animals at the Hitchcock Center. Micky, one of the Hitchcock educators, introduced us to the bess beetles, millipede and walking sticks.

The Explorers taught the Young Naturalists the "Elephant Song."

 

We had an awesome day of all-camp fun yesterday. It all started with a presentation by Rae Griffiths of Teaching Creatures. She brought some live animals and talked to us about special adaptations animals have that we can learn from. She brought in a gecko that could walk all over the container it was in, up the wall and even on the ceiling! Its feet had special microscopic hairs that let it adhere to surfaces without glue. Rae told us that scientists at UMASS are studying gecko feet in order to design a special material called “Geckskin.” An index card-sized piece of this material can support 700 pounds – and then you can simply take it off the wall without leaving any sticky stuff behind! Rae old us that if her gecko escaped and went on the ceiling, it would take the strength of three grown men to pull him off! Rae also brought an ornate wood turtle from Costa Rica, a ball python and sugar gliders from Madagascar. All had adaptations we can learn from.

Those toes are super stickers!

The ornate wood turtle liked her bath, and her treat of mealworms!

The sugar gliders actually like to be curled up in this tiny pouch - it mimics their tree cavity homes!

The Australian sugar gliders are like our flying squirrels because they are noctural and can glide through the air. But unlike flying squirrels, they are marsupials: they develop in mom's pouch after they are born!

The ball python is a master camouflager.

Later, campers had a blast in the afternoon playing an all-camp game of predator/prey! We ventured into the “Back 40” of the Hitchcock woods to hunt “food” and hide from “predators.” There were five groups: two mice groups, two snake groups and a hawk group. Everyone had to get enough food and water to survive, and protect themselves from danger at the same time! It is so fun to see what life is like in the wild!

Amethyst Brook and Chapel Ledge

 

The Young Naturalists traveled to the Amethyst Brook conservation area on Wednesday. We walked through a meadow path and the community gardens to the woods, where we played camouflage and explored the stream. Fish, water striders and caddisfly larvae were abundant. Campers had a great time splashing around the river  and “accidentally” falling in!

The Explorers journeyed to Chapel Ledge in Ashfield yesterday, where they hiked Pony Mountain and played camouflage games. They had their lunch at the top, with a beautiful view. Campers also began their bridge project, which they will be working on throughout the session. We have been talking about getting ideas from nature about patterns, structure and designs – the study of biomimicry. They will use principles from nature to construct their bridges. 

Explorers: A Visit to Durfee Conservatory

The Explorers have been studying different kinds of patterns in nature, such as fractals and branching, packing and cracking, waves and meanders, and spirals and the Fibonacci sequence. As we learn about the common forms in nature, we are discovering how efficient and beautiful nature can be! Yesterday the Explorers visited the Durfee Conservatory at UMASS to experience interesting plants from near and far, and to examine their patterns. Mr. Formosi, who runs the conservatory, is a wonderful educator who kept the campers fascinated. The campers had so much fun they didn’t want to leave!  

Touching "sensitive plant"

Young Naturalists: A Visit From Speedy

The Young Naturalists have been studying the concept of form and function and how it relates to animal adaptations. Yesterday they watched a puppet show put on by the counselors about a monarch butterfly who learns what adaptations are. She meets a woolly bear caterpillar, a walking stick, a grasshopper and other insects that do special things to survive. She discovers that she has lots of adaptations too!

 

 

Campers did an activity in partners in which one person was blindfolded, and the other led them to different stations outside with different natural objects. The blindfolded person had to feel the objects and describe their characteristics, such as soft, light, round, hard, etc. It was challenging, but an important step in understanding nature’s survival features.

 
In the afternoon campers had a visit from Speedy, our resident box turtle. We got to watch him walk around (and he really is "speedy"!), touch his shell and guess how old he is. Speedy is always a huge favorite!