Posts Tagged With: science

“FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLIES”

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

“FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLIES”

Giant Screen!

Giant Screen!

We had the privilege to catch a sneak preview of “Flight of the Butterflies” IMAX at Fernbank Museum of Natural History on Friday! Edmond was beyond excited because butterflies are his favorite!

Here we are getting ready to watch the movie!

Here we are getting ready to watch the movie!

This wonderful movie tells the story of Fred Urquhart, a scientist who worked for decades to discover the mystery of Monarch Butterflies and their migration.  Fred and his wife Norah gathered a network of citizen scientist in the 1960s and 70s. They tagged and tracked butterflies from Canada to all over the United States and eventually to their migration home in Mexico.

The movie not only tells Fred Urquhart’s story, but it follows three generations of monarch butterflies in a year’s time. It is that third generation of butterfly that will make the journey from Canada to Mexico in one of nature’s longest migrations.  Monarchs are just amazing!

Check out some of the fun facts we learned:

  • Monarch Butterflies love milkweed, it is the only plant they’ll lay their eggs on.
  • One female Monarch butterfly lays around 300 eggs.
  • Monarch butterflies can fly up to one mile high.

These fun facts are just a few things we learned watching “Flight of the Butterflies”. This amazing story is told with beautiful visuals and of course a giant IMAX screen full of Monarch Butterflies is the icing on the cake! We highly recommend you take a trip over to Fernbank Museum of Natural History to check out this great movie! You can also learn more about monarch butterflies on the movie’s website!

We made our own Monarch Butterflies!

We made our own Monarch Butterflies!

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

HAPPY NATIONAL BIRD DAY!!

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

HAPPY NATIONAL BIRD DAY!!

e e birds

It’s National Bird Day and we’re celebrating our favorite avian friends! Every Friday here at Ellie and Edmond Headquarters we go on an adventure to meet a feathery friend! Birds come in every shape and size! They eat everything from seeds, insects, nectar to carrion. They live on every continent on the planet, including Antarctica! Most birds can fly, but a few species are flightless and penguins fly in the water! Our favorite thing about birds is that scientist think that they are the distant relatives of the long extinct dinosaurs!  Wow! We’re celebrating these awesome animals today by sharing some great pictures and some of our favorite posts! Tell us your favorite bird?

To learn more about National Bird Day visit their website! Also check out your local Audubon Society to learn more about birds in your area!

Victorian Crowned Pigeon!http://wp.me/p1Gkpi-am

Victorian Crowned Pigeon!
http://wp.me/p1Gkpi-am

African Grey Parrothttp://wp.me/p1Gkpi-uh

African Grey Parrot
http://wp.me/p1Gkpi-uh

Blue Footed Boobyhttp://wp.me/p1Gkpi-13

Blue Footed Booby
http://wp.me/p1Gkpi-13

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

MEET SUPER HORSE TO THE RESCUE!!

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Ellie and Edmond ©

SUPER HORSE TO THE WILDLIFE RESCUE!*

*This is a re-post from earlier in the year! Super Horse will be a monthly feature starting in 2013!

Edmond was inspired by his Super Horse super hero costume that he wore this Halloween! He wanted to showcase the super heroes that help out wild animals all around the world! He’ll be flying high and low to find those people who rehabilitate, rehab and rescue wildlife! His first stop will be at a local wildlife rescue, but we want our readers and fans input! If you know a wildlife rehabilitator or a wildlife center; we want their names and contact info! Super Horse’s Wildlife Heroes will be a monthly interview to start with, but we may do more if we meet loads of excellent heroes!

So we need your help! Tell us who you know and how we can contact them! Send Super Horse to your local wildlife rescue! We look forward to this exciting new addition to The Adventures of Ellie and Edmond!

 

 

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

Year in Review!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

2012 YEAR IN REVIEW!

Wow! We have one exciting year here at Ellie and Edmond headquarters! We’ve been to every continent on the planet in search of amazing animals and wow did we find some! We’ve met reptiles, mammals, fish and birds in almost every kind of habitat on earth! We sat down and looked over all our stats to see our most viewed post of the year and we’re re-posting it for you today! So let’s take one more adventure in 2012 and head out to meet one nifty reptile again!

AMERICAN ANIMALS WEEK DAY #2

It’s day two of American Animals week and we drove the RV down to the Southwestern United States to find a really cool reptile! Grab your sunscreen or mud and your sunglasses, because it’s going to be a hot one!

MEET THE GILA MONSTER!

   gila monsterRange/Habitat: Southwestern US-desert, scrub, rocky outcrops

   Diet: Carnivore: eggs and small animals

   Length: 14-20 “

   Conservation Status: threatened

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Gila Monsters are one of two venomous lizards in the whole world (the other is the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard.)
  • They brightly colored to ward of predators.
  • Gila Monsters have a forked tongue like a snake and it helps them “smell” for prey.
  • They inject venom into their prey when they bite. They have special glands in their lower jaw that stores the venom.
  • Gila monsters’ tails store fat so they can survive when food is scarce or when they hibernate in the winter.
  • Gila monsters have bumpy heads. Those bumps are part of their skull.
  • They are not harmful to humans, despite their bad reputation! So Gila Monsters aren’t so monstrous after all!

We think Gila monsters are super cool! These amazing reptiles are protected here! That is good news, because it sure would be a shame if we didn’t have this neat lizard to see!

  


Categories: adventure, american, Animals, Children, conservation, education, Environment, lizards, nature, reptiles, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ANIMAL HOLIDAY WEEK DAY # 5

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

HOLIDAY ANIMAL WEEK

Our last day of holiday week keeps us in Europe to meet another famous bird from the Twelve Days of Christmas song! These birds come in pairs! So let’s get our binoculars and head out on today’s adventure!

e e woods

MEET THE TURTLE DOVE!

turtle dove   Range/Habitat: Europe-Africa/ woodlands, fields

   Diet: Omnivores: seeds, insects

   Length/Weight: 9-11”/ 3-6 oz

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Turtle doves form pair bonds.
  • They are related to doves and pigeons.
  • Turtle doves migrate. They winter in Africa.
  • Turtle doves have beautiful gray, brown and pinkish colors.
  • They feed on the ground.

Turtle doves are gorgeous little birds. Because they form lifelong pair bonds, they are often a symbol for true love. And we love that about turtle doves!

 turtle dove2turtle dove3

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

HOLIDAY WEEK DAY # 4

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

HOLIDAY ANIMAL WEEK

We’ll be spending the next two days in Europe bird watching for two birds who are very famous during the holidays! Apparently you are supposed to give these to your true love. We think it would be better to take your true love bird watching with us! Let’s head out!

e e woods

MEET THE GRAY PARTRIDGE!

gray partridge   Range/Habitat: Europe-West/Central Asia/ grasslands, farms

   Diet: Omnivore: seeds, insects

   Length/Weight: 12”/11-16 oz

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Gray Partridges have tawny heads and grayish bodies.
  • They live in small groups of 15-20 individuals. The groups are called coveys.
  • Female Gray Partridges lay around 16-18 eggs in a clutch.
  • They feed off the ground.
  • Gray partridges nest on the ground.

Gray partridges are neat little birds! We are wondering who came up with the line in the song that says a partridge in a pear tree, since these birds tend to live on the ground. Hhhhmmm… maybe they never met a real gray partridge!

 gray partride3gray partride2

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

DECEMBER CRAFT!!

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

December Craft

Santa Walrus Ornament!

We’re making ornaments this month for craft time and we’re so excited to be making this adorable little felt walrus ornament! Let’s get crafty!

IMG_3770

Materials:

  • Red, white, cream, gray & brown felt (you only need small scraps)
  • Black marker
  • scissors
  • hot glue (to be used by an adult)
  • needle & thread

 

Instructions:

  • Print out pattern (below)
  • Cut pattern pieces out

 

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  • Cut out felt pieces

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  • Draw black dots on the eyes & two nostrils on brown mussel

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  • Glue face, eyes & tusks on walrus
  • Glue Santa hat

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  • Take needle & thread and pull through the hat. Tie a knot in string.

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  • Hang your walrus!

Pattern:

Image

Categories: adventure, Animals, Children, crafts, education, Environment, holidays, mammals, nature, oceans, science, wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HOLIDAY ANIMAL WEEK # 55

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

HOLIDAY WEEK DAY #2

We’re staying in the arctic today to meet one large and fat animal! What do you know, they have tusks just like Ellie! Do you have your coats on? Let’s go meet this great holiday animal!

MEET THE WALRUS!

    Range/Habitat: Arctic/water, shoreline

   Diet: Carnivore: shrimp, sea-snails, fish

   Length/Weight: 9 ¾-12 ft/ 1 ¼ -2 ¼ tons

   Conservation Status: data deficient

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Walrus are large marine mammals with flippers.
  • Walrus eat prey off the bottom of the oceans and use suction to eat.
  • They can stay underwater for up to 25 minutes and can dive down to 330ft deep.
  • They are highly social and often are seen in large groups, called herds.
  • Male walruses are twice the size of females.
  • They have rough wrinkly skin and very whiskery faces.
  • Walruses have tusks of ivory. They can grow up to 3 ft 3” long.

Walruses sure are huge and cute! How can you not like their whiskery faces? These blubbery mammals are loud, social and full of personality! They are one of our favorites!

walrus

walrus2

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

HOLIDAY ANIMAL WEEK!

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

HOLIDAY ANIMAL WEEK

We’re celebrating animals that are featured during the holidays this week! We’ll be going all over to find animals that live in the north pole or that are part of the holiday culture (i.e. featured in a song). Our first adventure takes us to the chilly North pole to meet a VERY Famous animal, who knows the big guy driving the slay! Grab your coats and let’s do this!

e e arctic

MEET THE REINDEER!

reindeer   Range/Habitat: North America-Europe-Asia/Tundra-forest

   Diet:  Herbivore: grasses, moss, lichen

   Length/Weight: 4- 7 ¼ ft/ 260-660 lb

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Reindeer are also called caribou.
  • They vary in color and size depending on where they live. Reindeer that live closest to the arctic are white in color.
  • Both female and male reindeer have antlers. Males lose their antlers in the winter.
  • Reindeer antlers are covered in a layer of fur called velvet.
  • Their noses are specialized to warm cold air before it enters their lungs.
  • Reindeers have a four chambered stomach!
  • One of their favorite foods is called reindeer moss.
  • Reindeers are the only mammal that can see ultraviolent light!
  • Some reindeer populations migrate. They can migrate up to 3,000 miles in one year! Whew, they must be tired!

Besides being really neat, reindeer are famous for pulling Santa’s sleigh! We were hoping to meet a real reindeer this year, but we weren’t able to. We are making some antlers out of pipe cleaners though! What’s your favorite thing about reindeer?

reindeer   reindeer2

 

 

 

 

 

We found a reindeer coloring sheet too:

http://www.edupics.com/coloring-page-reindeer-i8663.html

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

FEATHERY FRIDAY # 55

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Ellie and Edmond ©

FEATHERY FRIDAY #55

We’re off to the Galapagos Islands today on the E & E boat to meet a bird who soars in the skies over the ocean! Grab your life jacket and let’s head out on this adventure!

e e boat

MEET THE RED BILLED TROPICBIRD!

red billed tropicbird   Range/Habitat: Eastern Pacific-Central Atlantic/ oceans-coasts

   Diet: Carnivore: squid, fish

   Length/Weight: 31-32”/ 21-29 oz

   Conservation Status: common

 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Red Billed tropicbirds are often found hundreds of miles from shore.
  • They poor swimmers!
  • Red billed tropicbirds plunge into the ocean to catch their prey.
  • They have webbed feet.
  • Red billed tropicbirds have long tail streamers.
  • Red billed tropicbirds are very awkward on land.

Red billed tropicbirds are gorgeous birds! These high fliers were built to spend their lives in the air. We sure would like to be able to fly one day! How about you?

 red billed tropicbird2red billed tropicbird3

 

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

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