Boys love bugs
Two days ago, we hosted a local Boy Scout troop at our offices. To receive their science badges, they had to visit a lab and meet a scientist. Our R&D Department was more than happy to oblige with a tour through our insect research lab.
R&D Director Dr. Qing-He Zhang talks about how we re-create scents to which the insects are attracted:
The kids take turns looking through the microscope at an insect antenna hooked up to our Electro-Antenna Detector (EAD), which measures the antenna's response to different scents.
Research Scientist Doreen Hoover shows the boys some Spined Soldier Bugs in a petri dish:
The Scouts pose for a photo with their new scientist friends:
We have an appreciation for science here at Sterling, and Dr. Zhang feels there are too few scientists in the world today. I hope this visit stoked the boys' interest in biology, chemistry and entomology -- they certainly liked the bugs!
February 18, 2009 in Kid stuff, Life at Sterling, Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Kids' questions about bugs, pt. 2
Here are some more fun questions from kids about bugs -- this time from fifth graders:
- Do ants work all day?
- What is the fastest bug?
- What is the most powerful bug?
- What is the smallest bug?
- What insects are good pets?
- How do ants climb up walls?
- How do you get bees to come to a box beehive?
- What is the purpose of ladybugs, worms, Goliath beetles?
- Are there man-eating bugs?
Again, stay tuned for the answers to all these and more.
Got a question, kids? Ask it here!
April 7, 2005 in Kid stuff | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Gardening with kids
Here's a helpful, free report about encouraging kids to get involved in gardening, courtesy of Doug Green at Simple Gifts Farm.
Lots of other resources on this topic are available on the web, but I was just made aware of this one through my connection with the Garden Writers Association.
Getting kids involved in gardening offers a whole host of benefits, fun and teaching opportunities.
Says Don Shor of Redwood Barn Nursery:
"Kids and gardening are a natural combination. There's dirt, it's messy, the textures are interesting; you can grow food; there are bright colors, interesting smells, even some water play. Kids like to garden until it becomes a chore, or has too many rules."
Sounds like fun to me.
April 1, 2005 in Kid stuff | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Kids' questions about bugs, pt. 1
We are compiling kids' questions about bugs for a new project. These questions are from second graders at Valley Christian School in Spokane Valley, Washington. Once we got them talking, there was no shortage of curiosity from these kids. Here's a sampling:
- How do bugs talk to each other?
- How do they climb upside down and hang on?
- How do they fly? How do their wings open?
- Do they have tongues? Noses? Senses?
- Why do lady bugs have spots?
- How big can bugs get?
- How do they make nests? Cocoons?
- How long can they survive without food?
- How do spiders walk on webs? How do they make webs?
Good questions... I'm just glad I don't have to answer them all! When our project concludes, all these and more questions will be answered, and we'll let you know where to go for our bug expert's responses.
Got any more bug-related questions from kids ages 7-13? Feel free to post them here. We may use them for our project.
April 1, 2005 in Kid stuff | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
