What you need:

• rocks & markers
• paints & brushes (optional)
• googly eyes (optional)

What you do:

1. Wash and dry the rocks to remove any dirt and dust.
2. Let one layer of color dry before adding more layers.
3. Add details such as a head, eyes, and wing lines.

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• small marshmallows – for the eggs
• gummy worms – for the caterpillars
• Tootsie Rolls – for the chrysalises
• Sociable crackers – for the butterflies

Put each snack on a napkin, paper towel, or paper plate; label them and add arrows to represent the cycle. Enjoy your snack while you talk about metamorphosis or observe live butterflies.

Adapted from https://www.myjoyfilledlife.com/edible-butterfly-life-cycle/

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What You Do:

1. Decorate the outside of your book with pictures cut from magazines, stickers, or your own drawings (draw them on paper, then cut out and glue them to the binder).

2. Each page of the book will be for one insect and should include space to draw or glue a picture, several lines to write things you know about the creature, and some lines to add things you find out later, too.

3. Ask an adult to help you punch holes on the left side of each page and put the pages into the binder to make a book. You can always add more pages later if you want to.

4. Start the first page with your favorite bug or a bug you found in your back yard. Draw a picture on the page or take a picture of the bug you found and paste it on the page. Write its name below, and then write anything you know about it, like where it lives (in a tree? in the grass?) and what it eats. You can also look in an identification guide if you want to find out more about a particular bug.

5. Whenever you learn something new about a bug in your book, add it to the page about that bug. If you need more space, you can add another sheet of plain paper behind the first one. If you have more than one page for the same creature, it helps to write the name of the bug in the top right-hand corner of the page so that you can tell which pages go together. When you learn about or find a new bug that isn’t in your book yet, make a new page for it.

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What if the animal kingdom worked like professional sports? Can you pick the best of the best? Each week during this Science on the Spot series, you will be presented with two apex animals that are at the top of the food chain and have no natural predators in their environments. You will hear all about what makes these animals special and compare their attributes. At the end of each presentation, the audience will vote and decide which of the two animals presented will advance in the next Museum’s March Madness: Apex Animals round. The final round will take place on March 25. All voting will be done onsite at the Museum at the end of each presentation.

Can you pick which animal will be voted the top Apex Animal?
Download a bracket from the Museum’s online Discovery Hub or pick one up at the Museum Store. Submit your choices by Noon on February 11 in order to qualify to win a prize!

SCHEDULE:
February 11 –  African elephant vs. Polar bear
February 18 – Bengal tiger vs. King cobra
February 25 – Saltwater crocodile vs. Bull shark
March 4 – Golden eagle vs. African lion
March 11 – Round 2 (Feb. 11 winner vs. Feb. 25 winner)
March 18 – Round 2 (Feb. 18 winner vs. March 4 winner)
March 25 – Finals (March 11 winner vs. March 18 winner)

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