So we got out the stereoscope to look a bit closer.

Is it ok for me to admit that I wasn’t sure if it was a cockroach or a beetle? Because I just wasn’t sure. I don’t usually look too closely as I scream and run across the room.

This is the way the roach was found, belly up. After determining that it did indeed have six legs, we decided that it was, in fact, an insect. Yuck! We looked at his legs and his face and antennae.

This was the topside of him; very clearly showing that I need to clean out my tub a bit better. He had lots of fuzz and dead skin cells stuck to his body. And yes, I broke off a tiny portion of one of his legs. But that just shows how very dead he was; already dried out and crispy.

Cade declared this to be the bug’s ‘armor’, always referencing back to something war-like or historical. Since there are no apparent wings, we determined this to be a female oriental cockroach.

This was her face, eyes and antennae. We were fascinated by the segmentation and minuscule hairs of the antennae. We discovered that the cockroach has 2000 lenses in it’s eyes, which is why it is a nocturnal creature. It also shows how it can see me and quickly run for cover when I try to stomp on it. Don’t tell Cade that I do that.

After a thorough inspection we came to the computer to identify and learn about our bug.

Here are some things that we learned:

~A cockroach’s favorite food is glue, like you’d find on postage stamps, envelopes or book bindings.

~A cockroach can hold it’s breath for up to 40 minutes.

~Some female cockroaches mate once and are pregnant for the rest of their lives

~Cockroaches rest for approximately 75% of each day.

~Young cockroaches only need a crack about 0.5mm wide to crawl into your house. Adult males can squeeze into a space of 1.6mm.

~A cockroach can live for up to a month, without its head.

~Male cockroaches transfer sperm to females in a special gift package called a spermatophore. Some males cover the package in a protein-rich wrapping that the female can eat to obtain nutrients to raise her young.

~Cockroaches can run up to 3km/hr (0.8 m/s). That is the equivalent of 50 body lengths per second. If compared to a human, that is like a human running at 205 mph.

~The American Cockroach is thought to have originated in North Africa The most likely scenario is that it reached the Americas during the early slave trade.

~The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is a large, wingless cockroach from Madagascar. Males ram into each other with their horns and/or they push each other with their abdomens. Larger males usually win.
The winners of these encounters usually hiss more than the losers. The hisses of males also contain information about the size of the male hissing and may be used to assess the opponent’s size.

~Crushed cockroaches can be applied to a stinging wound to help relieve the pain.

Hmmm….. a useful reason for cockroaches! Good to know!

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Trees and soil play very important ecological roles. When leaves and needles fall, they decay to become organic matter in the soil. Organic matter acts like a sponge, absorbing water and releasing it slowly, providing water for tree and plant growth and reducing flooding, erosion, and muddy streams. Organic matter also stores and releases nutrients that are then sucked up by plant and tree roots. These nutrients are essential in keeping forests healthy.

Trees also act as air filters. They take carbon dioxide from the air, sunlight, and water. They create their own food in a process called photosynthesis. From photosynthesis we get oxygen and water. In fact, one forested acre releases 2,140 pounds of oxygen for us to breathe and one large tree can release several hundred gallons of water through its leaves in a process known as evapotranspiration.

Trees also provide us with many recreational opportunities, like climbing, forts, camping in forests or just laying under a shady tree thinking about life.

Trees provide food, fuel and jobs for many people. We use trees to make many, many products for everyday use.

The kids in the class were asked to take ten minutes and look through the nature center and write down all the different uses of wood. Of course, paper and furniture was on the top of every kid’s list. Some of them noticed the floors, the mulch in the critter habitats, and toilet paper. One child even thought of rubber, from rubber trees, which led to a discussion on all the products that are made with rubber.

You can see many of the thousands of products that we make from trees at this site.

After the discussion, we came to Cade’s favorite part of the nature classes; the hike. We went out and found a tree stump which Christen used as an example to show the kids how you could read a tree’s history through it’s rings and scars.

She is so good at pulling discussion out of these kids, no matter how obscure a comment they make. For instance, Cade commented that some trees had bark that was like chain mail and others had bark that was like smooth metal, and it was all used for protection of the tree. And Christen just went right along with his analysis, even embellishing a bit herself. I love that about her. She is so wonderful with these curious kids.

Here, she is showing them how the rings have a light and a dark side to them, which shows the growing and dormant stages of a year in it’s life. She pointed out that you could tell if it was a year with plenty of rain or maybe one of drought by the width of the ring.

In this picture she is pointing out some scarring that the tree suffered, probably from a fire.

Christen also showed us this resource protection area that the park planted with over a hundred trees a few years ago. These trees will act as protection for the nearby lake and will filter pollutants that come from storm run-off. Run-off picks up and carries oil from the roads, soil from construction areas, fertilizers and pesticides from farms and yards and waste from animals and trash. The new trees will act as a buffer along the shore and hopefully, stop the shore from eroding.

You can see some of the erosion in this picture.

Whenever we go out on a hike, you never know what else you’ll find along the way. And someone pointed out this little empty cocoon attached to one of the trees. Look below her hand.

Isn’t it’s perfection amazing? I wish my camera could do it justice.

I haven’t heard any news yet, about the County’s proposal to end programs like this one. I still have my fingers crossed that they will realize their value and keep them going.

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First, we each set up an orebody. He would check mine, and I would check his.

We started with a grid, like the one in the picture.
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Then we made a layer of ‘Earth’ to fit within the grid.
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The next layer was the ‘ore’ and we were to design any kind of shape. Then we used a piece of wax paper, over our design, to trace the design, so we could check and see if our partner’s guess was correct. I’m showing you my design. GB’s result will be shown at the bottom, but I was not allowed to photograph it.
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Then we covered our design with another layer of ‘Earth’.
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Once the model was created, we switched models with each other.
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Using a straw, we poked holes in the model.
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We used a bamboo skewer to push the clay pellet out of the straw to see if any color, other than green, was showing. If there was color showing, we would use a magic marker to mark inside the hole.
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We each got 24 tries to guess the shape of the other’s orebody. We discussed the fact that it costs about $50 per foot of drilling, so scientists don’t want to make too many unnecessary core samples while looking for ore.
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When my 24 tries were up, I removed the ‘orebody’ from the graph paper, and using the dots from my magic marker, I was able to make a guess as to the shape of GB’s orebody. In this picture, I’ve laid the wax paper drawing that he made earlier, on top of my guess.
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As you can see, I was pretty darned close. GB did a good job with his, too. It was really a fun activity and I think he learned a lot. He said it was a lot like playing Battleship with ore….LOL!
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© Robin for martinzoo, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments

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We crushed up the Tums so that we had equal amounts of each ingredient.

Then, poured the baking soda into the bowl with the crushed Tums.

Then we added a little water to make it similar to a paste consistency.

Then it was time to try it out.

GB was not overly fond of the taste, neither was I, it just tasted too salty. But, it did an amazingly good job of getting our teeth nice and white. I guess I now have a back-up if we ever run out of paste….LOL!

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We reviewed the three types of rocks again, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. And then I set up mystery stations in the kitchen with a set of rocks that I had purchase a few years ago from Home Science Tools. We also looked at some of the gems and rocks that we brought home from the rock mine a few weeks ago.

Using a rock key, similar to this one, GB was able to identify all but one. He used a magnifying glass to look closely at the rocks and the stereoscope for extremely close-up inspection.

He particularly enjoyed submerging a couple of the rocks, the limestone and the marble, into vinegar to see if the would fizz.
The following video, and all the pictures were taken with my new camera. I’m still getting used to it’s new features, but I was thrilled with the quality of the video; especially compared to some of my recent ones. I still sound like Minnie Mouse, but it’s better.

We also learned that sedimentary rocks are grouped into three categories;

clastic rocks, which are formed by mechanical weathering

chemical rocks, which are formed from chemical weathering

and organic rocks, which are formed from biotic weathering

We’ve gotten a lot of information and knowledge from this wonderful site during our studies of geology: Geography for Kids – by KidsGeo

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I put together a video of the whole thing. I hope you can hear some of GB’s excitement. Mine was pretty evident.

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