Brain Jello

 

Every year we try to do something fun for our Human Body Labs.  This year I made a jello brain and raffled it off.  Students had to identify some of the functions of the various parts of the brain. 

                                It looks and feels just like you would expect a brain to be. 
                                                                 Kind of creepy...

  

                                                                 This student loved it!

I ordered the mold from Amazon

It's really very simple to make. 
All you need is some kind of spray oil
carnation fat free milkblack food coloring
watermelon jello
hot water, ice water, and a little bit of time to let it set. 

                                                   This is my grandson
                            
                                He gets a "brain cake" every year on his birthday. 
                            Some traditions should die but they're just too fun to quit!

A Shocking Lab

January came as quite a shock for me as I had to return from beautiful Hawaii with our family
to get back into the grind of work.  I know you feel sorry for me.  Go ahead and pull out your violin and play it right now.  Weep for poor Mrs. Kahue having to suffer in Hawaii!  Well actually, the dread of having to teach my least favorite lab did hit me now and then when I was sitting on the beach taking in the sun.  We even ran into a celebrity.  Electricity is not my favorite subject to teach.  It has to do with protons and electrons and attraction.  These things you can not hold and touch.  It's hard to explain these concepts to younger students. You can't see an electron.  You can't show them the invisible.  So instead we played with it!  You can't show electrons and protons attracting but you can charge up a balloon and attract an empty tin can to illustrate it. We bent water by charging up a balloon and holding it nearby.  We performed the jumping flea experiment to illustrate the concept of static electricity.  We built our own light bulb by connecting 8 D batteries with some wire to graphite.

We learned that electricity flows through potatoes, lemons, and oranges. 

We learned about conductors by testing various objects with currents.  It was fun!  I'm glad we did it.   It's not as easy for me as reptiles and snakes but we made it through and learned something in the process.  I loved Hawaii but I really love my job! 

 
Especially when I can escape once in a while.

Doodle Bugs Hate Concrete

Insects are so much fun to teach.  This year we focused on three interesting insects;  the ant lion, the mealworm, and the cricket.  We studied their life cycles and habits as well as their unique anatomy.

Ant lions are my favorite!  We have "gobs" of them living in the dirt in our shed.  My husband has been threatening to concrete the floor. Can you imagine the cruelty?  He hates getting out of his car and walking on dirt.  I on the other hand can't bear the thought of sealing under concrete these beautiful helpless little creations... Before the concrete truck comes, you can be sure I am going to capture every last one of these beautiful little guys and save them from impending doom.
 They make perfectly round little pits in the sand to catch any unsuspecting ants for a delicious meal. 




Students had fun finding them and then holding them in their hands.  By the way, they walk backwards!  







Here is an antlion cocoon that one of my students brought back.  What a great way to see life cycles up close. 

Another interesting insect we learned about is the cricket.  Can you tell which of these wings belong to the male cricket?  My students can!

Can you see the tiny little cricket eggs here?  Some of my students are hatching out crickets at home as they learn about their incomplete life cycle.  

We put the crickets through a grueling light/dark experiment to see which side they preferred.  I hope animal control doesn't shut me down. 
Mealworms are a treat for any self-respecting reptile.  They are cheap and easy to raise.  Here is my mealworm farm purchased from dollar general. 


The bottom drawer contains the larval stage mealworms.  The middle drawer contains the pupa forms of the insect.  Finally, the top drawer is for the mating adult forms of the insect.  After the eggs are laid by the adult beetles and the hatched worms get big enough, I have one of the students pluck them out with tweezers and send them back down to the bottom drawer.  We use oatmeal or crushed cereal as a substrate.  A small piece of carrot once a week gives them something to eat and adds enough moisture for them to survive and thrive. 

Arthur is so happy when we teach insects.  All the students get a chance to feed him if they  like.  He has a huge 6 inch long gray tongue.  The further they hold out the insect, the longer the tongue gets.  

Butterflies Make the Rules

September is Butterfly month in the Explore Lab.  I'm always on "pins and needles" trying to decide when to schedule the lab.  It seems the butterflies never consult with me as to when they will be stopping by.  I have to schedule the lab months in advance and it can get kind of tricky trying to figure out when they are coming through our area.  Fortunately, this year, I was only a week late.  There were still plenty of butterflies and caterpillars but a week earlier would have been even better.  I think the butterflies just like to make sure I understand that I am not the boss of them! They make the rules...

Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly, Agraulis vanillae were especially prolific this year.  



                                                 Gulf Fritillary egg taken at 60X

 

                compound eyes and proboscis taken with the 
              Scope on a Rope from Furman University. 

We found out the differences between butterflies and moths with a Venn Diagram.  

Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

  

moth antennae

                                                   Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
We watched this amazing monarch caterpillar emerge from its egg!

We learned that butterfly wings are made up of thousands of tiny scales. 

This a picture of a caterpillar's "prolegs".  Prolegs are the ten soft padded legs at the back of the caterpillar.  

I just can't understand why some people don't love bugs!