science

DAY 42… We meet another tamandua

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Day #42 (4/23/2014) Southern Tamandua

We were so excited to see one of Professor Tamanadua’s wild relatives while we are here in South America! Tamanduas are such great creatures, even if they are a bit stinky :)!

e & e rainforest2
Their range/habitat: Central- South America/forest-scrub
Their length/weight: 2-8 ft/ 4 1/2- 7 lbs Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Insectivore: ants, termites

tamandua1

• Southern Tamanduas are also known as lesser anteaters.
• They are arboreal.
• Southren Tamanduas have a strong musty odor to help protect them predators.
• Southren tamanduas have no teeth. They use a long tongue to catch their insect prey!
• They are nocturnal.
• Southern tamanduas have long claws for climbing and digging for prey.
• They have a partially prehensile tail that helps them grip branches in trees and balance when they stand up on their hind legs.

tamandua2  tamandua3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamanduas and anteaters are one of natures coolest animals. Those long claws, noses and tongues make them unusual and fascinating! One tamandua can eat up to 9,000 termites in one sitting! Nom! Nom! Nom!

-Ellie and Edmond

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

We decided to head to South America to the Amazonian rainforest for the week! We spotted a familiar face on our first day at camp! Can you guess who it is? You’ll only get one clue this week!

tamandua

This animal is the same animal as our dear friend the Science Word of the Week Professor!

WHO IS IT?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, wildlife | 3 Comments

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

swow prehensile

Hello students and welcome to class this fine Monday! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend! I hear that Ellie and Edmond are heading to South America this week! That should be so exciting! I bet they will see some animals with prehensile tails! Prehensile is our word of the week too!

Prehensile (prē-ˈhen(t)-səl, –ˈhen-ˌsī(-ə)l): the ability to grab or hold something by wrapping around it.

Most of us think of tails when we think of prehensile limbs- such as monkeys (only monkeys that live in Central and South America have prehensile tails). Other appendages and body parts can be prehensile too- like a giraffe’s tongue or the lip of a black rhino. One of my favorite example of prehensile body part is Ellie’s trunk! The two proboscides (the lip like projections on an elephants trunk) are prehensile; they are capable of picking up a single blade of grass! Wow- who knew! Can you think of other animals who have prehensile body parts, like the panther chameleon below?

swow prehesile cartoon

chameleon

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, vocabulary, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day 41- we meet a puffer fish…

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Day #41 (7/16/2014) Dogface Pufferfish…

e & e snorkeling

We went snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef yesterday and spotted so many kinds of animals, from fish to crustaceans to cephalapods. We saw a curious funny faced fish. We realized it was a pufferfish and not just any pufferfish- a dogface pufferfish!
puffer fish
Their range/habitat: Indo-Pacific oceans/ coral reefs
Their length: 3-12″  Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Omivores– algae, seaweed, sponges

• Dogface pufferfish are also known as the blackspotted puffer.
• They have no pelvic fin.
• Dogface pufferfish are solitary and territorial.
• Dogface pufferfish to have toxins.
• They will puff up when threatened.
dog face puffer fish2

We were so excited to see this special fish with the dog like face! Puffer fish get a bad rap; who knew they could be so cute? We’re going to bed for the night, it is exhausting snorkeling all day! More adventures tomorrow!

-Ellie and Edmond

 

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, fish, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GUESS THE ANIMAL!

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Day #40 (6/14/14) – Guess the Animal
We had such a great time in Australia last week that we decided to stay and headed up to the Northeastern coast to see the Great Barrier Reef. We wanted to see one of the most diverse habitats on the planet. We spotted all kinds of fish on our first day! Can you guess this one?

yellow tang
• They are brightly colored.
• They have a long snout.
• They eat algae and seaweed.

Who is it?

-Ellie and Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

swow hibernation

Welcome to class students! Last week we learned about the adaptation camouflage; this week we’re learning about hibernation- an adaptation that some animals have to help them survive winter when resources may be scarce.

Hibernation: a state of rest when animal’s heart rate and breathing slows and their body temperature drops. Animals like black bears hibernate during the winter because the food they eat (nuts and berries) are not present during the cold months. Bears will eat as much as they can to store fat before hibernating. They use very little energy during the period of hibernation. Some bats, fish, badgers and some rodents. Some of these animals don’t store enough fat so their hibernation is a lighter state of sleep, so they can wake up and eat.

hibernation

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, vocabulary, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 39… A laughing bird

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Day #39 (7/11/2014) Laughing Kookaburra…
We’ve had such a great time exploring Australia and finding the monotremes! As we were watching the echidna dig around looking for grubs we heard a very famous bird call! We listened to hear that laugh again… we knew it- it was a kookaburra! We were so excited when we spotted him in the trees that we began to call back to him!

e & e rainforest
Their range/habitat: Australia-New Zealand/
Their length/weight: 18″/ 7-16 oz Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Carnivores– insects, reptiles, frogs

kookaburra

• The Laughing Kookaburra is the largest member of the kingfisher family.
• They mate for life.
• Laughing kookaburras have long hooked bills to help them catch prey.
•Laughing kookaburras sit on branches and swoop down to catch prey.
• They are known for their “laughing” songs.
• Here’s a laughing kookaburra’s song.

kookaburra2   kookaburra3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had such an amazing trip down under! This island always amazes us when we visit! The animals, the people and the grass is super yummy :)! Time to pack up the trunk and head back to HQs at the University! Professor Tamandua will have a new Science word for everyone!

-Ellie and Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, birds, Children, conservation, education, Environment, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day #38- We meet an Echidna

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

Day #38 (7/10/2014) Short Beaked Echidna

e e desert

We had such fun watching platypuses the other day. We headed off to our next stop on our short trip to Australia. We were on a mission to find the other monotreme (mammal that lays eggs) that lives in Australia too.  We hiked for a quiet a while during the morning and finally hit the jackpot! We spotted an echidna! We were so excited!echinda3
Their range/habitat: Australia-New Guinea/deserts-forests
Their length/weight: 14-39″/9-15lbs  Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Insectivores– ants, worms, termites

echinda2
• Echidnas are also known as spiny anteaters.
• They are considered one of the oldest species on earth.
• Echidnas can live up to 50 years.
• Echidnas are solitary.
• They have a poor sense of sight, but an excellent sense of smell and hearing.
• Echidna snouts are also called beaks.
• They are excellent diggers.
• Echidnas have 6” tongues!

echinda

 

Echidnas may just be one of the most alien creatures that we have ever seen. They have remained nearly unchained since prehistoric times. They are just crazy and weird! Australia is an island full of these creatures. We can’t wait to see what we find tomorrow!

-Ellie and Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Day 37- Australia for the week…

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

We’re traveled the east coast of Australia yesterday to find our Guess the Animal.  It’s a large continent with wild and strange animals that are found no other place on earth! If you guessed the Platypus yesterday then you were right! We were looking for the mammal that lays eggs! WHAAAAT? You heard right, this mammal lays eggs! This adventure just gets crazier!

e e woods

Platypus…

   Range/Habitat: Eastern Australia-Tasmania/rivers-streams-rainforest

   Diet: Carnivore: worms, shrimp, crayfish

   Length/Weight: 16-23 ½”/ 1 ¾-5 ½ lbs

   Conservation Status: common

Platypus

 

  • Platypus are strange looking mammals, with long slender bodies, webbed feet and a duck-like bill for a mouth.
  • They have long tails that look like beaver tails.
  • Platypus are built for water. They are excellent swimmers and can dive to deep depths looking for prey.
  • They eat about 20% of their body weight a day (about 2lbs), so they can spend up to 12 hours a day feeding.
  • Platypus have no teeth!
  • Male platypus have venomous spurs in the back feet. The venom is not fatal to humans, but can be very painful.
  • Platypus can detect the electrical fields of other animals. They use this extra sense to find their prey!
  • They are one of two mammals on earth that lay eggs. Do you know the other one?
  • Platypus moms to provide milk to their offspring.

platypus

Platypus are one of our favorites, with their crazy looking bill mouths and their webbed feet! They are much loved in Australia too! You can find a platypus on the back of their 20 cent coins! Neat! Edmond wants to be on a coin! Ellie told him he’d have to learn to lay eggs first!

-Ellie and Edmond

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GUESS THE ANIMAL!!

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Ellie and Edmond ©

GUESS THE ANIMAL!!
We’re in Australia for the week and we went exploring to find a very special animal today! Look at the picture, read the clues and tell us who you think it is?

platypus

  • They are mammals.
  • They are very odd looking.
  • They are one of two monotremes in the world!

WHO IS IT?

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, mammals, nature, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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